The Chicks’ Natalie Maines Serenades Kanye West, and Not Everyone Is Happy [Watch]
As Kanye West continued to battle his bipolar disorder on Saturday (July 25), the Chicks’ Natalie Maines decided it was time to serenade the superstar rapper.
And posting a peace and a heart emoji for West on her Instagram page, she did just that.
Just days after the July 17 release of the Chicks’ new studio album Gaslighter, Maines accompanied herself on acoustic guitar as she performed “Only One,” which West recorded and released in 2014. West wrote the song with Paul McCartney, Kirby Lauryen, Noah Goldstein and Mike Dean, and it's framed as a message to West from his beloved mother Donda West, who died in 2007.
West has been struggling in the public eye in recent weeks after announcing that he would run for president in 2020 against currently serving President Donald Trump and his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden. West's bizarre public performance at his first campaign rally in South Carolina on July 19, as well as his Twitter rants aimed at his wife, Kim Kardashian, have sparked renewed concern for his mental health.
"Kanye has been doing well for a long time," a source tells People, adding, "In the past, he has suffered both manic and depressive episodes related to his bipolar disorder. Right now, he is struggling again."
The lyrics to "Only One" offer a soothing message as Maines sings, "I think the storm ran out of rain, the clouds are movin' / I know you're happy, 'cause I can see it / So tell the voice inside ya head to believe it / I talked to God about you, he said he sent you an angel / And look at all that he gave you / You asked for one and you got two / You know I never left you / 'Cause every road that leads to heaven's right inside you."
While Maines’ vocals shine in the performance, not everyone was happy with her decision to share it.
“The world does not evolve around Kanye’s ego or moods,” one follower wrote. “The entire planet is being held hostage to a global pandemic and you want to sing a song for Kanye? Seriously...he’s getting way too much attention.”
“I love you but it’s hard for me to feel sorry for someone who knows he has a problem but refuses to get help,” said another follower. “Beautiful song though.”
However, some comments pointed to the complex conditions of mental illness.
“I don’t think people understand the experience of having/living with someone with mental illness,” one follower wrote. “They aren’t bad or evil they have DNA that makes them ill. I also don’t think people know the weight it puts on a family. My heart is for those in his circle but especially for Kanye and his family and children.”
The Chicks recently dropped the "Dixie" from their name in response to the social unrest that continues to play across the country after the recent deaths of George Floyd and other unarmed Black men and women at the hands of law enforcement around the country.
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