Like many Yeezy fans across the world, I was shocked and horrified at the announcement last week that the remaining 22 dates of the Saint Pablo Tour were canceled. Although Kanye isn’t known for his predictability, I was still in awe when I woke up to the news. Kanye has a history of making headlines with his unusual and controversial actions, particularly his tendency to spend excessive amounts of time ranting at concerts or awards, and it’s practically been adopted into his brand as a hip-hop artist. The concert proceeding these events was full of red flags. Fans at the concert recounted how he arrived at the venue 90 minutes late and performed three songs before launching into a rant which featured critiques of Beyonce, Jay Z, Mark Zuckerberg, and Hillary Clinton. But what surprised fans the most was the statement “If I would have voted, I would have voted on Trump” that he made during a concert the previous week.

These events surrounding the hip-hop artist raise some interesting about how politics plays into the music industry. Before this most recent presidential election, it seemed rare and taboo for celebrities, particularly famous singers, to voice their political opinions. Yet there seems to have been a slight politicization of the American music industry that came to a head this November. More celebrities than ever were openly stating their support for one candidate or another, even calling for their fans to support their preferred candidate. This phenomenon could be due to the fact that Donald Trump himself could be considered a celebrity, given his past experience in reality television, or the fact that the candidates were so different in terms of their policy positions that celebrities felt it necessary voice their opinions.

Whatever the cause may be, this increase in the presence of politics in the music industry certainly involved younger voters and kept them informed of the political process. But it can have both positive and negative effects. I saw many female singers posting about Clinton in their social media accounts, noting her supposed feminist views, in an attempt to garner support for her from their younger female fans. Countless music stars, mostly female, used their platform to speak out against Trump. On the flip side, other singers such as Azalea Banks and Loretta Lynn have expressed their support for Trump. Either way, it’s a powerful tool that can have a profound impact on fans.

But Kanye’s support of Trump has struck his fans and colleagues alike as surprising. Kanye may be one of the more controversial hip-hop artists in the music industry today, and what makes him so controversial is his blunt honest. In the words of the man himself, “I’m not here to massage you with a fake truth.”