9 Songs That Perpetuate Crazy Conspiracy Theories
8. Kanye West - "Heard 'Em Say"
"I know the government administered AIDS // So I guess we just pray like the minister say"
During Live 8, a concert tour designed to raise awareness about AIDS, Kanye West decided it was the perfect opportunity to drop some real knowledge on the Philadelphia crowd. See, it turns out that AIDS is a man-made disease that was "placed into Africa just like crack was placed in the black community to break up the Black Panthers".
That myth - which has been fervently debunked - left the crowd exasperated and more than a little confused.
People had a lot of questions about Yeezy's statement. Questions like, "Does Kanye realize where he is right now?" and "How the government even benefit from putting AIDS into Africa?" and "Does Kanye actually understand what AIDS is?"
Yeezy reiterated this wildly misinformed theory on a track from his standout sophomore album, Late Registration. "Heard 'Em Say" did fine on the charts, though it's far from being one of his greatest hits. One can't help but wonder if the track's mediocre legacy doesn't have something to do with this bizarre lyric.
Then again, maybe Kanye didn't write that line at all. Maybe the government inserted it into his song without his knowledge...