Kanye West - or "Ye" as he now calls himself - is seen as one of the hip-hop world's greatest and has been a pioneer in several genres for decades.
- His influence on popular culture is very large.
Every artist I talk to, no matter what kind of music they make, has a favorite Kanye song, says Tina Mehrafzoon, music journalist at P3.
"He has obvious fantasies about Jews"
But in recent weeks, the rapper has been noticed for a series of anti-Semitic statements.
Among other things, he has written on Twitter that the Jewish population should be exposed to Defcon 3, a term for the US military's readiness level.
Although it is unclear exactly what West means by his post, several observers have interpreted it as threatening and anti-Semitic.
- He has obvious fantasies about Jews as powerful, as a homogenous group that tries to control the world, says Christer Hansson.
Nazi salute at the highway
A few days after the post on Twitter, several private individuals photographed a banner that had been put up on a freeway near Los Angeles.
It said "Kanye West is right about the Jews", and several people standing by the banner appear to be doing the Hitler salute.
Several other groups have also expressed support for the artist, both black separatists and Islamists, says Christer Hansson.
- It is in the nature of things.
All extremists have anti-Semitism in common – they all have the Jews as their ultimate enemy.
How did Kanye West go from celebrated music artist to heavily criticized for his hateful outbursts? See the summary of the world artist's development towards increasingly extreme contexts - and hear how anti-Semitism can express itself today in the clip above.