As Kanye West continues to spew bigotry, hatred, and antisemitism under the guise of ‘love’ on social media, listeners and fans of his music might have reached a moral crossroads. Can they really separate the art from the artist? Are they inherently supporting West’s views by continuing to give him money via streams?
As the cancel culture debate and discourse grows ever muddier, it is unlikely society will ever reach a definitive answer to these questions, at least not in Kanye West’s lifetime. That being said, with everything that has happened recently, you can’t blame someone for wishing to never have to hear his music again.
However, with the culture of playlists, streaming, and algorithmic radio we’re engrossed in, you are never guaranteed to avoid Kanye’s music forever. That being said, Spotify has at least made it possible to stop hearing Kanye West’s music on the service through automatic playlists and stations.
If you’re fed up with Kanye and his music, learn how to stop him from showing up on your Spotify below.
How to block Kanye West’s music from Spotify
There has been plenty of calls for Spotify and other streaming services to remove the music of controversial artists from the platform completely — R. Kelly being the most prominent recent case. While Spotify can remove the artist in question from its official playlists, the service has been adamant about not removing any artists’ music from the service entirely.
However, listeners can still prevent certain artists, like Kanye, from appearing in your listening sessions at all. Of course, if you go looking for Kanye West’s music, you’ll find it, but there is a way to have it stop playing when you don’t want to hear it.
If you traverse over to Kanye West’s profile on Spotify (you won’t be here long, promise), you’ll see three dots in a horizontal line under his name and monthly listeners.
Click those three dots, which will open a drop-down menu. The second option of that menu reads ‘Don’t play this artist’. Press that option, and voila! Kanye West will no longer play or appear in any playlist, and you’ll have to return to his profile to undo the restriction.
Can I block Kanye West from playing on Apple Music?
Unfortunately, no such option or equivalent to Spotify’s feature can be found on Apple Music. However, given West’s recent actions, it feels likely that one will be coming in the near future.