Kanye West’s politics continue to baffle his fans, and the rest of the world.
The 41-year-old has donated $73,540 (£56,590) to Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia – a long shot for the title – just six days after West's fellow Chicago native Chance the Rapper endorsed her.
Enyia has reportedly been struggling with debts since dropping out of the 2015 mayoral race. She was fined a substantial amount after dropping out and has wracked up signifiant additional fines for not paying off the original debt.
“The $73,540 debt to the Illinois State Board of Elections has been paid in full,” a statement from Enyia’s campaign, published by the Chicago Sun Times, reads.
“The Amara Enyia campaign thanks Chicago native, Kanye West, for his generous action. Amara’s campaign is energizing people around the city with bold ideas and solutions that move Chicago forward. We are excited to engage people of all walks of life as we focus our efforts on getting on the ballot.”
Illinois State Board of Elections first revealed on Monday (22 October) that the substantial sum went to the Friends of Amara Enyia political action committee.
West has become increasingly involved with politics over the last few months, having met with Donald Trump at the White House less than two weeks ago.
Chicago’s county commissioner Stanley Moore, who has endorsed another candidate for mayor, questioned whether accepting West’s donation meant that Enyia also aligns herself with Trump.
“If you accept money from a person like Kanye West, are you also endorsing his stance on Donald Trump?” Moore said.
“Kanye West has made comments in the past about slavery being the slave’s fault. He has talked about abolishing the 13th amendment. This opens the door for Amara to answer questions about whether or not she is embracing these same philosophies. Is she embracing Trump’s policies that hurt African-Americans?”
Chance first endorsed Enyia with a simple tweet, reading: ”Amara for Mayor”. He later appeared on stage with her, something that made the front page of various local Chicago papers and significantly boosted her profile.
