Kanye West Will Appear Anywhere, Including Occupy Wall Street

Nothing says “I am the 99%” like gold chains.

Occupy Wall Street has seen a handful of appearances by musicians and celebrities — Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon have shown up, plus Jeff Mangum, Talib Kweli and Anti-Flag have all performed — and today is no different. But instead of a controversial filmmaker or angry, political punk band, today brought Kanye West down to the protest.

He swung by with Russell Simmons, who has been supportive of the movement from the beginning and has showed up at Zucotti Park many times.

Gothamist reports that Kanye walked through the park, didn’t perform or really talk to anyone, and left pretty quickly.

I guess his presence was supposed to be a present.

Actually, it’s easy to snark on West for showing up at the occupation while wearing gold chains and teeth, but it’s not the first time he’s spoken up for those less fortunate than himself — his wave-making 2005 comment that George Bush doesn’t care about black people was in response to the suffering of the poor in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And while it might seem opportunistic for him to just pop in for a few minutes, having a big name like his can add some credibility and prestige to the movement.

It would be great if more big names can get involved — as long as they are genuinely supportive and not doing so to pander to their fan base. Impromptu concerts and appearances are both good for publicity and fun for people who have been marching and sleeping outside for days or weeks at a time.

Maybe next time Kanye could offer up an a cappella verse or two, as he’s been known to do.