Rapper, former presidential hopeful and Danny McBride fan Kanye West has been quite open lately–just not with a book. Kanye West has admitted that he has never read a book–and Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton is having none of it.
On a recent episode of the podcast Alo Mind Full podcast, Kanye West admitted, “I actually haven’t read any book…Reading is like eating Brussels sprouts for me and talking is like getting the Giorgio Baldi corn ravioli.” For what it’s worth, a quick Google search tells us the Giorgio Baldi goes for $25, which is apparently the price Kanye West puts on conversation. Also, it’s listed as Angolotti on the menu, which means he doesn’t read that, either.
LeVar Burton, who hosted Reading Rainbow from 1983-2006 and 155 episodes (that’s, like, a lot of books), chimed in, taking a slight jab at Kanye West, tweeting in part, “Hmmm… I’m going [to] have to take Mr. West at his word.”
This comes off of Kanye West launching Donda Academy, a private school that reportedly has a $15k/year enrollment and requires a non-disclosure agreement. The school is named after his mother.
LeVar Burton also expressed some encouragement partly based on this. “I hope however, that he shares a different message with the children enrolled in the school he’s founded named after his mother, who was an [sic] professor of English. I’m fairly certain she read a book or two.”
LeVar Burton’s run on Reading Rainbow earned him numerous Daytime Emmy nominations, with three wins. He also won five NAACP Image Awards. He also famously co-starred in the classic miniseries Roots and on Star Trek: The Next Generation, playing Geordi La Forge.
What do you think about the LeVar Burton/Kanye West exchange? If you could recommend one book to Kanye West, what would it be?