One of the most talked-about songs of the year, from one of the most influential musicians in the world, is not available on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube, at least not officially/legally. However, unauthorized versions have been popping up and disappearing constantly.
"We have removed the content of this song from the platform and will continue to remove it whenever it is uploaded," a YouTube spokesperson told NBC News.
The artist is Kanye West, also known as Ye, who has been shaking up and revolutionizing the music world for more than a quarter of a century. The song, titled “Heil Hitler ,” was released in May 2025 and features lyrics and imagery that glorify Nazi ideology. Its video, shared on the X platform (formerly Twitter), features a group of shirtless, black men dressed in animal skins giving the Nazi salute under blue lights. The song ends with a snippet of a speech by Adolf Hitler from 1935.
Despite efforts to remove it from streaming platforms, the song has continued to circulate online, being reposted in various forms, including versions created by artificial intelligence. This has led to platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube facing challenges in their efforts to remove the content.
This incident has sparked strong reactions from various organizations, including the World Jewish Congress, which has asked Apple and Spotify to remove West's music from their platforms due to anti-Semitic content.
The lyrics and music video have been widely considered to glorify Nazism, provoking a series of strong reactions that consider the song a provocation against Jews and others.
Do these controversies violate freedom of expression?
West's act has sparked a wide-ranging debate about freedom of expression, the responsibility of artists, and the limits of acceptability in art. Some argue that the song is a provocative art form that challenges social norms, while others see it as a dangerous act that could encourage hatred and anti-Semitism.
In response to this case, experts have emphasized the importance of education and awareness-raising to prevent the spread of harmful ideologies and to protect the values ??of respect and human dignity.
This debate has become more widespread, or more difficult to ignore, because despite efforts, the song has been able to spread and be heard everywhere in the world.
Critics call the song a dangerous attack on public ethics, while defenders of freedom of expression use it as an example of the tension between art and censorship and how art is able to create controversy or show an artist's approach.
