Why is Burzum considered racist? All about Varg Vikernes and the band's problematic history amid recent Kanye endorsement

Controversial rapper Kanye West is under fire again for seemingly endorsing the Norwegian black metal music project Burzum. West, who has a sordid history of promoting anti-Semitic rhetoric, was pictured wearing the BURZUM piece of merchandise in a photo standing next to American rapper, singer, and record producer JPEGMafia.

JPEGMafia posted the picture on his Instagram account on Friday, January 18, where the billionaire rapper was seen wearing a black tee with the logo of the Norwegian metal black project Burzum and an image of its notorious lead singer, Kristian “Varg” Vikernes, on it.

Kanye’s seeming endorsement of the music project has garnered backlash online, as the black metal project Burzum was founded by musician Varg Vikernes, who was arrested and convicted of propagating racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric in his writings.

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What we know about Burzum frontman Varg Vikernes in wake of Kanye West endorsement

Norwegian artist Varg Vikernes, 50, who was a member of black metal band, Mayhem, formed in 1984, founded a music project known as Burzum in 1991. He performed and released albums under the name Burzum from 1992 to 1996 and went on to become one of the most influential artists in the black metal genre until he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the murder of his Mayhem bandmate Øystein Aarseth.

According to the Guardian, before the murder, Vikernes summoned a journalist from a local paper to a loft apartment decorated with “Nazi paraphernalia, weapons, and Satanic symbols." Vikernes allegedly told the journalist about the Black Metal scene, had declared war on Christianity, and was responsible for some eight church burnings. He was also suspected of carrying out attacks on gays and people of color.

While authorities could not find any evidence to link the frontman to the crime, he allegedly used a photo of the church's charred remains to promote an album by his solo recording project, Burzum.

However, the tides turned against the artist in 1993 when he was arrested for the murder of Øystein Aarseth, popularly known as Euronymous, who was killed in his apartment in Oslo, after an argument. He was convicted in 1994 for the murder and burning down of several churches.

Vikernes, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison, is believed to have formed the Heathen Front, a Neo-Nazi organization while he was in prison. The faction allegedly followed a belief system called “Odinism” based on the idea that White Europeans should re-adopt "native European values".

Following his release from prison in 2009, Vikernes continued to promote "Odalism," an ideology that includes racism, anti-Semitism, and elements of ethnic European paganism through a blog.

In 2013, the notorious Norwegian musician was arrested again in France on "suspicion he was preparing a major terrorist act". According to BBC, Vikernes, who was described as Neo-Nazi by French officials, had received a copy of a manifesto from Breivik, detailing violent beliefs and ideologies, while he was in prison. Breivik is accused of killing 77 people in Norway in 2011.

Vikernes was arrested alongside his French wife Correze on suspicion of potential terrorist threat to the society after officers found weapons and explosives at their home. In 2014, he was found guilty of inciting hate speech through his blog with writings that often targeted Muslims, blacks, and Jews.

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Kanye West Burzum endorsement sparks backlash online

In the light of Kanye West supposedly promoting merchandise of the neo-nazi Norwegian musician and his music project Buzrum, social media users took to comments to blast the rapper. Many viewed the act as deliberate since West was known to promote anti-Semitic rhetoric in the past.

The incident comes amid Kanye West issuing an apology last month to the Jewish community a year after he spewed anti-Semitic comments that eventually resulted in the rapper losing lucrative contracts with Adidas and Balenciaga.