If you’ve ever listened to The Life of Pablo on a loop, you know the line. It’s gritty, it’s angry, and it’s become part of hip-hop folklore. Kanye West Raps about a cousin who stole his laptop—the one he was "using" for certain private activities—and then charged him $250,000 to get it back. But here is the thing: Kanye has more than one cousin with a complicated history.
Lately, people are digging deeper into the kanye west cousin in jail name search because the stories have gotten way darker than a stolen MacBook. We aren't just talking about blackmail anymore. We are talking about double life sentences and tragic crimes that date back decades.
The Mystery of the "Real Friends" Cousin
First off, let’s clear up the laptop guy. His name isn't actually public record in the way a convict's name would be, mostly because it was a family dispute settled with a massive wire transfer. However, another cousin, Lawrence Franklin, eventually came forward to the media to confirm the story was 100% real.
Lawrence wasn't the one who stole it, though. According to him, the laptop was a gift Kanye gave to a family member back in 2012. Another relative got their hands on it, saw a "private" video of Kanye with an unidentified woman, and decided to play hardball.
That "dirty motherf*cker" Kanye mentioned in No More Parties in L.A.? Yeah, that's the one. He reportedly hired a lawyer and treated the whole thing like a business transaction. Kanye paid the quarter-million, but the betrayal basically broke his ability to trust his own blood.
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The Cousin Serving a Double Life Sentence
Now, if you are looking for the kanye west cousin in jail name because of the more recent, chilling headlines, you’re likely thinking of the relative Kim Kardashian and Kanye have both discussed in the context of prison reform.
In her 2020 documentary, Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project, Kim spoke about a cousin of Kanye’s who was convicted of murder at just 17 years old. He’s currently serving a double life sentence.
Kanye mentioned him to Jimmy Kimmel back in 2018 too. He used his cousin as a way to explain how he could love people who do "bad things." He told Kimmel: "My cousin is locked up for murder and I love him." It’s heavy stuff. In April 2025, Kanye took things to a much darker place on social media and through his music. He released a track titled "Cousins" where he dropped a bombshell. He claimed that he and this specific cousin had an incestuous relationship when they were children.
What was the crime?
According to Kanye’s own posts on X (formerly Twitter) in early 2025, this cousin is in jail for killing a pregnant woman.
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Ye expressed a lot of guilt over this. He suggested that their "sexual experimentation" as kids—which he says started when the cousin was 6 and he was 14—set off a dark path for both of them. It's a shocking claim that adds a massive layer of trauma to the "family" themes Kanye has explored for twenty years.
Why Nobody Can Find a Single Name
You’ve probably noticed that while Lawrence Franklin is a name that pops up in interviews, the specific name of the cousin in jail for the double life sentence remains elusive. There's a reason for that.
- Juvenile Records: Since the murder happened when the cousin was 17, those records are often sealed or harder to track through standard celebrity databases.
- Family Protection: Despite the public venting, the West family has largely kept the actual name out of the press to protect the rest of the family living in Chicago and LA.
- Legal Privacy: Even Kim Kardashian, who advocated for him, referred to him mostly as "Kanye's cousin" to focus on the systemic issues of the justice system rather than the tabloid name.
The Impact on Kanye’s Mental Health
Honestly, the "laptop cousin" and the "jail cousin" seem to represent two different types of trauma for Ye. The laptop incident was about betrayal and greed. It made him paranoid. It made him look at his "Real Friends" and wonder who was just waiting for a payday.
The cousin in jail for murder represents guilt and tragedy. When you hear Kanye talk about it, he isn't just sad for the victim; he seems to feel responsible for the perpetrator.
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It's a lot to carry. Imagine being the most famous person on earth and knowing your family history is tied up in blackmail on one side and a double life sentence on the other.
Key Facts to Remember
If you're trying to keep the "Kanye Cousin Chronicles" straight, here's the breakdown:
- The Laptop Cousin: Stole a laptop containing a sex tape in 2012. Kanye paid him $250k. Name remains unconfirmed but Lawrence Franklin (another cousin) spoke on it.
- The Incarcerated Cousin: Convicted of murder at age 17. Serving a double life sentence. Kanye claims the victim was a pregnant woman.
- The Advocacy: Kim Kardashian worked with the Frederick Douglass Project for Justice to look into this case during her marriage to Ye.
- The Music: Real Friends, No More Parties in L.A., and the 2025 track Cousins are the primary sources for these stories.
Navigating the News
When searching for the kanye west cousin in jail name, be careful of "clickbait" sites that confuse his cousins with other rappers like YNW Melly or King Von just because they share Chicago ties or legal troubles. Kanye’s family stories are specific to his upbringing in Chicago and his mother Donda’s side of the family.
The most actionable thing you can do if you're interested in this story is to watch The Justice Project. It gives a much more human look at the legal side of things without the "Ye" filter.
If you're digging into the lyrics of "Cousins," remember that Kanye is an artist who often blurs the line between literal truth and "artistic truth" to process his own feelings. Whether the specific details of the 2025 confession are 100% accurate or a reflection of his own mental state at the time is something only the family truly knows.
Stay updated by following court records in Cook County, Illinois, if you are looking for specific names, as that is where many of the family's legal roots are tied.