About six months ago, Kanye West publicly vowed during his Yeezus tour that he would not talk about his now-defunct deal with Nike or Louis Vuitton. This came as a relief to many, as all Kanye could talk about around the time was how Nike wouldn’t give him enough millions to design his sneakers and how Louis Vuitton wouldn’t take an impromptu meeting with him while he was in Paris. Kanye did a pretty good job of holding out from ranting too much, but now that the six-month period is over, he’s back to his regularly scheduled petulance.
During a show at London’s Wireless Festival, Yeezy took a few minutes in the middle of his set to remind the public how cruel brands like Louis Vuitton and Nike have been to him, you know, by carrying on their business with Kanye as they would any other celebrity designer. “I’m not particularly angry or anything like that, but what I’m saying is they’re taking the idea of celebrity, and tried to make me seem like I was stupid or something.”
ORLY Kanye? Please, tell us more.
“I’m not dissing Louis Vuitton, I’m not dissing the Gucci group and shit,” he continued. “I’m just saying, don’t discriminate against me because I’m a black man or because I’m a celebrity to tell me I can’t create in that field. ‘Cause you know damn well ain’t no black guys or celebrities making no Louis Vuitton nothin‘. They let Pharrell make those glasses, and we liked ’em, right? They let me make those shoes and we liked ’em right? And they say no, no, no n••••a, not no more, that’s too much.”
You see folks, the not “particularly angry” Kanye is just annoyed that these two particular labels stood in the way of his dreams, which he says is what this latest rant is really about. But if we know anything about his kicking and screaming, it’s that it gets results. It is his outspokenness that got he and his wife on the cover of Vogue, a lucrative deal with Adidas (Kanye complained in the past that Nike didn’t want to give him enough in royalties) and even a second collaboration with A.P.C. If anything, it seems that many of Kanye’s dreams are coming true, because he’s made a big enough stink about them.
We’re not sure what his angle with Nike or Louis Vuitton is — maybe he’s looking for a creative director title at one of the brands in exchange for past slights? Another design opportunity? More attention than he’s already getting? Whatever it is, you can bet that Kanye won’t stop yakking about it until he is appeased.
Watch Kanye air his grievances at the 4:30 minute mark below.
[h/t Spin]
