S. Samuel
Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West's business relationship with mega sneaker retailer Nike may be coming to an end after airing out the company during a live concert this weekend.
In Ye’s newest rant, he digs into Nike’s politics and admits being looked down upon by its executives.
Just a few days removed from calling out Nike CEO Mark Parker, Kanye West is back it again. This time, during an open dialogue at the Madison Square Garden stop of the Yeezus tour this weekend, Kanye showed signs of a deeper rift between him and the Swoosh, as well as hinted at a new deal to be announced as early as Monday. “They try to act like people ain’t line up for the Yeezys,” he said, going on to drop names like designer Hedi Slimane, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, and Kering Corporation head Francois Pinault. “Mark Parker tried to son me. Yes. Son me because I am the sun and I will shine bright. And when I don’t have as much money as a billionaire and when I don’t have the factories that, that dude has over there, what I do have is my voice. Ain’t no corporation that can take me away from my voice and I’m going to scream at the top of my motherfucking mountain as loud as I want. Anything I want. Whenever I want. Is that crazy? So I’m going to make the announcement on Monday with the corporation that finally let me get an opportunity to create.” (Complex)
To make matters worse, Mr. West even admitted he had no idea when his Red October Air Yeezy II’s would finally land in store shelves.
Kanye even admitted that he, the designer of the hyped “Red October” Air Yeezy II’s, might not even know when, or if, the kicks would drop. “I asked Nike when the Red Octobers supposed to drop, and they said, ‘We don’t know.’,” he said. With the recent rants, or what Kanye likes to call, “visual streams of consciousness”, a permanent departure from the brand seems to already be in the books. When’s the last time Ye was actually spotted rocking Red Octobers? (Complex)
Recently, Kanye suggested he did not receive fair treatment from releasing his limited edition Air Yeezy sneakers through Nike.
“Man, just not making decisions for myself and making sure I made decisions for my family,” said Kanye. “Like if it’s for myself, I would have been cool just sitting in Nike not getting no royalties. Letting people line up for the Yeezys and not–you know. When I’m having negotiations and then I go and look in my daughter’s eyes and when I go and negotiate after that I’m like ‘Oh y’all ain’t finna talk to me like that. We finna get this money right.'” (WKYS FM)
Extreme close-up shots of Ye’s red Nike Air Yeezy 2 kicks hit the Internet in late May.
Even with all the Jordans dropping this year, it’s hard to think of another sneaker more anticipated than the all red Nike Air Yeezy 2. There’s been images of the kicks floating around for months now but things went extra Hypebeast when he rocked them on SNL. Since then there’s been rumors of its release, but Nike hasn’t given up any information. Last night, Nike fiend jsusneaks revealed some more photos, including a glow in the dark shot. (Miss Info TV)
