Kanye Westis no stranger to public controversy. The sonic virtuoso is as talented at causing scandal as he is at penning, rapping, and producing hits.
Known simply as Ye, his latest drama is overmusical content.The College DropoutandMy Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasymastermind’s worst headline issues used to be itemslike unusual backstage tour item requestsand havinghigh-profile, backstory-laden beefs with major pop starsamidst his musical successes.
Nowadays, West has been caught up in much bigger PR bonfires, includinga lawsuit alleging sex trafficking/assault allegations from a former assistant, as well associal media rants expressing wildly extreme, provocative viewsthat’ve driven many fans/supporters away (despite West walking back some comments). Ye’s also driven a wedge between himself and multiple musical peers who were once considered his close collaborators.
Rapper Kid Cudi Says There’s “No Coming Back To” His Friendship With Kanye West
At one time, West had a close working relationship with fellow rapper Kid Cudi, who helped Ye conceive the album808s & Heartbreakas well as the pair’s 2018 joint LP as a superduo (entitledKids See Ghosts). Despite prior ups and downs in their relationship that they’ve reconciled,Cudi has recently stated that this time he’s “done with” West.
Cudi made the comments while promoting the recent release of his memoiras well as the upcoming August 22nd drop of his next album (entitledFree). While the artist said that he’d tried multiple times to revive his friendship with West, he noted that West had said things that the rapper couldn’t come back from in Cudi’s mind.
This included many disparaging remarks that West made about the late Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh, which Cudi found to be, “some of the most evil, vile, disturbing, f*cked-up things I’ve ever heard.” Cudi referred to Abloh as “an angel to everyone,” and that West’s digs about the artist made Cudi “super angry.”
Cudi concluded by saying that while his decision to sever ties with Ye was “heartbreaking,” given his love for his former friend, he no longer recognizes the person that West has become. This hasn’t been a new phenomenon for this later era version of Ye,who has also drawn the ire of another artist who was a former collaborator.
Rapper Pusha T Says His Days Working With West Are In The Past
Much like Kid Cudi, rapper Pusha T also experienced a fruitfully collaborative period with West. Pusha (who’s half of hip-hop duo Clipse as well as a solo artist) worked with Ye on multiple projects, including two of Pusha’s solo albums (2018’sDaytonaand 2022’sIt’s Almost Dry). Despite this success, Pusha has also definitively distanced himself from West going forward.
While Pusha did praise the work that was done by the two men during their time shaping their creative process (saying “we did great things together”),he noted with assurance in an interview that this period was “definitely” in the past. It also seems that the cracks in their friendship, leading to their split, had been forming for a while.
In a separate interview earlier in the year, Pusha admitted that he and Ye “no longer gel,” andthat West’s persistent tendency to align with those who didn’t support Pusha was “the final straw.“This seemed to be (at least) part of the reason why Pusha’s respect for Ye has ultimately faded, both from a professional and personal standpoint.
Pusha had also previously stepped away from his role at West’s independent record label G.O.O.D. Music in 2022, after antisemitic remarks made by West caused obvious backlash. Pusha said then that West wouldn’t speak to him over the decision Pusha had made, and it seems as though matters only allegedly worsened from there.
Kanye West Will Likely Never Return To Being The Artist That Many Remember
Almost every artist in music will change over time for one reason or another, usually finding new sounds, lyrical styles, and taste alterations that will either expand or fade their brand through the ongoing years. While this can also be true ofKanye West, there additionally seem to be bigger factors at work within his life that are quite concerning.
For whatever reason (and there may be many reasons), West has frequently chosen to align himselfwith heavily provocative statements, ideas, and individuals that’ve subsequently hurt his career (and clearly his friendships) in a lot of ways. We are (of course) all free to make our own choices this way, but as music fans, it can be tough to bear.
That is especially true when the beliefs of an artist then choose to put down, belittle, or ostracize someone else they never see that might enjoy or respect their creativity. So, while the West of “Gold Digger,” “Heartless,” or “Stronger” song fame still exists on tape,his choices as a creator now make his redemption arc very difficult to foresee.
