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Kanye West wants to cut out the middleman. In a recent interview, Ye says that he’s done with corporate America—well, at least until his contracts with the Gap and adidas are completed.
Recently, Ye went on Instagram tirades against adidas, basically complaining about not receiving enough decision-making responsibilities and feeling disrespected despite making the brand millions of dollars.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the Chicago multi-hyphenate says he’s done with that game. “It’s time for me to go it alone,” he told the business outlet. “It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever. Like the round jacket, the foam runner, the slides that have changed the shoe industry. Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.”
Reportedly, Ye’s deals with adidas and Gap expire in 2026 and 2030, respectively. So he has a healthy amount of time to get his business in order.
That’s also a significant amount of time for the brands to have to deal with the whims of a “creative” like West known for acting like a brat, respectfully. But that’s not to condone both brands who surely have had their own missteps in dealing with their volatile partner.
Worth noting, while Gap hasn’t drawn too much public ire, for now, Ye still has smoke for adidas—he’s hot over his claim that the brand stole a design for one of his slides. “No one should be held in that position where people can steal from them and say we’re just paying you to shut up,” said Ye. “That destroys innovation. That destroys creativity. That’s what destroyed Nikola Tesla.”
Don’t hold your breath on those contractual obligations making it to 2026 and 2030.
Interestingly, while reporting on his finances, it’s clear that Ye is now cutting his ties with Wyoming.
The saga of Ye’s finances is complex, going back several years to when he said he was saddled with millions in debt and rapped about dying broke. He has vastly turned around his fortunes since then. An unaudited balance sheet of his finances reviewed by Bloomberg last year showed that he had $122 million in cash and stock, with billions more in other assets such as Yeezy. His Yeezy business made $191 million in royalties from the Adidas deal alone in 2020, according to a private document prepared by UBS Group AG.
Ye previously kept his money at a small Wyoming bank before switching to JPMorgan. He’s been cutting his ties to the state, where he spent much time after moving to Cody, a small town with a population of 10,000, in 2019. He listed one of his ranches for sale late last year, around when Ye and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian were divorcing. The ranch, which includes lakes, a lodge, a horse facility, corrals and a go-kart track, according the real estate listing, has been taken off the market.
What a difference a year or so and a pandemic makes, eh?
Check out the full Bloomberg story right here.
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