In a Drink Champs interview with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, Kanye West confirmed his legal name change to "Ye" while discussing his artistic vision, business ventures, and cultural perspectives during his divorce from Kim Kardashian and release of "Donda." Key revelations included his nomadic lifestyle philosophy rejecting conventional housing, tensions with Drake (referencing subliminal mentions of Kim Kardashian in "Sicko Mode"), complex relationship with Jay-Z during "Watch the Throne" creation, fashion empire including his collaboration with Balenciaga's Demna Gvasalia and his partnership with Gap, positioning himself among business leaders Bernard Arnault, François-Henri Pinault, Renzo Rosso, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos, commitment to family despite divorce proceedings, controversial cultural commentary calling to "cancel Black History Month" in favor of "Black Future Month," support for incarcerated Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, defiance toward cancel culture (including featuring Marilyn Manson and DaBaby at Donda events), continued support for Donald Trump, and ambitious plans to create "universal wealth" with his brand potentially reaching trillion-dollar valuation.
In a landmark Drink Champs interview hosted by N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, Kanye West confirmed his legal name change to simply "Ye," explaining he no longer uses a first or last name. The hosts introduced him as a "superhero," "superman," "super genius," "music icon," "fashion icon," and "visionary" who "speaks things into existence." During the interview, Ye appeared without security, prompting the hosts to arrange protection for him. This extensive conversation covered his artistic vision, business ventures, personal relationships, and cultural perspectives during a transformative period following his divorce filing from Kim Kardashian and the release of his tenth studio album "Donda."
Ye detailed his adoption of a nomadic lifestyle, revealing he intentionally lives without a permanent residence. "I'm not into the class system where it's like what that's one of the main things they use to control us," he explained, rejecting conventional housing as a societal control mechanism. Instead of owning property, Ye maintains a network of connections worldwide that provide accommodations, describing his "home" as wherever his children are. He mentioned staying at the Mercedes-Benz Arena during the "Donda" album completion and traveling through Lisbon to Paris without full vaccination, being what he termed "half-cenated."
He elaborated on his perspective of life: "I started to look at life like it was a video game. I'm like, you know every part of it is really lit. The things that hurt you the things that you're happy about the things that uh that push your ego that that support your ego the things that that down your ego." This philosophy extends to his approach to material possessions, where he sees relationships as more valuable than ownership.
A significant portion of the interview addressed Ye's complex relationship with Drake. When asked about a potential Versus battle, Ye confidently stated he would win against Drake, saying, "I'm winning every situation." He compared their conflict to professional sports: "In all of the back and forth that me and Drake have had, you know, it's like the NBA," later adding, "I bit his ear," referencing Mike Tyson in professional boxing.
Ye expressed particular frustration about Drake's alleged subliminal references to Kim Kardashian in songs like "Sicko Mode," stating: "When Drake says it's like he said I'm gonna put you on a guild I have somebody put you on a guild which means put you on a t-shirt." He revealed creating a group text with Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, and Drake to address these tensions, where he told them: "I'm worth more than all of y'all on this text combined."
The interview also revealed tensions with Jay-Z during the creation of "Watch the Throne," particularly regarding song placement for "Holy Grail" featuring Justin Timberlake. Ye characterized Jay-Z as "very selfish" while acknowledging their brotherhood: "We fell out many times. It was my brother." He claimed authorship of the beat for Jay-Z's "Takeover" from "The Blueprint" album, stating his then-girlfriend Sumeki Rainey provided the sample. Ye also criticized Just Blaze, calling him a "copycat" who received undue credit for production on "The Blueprint."
Ye positioned himself as a dominant force in fashion, referring to himself as a "Garmento" (garment industry professional). He discussed his family's history making modified Louis Vuitton clothing: "My family made the first bootleg Louis Vuitton jogging suits. Cause they would like, um, when they would confiscate the drugs inside the Louis Vuitton bags, they cut up the bags. My family went and would take the patches and put them on the clothes."
He detailed his relationship with Balenciaga and its creative director Demna Gvasalia, revealing that Demna previously worked at Yeezy. Ye also mentioned his Gap partnership, claiming it increased Gap's stock value by "$2 billion in like an hour" when announced. His business approach emphasized simplicity: "I don't negotiate. I don't do a contract that's more than one page." Ye detailed his payment philosophy: "I pay cash. I don't even pay monthly... Somebody like, oh I want $300 a year, $200 a year, whatever. I'm like, give me your account number and then get that $150. And in six months, if you did a good job, you get another $150."
Ye named influential figures Bernard Arnault, François-Henri Pinault (referred to as "Pino" in the transcript), Renzo Rosso, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos as his "peers" in business, positioning himself among global business leaders. He stated, "These are my peers. You know, Bernard Arnault is my peer. Pino is my peer. Renzo Rose is my peer. Elon is my peer."
Throughout the interview, Ye repeatedly emphasized his commitment to his family despite the ongoing divorce proceedings with Kim Kardashian. "That's my family," he stated multiple times, specifically addressing Hulu (which would later produce "The Kardashians" reality show): "That's my family, Hulu." He expressed frustration with certain individuals in Kim's circle, particularly publicists who he claimed promoted fear: "If my wife can be scared, who the main person is she going to be scared of? And then after that, who my kid's going to be scared of?"
Ye described himself as "the priest of my home," stating, "So if I need the nanny to get up out there and the publicist to get out there, that's what..." He expressed concern about parenting issues, including an incident where his son struggled with incorrect math homework, which Ye interpreted as systemic programming: "This is getting you prepped to be pulled over for no reason and think it's okay."
Despite their separation, Ye indicated his desire to reconcile with Kim, stating, "I want to pull my family back together." He referenced his four children with Kim Kardashian: North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm, demonstrating his continued connection to family life despite his nomadic lifestyle.
Ye offered pointed commentary on race relations in America, making the controversial statement: "When white people say the word rapper that is saying nigger." He criticized how he was labeled in media chyrons as "hip hop artist" rather than simply "artist," noting: "I got a PhD from the art institution of Chicago from the most prestigious art school in the world. Could I at least be called an artist?"
One of the most notable moments came when Ye called for the end of Black History Month: "Put this on Black Twitter right now. Ye says cancel Black History Month. I need Black Future Month. I need Black Possibility Month. I'm tired of seeing us getting hosed down. I'm tired of talking about slavery and how we should only be so lucky to vote for a woman we ain't seen since the election."
He criticized what he termed the "black vote" as a form of modern segregation, comparing it to his mother's experience with segregated water fountains: "My mom was born into a drinking fountain. They told her what fountain she could drink out of. Now we born into a vote they literally call it the black vote."
Ye also discussed his support for Larry Hoover, the incarcerated founder of Chicago's Gangster Disciples, describing him as a "leader and political prisoner." He suggested plans to work with Drake on bringing attention to Hoover's situation despite their personal tensions, which he eventually did by making an Instagram video calling for peace which resulted in the Free Larry Hoover concert.
Ye claimed he was "shadowbanned" on social media platforms, specifically mentioning Twitter: "I said man why y'all why y'all shadowbanned me he hit me back he said I don't see anything weird here." He interpreted mental health accusations as a form of censorship, stating, "The declaration of insanity is a form of censorship and control."
Regarding cancel culture, Ye was defiant: "Oh man, I love it. I'm above it." He defended his controversial decisions to include Marilyn Manson and DaBaby at his Donda listening events despite their respective scandals, stating, "They can't cancel us all." Ye also maintained his support for former President Donald Trump, saying, "I still got a red hat on today I'll let y'all know that I might not get it on but I'll let y'all know where I stand," despite Jay-Z's lyrical reference advising him to abandon it.
Ye named Mobb Deep as his favorite music group, stating directly: "Mobb Deep is my favorite group." He discussed his extensive collaboration with director Hype Williams: "I have the most Hype Williams videos out of any artist of all time." He praised Williams for portraying artists as "kings" and elevating their visual representation.
Discussing the creation of "Donda," Ye explained the significance of the track "24," which he wrote shortly before Kobe Bryant's passing. He described the innovative listening events held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and Soldier Field in Chicago, where he recreated his childhood home and included controversial guests.
Ye also spoke about his unconventional haircut, which he described as representing "three doves," connecting it to his Donda Doves basketball team: "The name of my basketball team is the Doves the Donda Doves so I like I started to cut it like a dove so this is actually three doves cutting my hair." He explained that the haircut represented "the process of my thoughts developing" and rejected conventional standards of appearance.
Ye outlined ambitious plans to take his brand public with a trillion-dollar valuation, intending to create what he termed "universal wealth" rather than universal basic income: "And make a universal, not even universal basic income, but universal wealth. Because if everybody has $100,000 a year, some people can spend it wrong, right, right. But it changes what we value."
His vision extended beyond material wealth to spiritual connectivity, stating, "We collectively are God. As we move, like when they move around Mecca, when you see that, you see God inside of that." He described his goal as bringing people together in harmony: "When I go and say something just about Drake, about John Legend, I'm just tuning the note so that we can play a symphony."
Ye connected his business ambitions to community upliftment: "When we're not forced to make the choice of whether or not we can afford to have a child. When we're not forced to say, I'm going to have to kill this nigga because he said this and this." He emphasized noble business practices: "What we have to do to honor God is we're going to be noble. We're not killing each other on business."
Throughout the interview, Ye referenced his infamous moments, including his "George Bush doesn't care about black people" statement following Hurricane Katrina and his interruption of Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs, and his 2020 presidential run.
Ye compared himself to his father, whom he called "the real Steve Jobs," while describing himself as having made it "to the league" like in "hoop dreams." He expressed gratitude and generosity toward his father: "I told my dad the other day, I said, look, call Andre, who's my cousin. He used to work at Ernest Young. I'm always screaming at him. He does accounting right now. I said, call Andre. Anything in my account is available to you. And if you spend it all up, I'm just going to make more money."
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Kanye West Drink Champs 2021
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Kanye West On "Donda," Drake, Marriage W/ Kim Kardashian, His Legendary Career & More | Drink Champs - YouTube
The episode we've been waiting for is finally here! #KanyeWest now known as #YE joins the #DrinkChamps, N.O.R.E. & DJ EFN!Watch Part 2 Here: https://youtu.be...