While returning to Los Angeles, CA from Super Bowl LVIII festivities in Las Vegas, NV, Kanye West spoke with TMZ about his mental health, surviving cancel culture, being 2 months from bankruptcy, his complicated Adidas relationship, his anti-Semitism controversy and more.
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As he made his way through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Monday (February 12), Ye was confronted by TMZ and for nearly 6 minutes he updated fans about all things Ye. As the clip begins, Ye excitedly talked about going No. 1 on iTunes with his newly released album ‘Vultures‘ — signifying how he dug his way out of a hole and not only survived cancel culture, but also bankruptcy.
The TMZ reporter behind the camera then mentioned Ye claiming he made $19 million off of his Super Bowl ad — which the rapper starred in and filmed off of his iPhone to promote his new Yeezy Pods. The rapper-turned-mogul said that he tried to give the people what they wanted and bring the vision to various companies, but they were “always blocking us from hitting the prices.”
Ye continued to open up about surviving cancel culture and bankruptcy. He said, “I had to leave from those companies. I’mma just be honest with y’all. I was two months from going bankrupt. I put everything I had into it. We moved to Italy, we moved to the factories, and we survived. We survived through the cancellation. We’re back No. 1.”
When asked if all of Ye’s controversies “helped him” beat bankruptcy, he said, “It wasn’t about the controversy, it was about the ability to say how you felt out loud. And if I didn’t have the various skillsets of music, and clothing, and a fanbase, they would have been able to destroy me. But, because we had all those skillsets, somehow I’m here inside of this universe, able to fight.”
When asked if the various streaming platforms who removed and banned Ye hurt him, he quipped, “We No. 1. We No. 1. Everything that they did only helped us. I like it. Remove us. I like simplification. Streaming platforms is bullsh*t to the artists anyway. Spotify would give us $500 million between all of us and say, ‘Work it out amongst yourselves.’ I’m like, ‘Well, what about Adele? What about Drake? What about The Weeknd? What about Taylor Swift? What about me?’ They’re like, ‘No, no, no. It doesn’t matter how much any of y’all stream, y’all have to work out that half a billion.’”
Ye then fired off, “A half a billion? That’s what streaming companies think of us as the musicians, and all the label owners just hand it over. We ain’t on that, bro. As long as I breathe, I’m here for all of my artists, all of my peers, and all of the people.”
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During his lengthy impromptu interview, Ye also talked about his mental health, noting how everyone has tried to call him crazy. However, he clarified that he was misdiagnosed Bipolar, and really he has signs of Autism from his infamous and near-fatal 2002 car crash.
Ye also talked about his complicated relationship with Adidas, who severed ties with him after his repeated anti-Semitism controversies. And while speaking on said controversies, Ye told the reporter that the truth needs to be told in schools, while also offering an apology to his young Jewish fans over his anti-Semitism comments, like “death con 3” and more.
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