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Kanye West appears to signal that he wants to move on from his collaborators Adidas and Gap after he spent the past few weeks calling them out for their alleged missteps.
In an interview Bloomberg published on Monday, September 12, Ye asserted that he's no longer interested in working with corporate entities and wants to "go it alone." At the moment, he's currently in binding contracts with both Adidas and Gap that are very difficult to get out of. After boasting about all the money he's made for both companies, the Donda rapper also said he's seeking to "make the new industry."
“It’s time for me to go it alone,” Ye told the 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.”
Ye has spent the past few months publicly defending his Yeezy brand by calling out both Adidas and Gap in angry posts on Instagram. Earlier this summer, Ye called out Adidas for trying to release their own version of the Yeezy Slides. Then, at the top of August, he called out the sneaker brand again for moving forward with 'Yeezy Day' without his permission. He even went as far as singling out the entire board of directors for Adidas, claiming the brand's CEO Kasper Rørsted was "dead," and berated Senior Vice President Daniel Cherry III in a series of posts on Instagram.
Since his rant, Ye has received plenty of support from other artists like Swizz Beatz, Diddy, Styles P and more, who said they would boycott Adidas if things don't improve. Despite his issues with both Adidas and Gap, it doesn't sound like West will be breaking his contract with them anytime soon. His contract with Adidas expires in 2026 and his deal with Gap last until 2030. For the time being, Ye will have to try and be civil with both brands.
"They my new baby mamas,” Ye said of his relationship with the brands. “I guess we’re just going to have to co-parent those 350s.”