Kanye West has actually been pretty good to bloggers. While a lot of stars go off on the press and especially bloggers, Kanye mentioned one of our favorite sites, bossip as the site he goes to for gossip… and now he’s started his own blog, Kanye Universecity. I wonder if he’s getting paid for it, since he lists some of his favorite stores and brands, like a post on the Goyard x Alexis Mabille collab. Yeah, I didn’t recognize one of those words either, but I’m not fancy like Kanye. He’s got some pictures of himself and his fiancé Alexis at various events, mixed in with some links for Nike shoes.
“Now that awards show crybaby Kanye West is giving MTV the silent treatment, he won’t shut up on his new blog.
“The hip hop artist swore off MTV after losing out yet again at the channel’s Music Video Awards, and since then, he’s been working overtime to post on his site. Yesterday alone, Kanye posted five times. He’s a regular Michael Crichton.
“What’s Kanye blogging about? Everything from his fave YouTube clips (he’s a big fan of Feist and Brit indie band Bat for Lashes), to his favorite sneakers. But Kanye’s favorite subject? Himself, of course. The blog is chock full of pics, videos and news clips confirming Kanye as ‘the king of rap.’”
It pretty much seems like a lot of self-promotion coupled with swag/bling promotion, but it’s not like you’re going there expecting hard-hitting interviews. Celebitchy noted the other day that Kanye has incredibly good taste in decor, and he seems to be sharing some of his taste on his blog. Along with clips of himself on “Saturday Night Live.” He seems to be pretty generous to the other blogs though, thanking them for mentioning him. And he’s not on there blogging away about all the famous industry people he’s pissed at. So all around props to Kanye, and we look forward to seeing how your blog grows.
Picture Note by Jaybird: Here’s Kanye at the Emmys. Header image at the in-store signing for his new CD, “Graduation” on September 13th. Images thanks to PR Photos.
I was going to focus this article on the ridiculous mural Kanye West has to himself over his dining room table. It features Kanye as a huge God figure surrounded by swirling clouds full of worshiping angels pointing in his direction and reaching out for him, looking like they’re sucked into his orbit and grateful for his divine guidance. (Update: That’s not supposed to be Kanye, see below.)
Then I saw the inside of his house and I just can’t fault the guy. For someone who talks smack constantly about how superior he is you would expect his house to reflect his extreme wealth, but it doesn’t, it’s a showpiece of minimalist modern furniture accented by pop art originals. Kanye West has, dare I say it, excellent taste. The mural of the Kanye God is the only thing that reveals his enormous ego, and it was the first piece of art he commissioned back in 2004.
His house is a 4,200-square-foot three level. It was full of details found in high end homes like a big black granite fireplace and granite throughout. Kanye had all that gutted and redone and had walls blown out to achieve a big serene space without unnecessary details.
Given his celeb stature, West’s home is surprisingly restrained—the furthest thing imaginable from MTV Cribs. Built on spec, the 4,200-square-foot, three-level house started out as a beige stucco monolith. Inside were blond maple floors, an immense black granite fireplace taking up a wall in the living room, more granite in the kitchen, and random soffits all over. “Kanye loved the newness and the city views,” Stewart recalls.
When West purchased the property, he was initially looking only for furnishings. That phase was short-lived. “Kanye started to realize how into design he is,” Stewart continues. “Staying at the Bulgari in Milan and the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo on tour, he’d come back full of ideas, in touch with his inner minimalist.” What West envisioned was a cross between a museum and a Louis Vuitton boutique. The project eventually morphed into a full-fledged renovation, lasting almost three years.
Out went every vestige of spec. In came enrichment and consistency. Stewart got rid of all those soffits, raised ceilings, finished walls with raw plaster, and swapped out insignificant windows for frameless glass. He gave the top-floor public spaces a loftlike feel, opening up passages between living room, dining room, and kitchen. Designer and client hit upon French walnut for flooring, Stewart says, after “looking at almost every sample in town.”
Of course Kanye hired an interior designer, but he picked someone who would execute his vision, and the results are incredible. It turns out he studied fine art in his hometown of Chicago at the American Academy of Art. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to like the guy, but his house is impressive.
West has art by Andy Warhol, Burton Morris, and Takishi Murakami, who has collaborated with West on his videos and designed some of his cover art. The chair that looks like a bunch of stuffed animals is by Fernando and Humberto Campana, and I’ve seen their furniture in a few modern art galleries.
Yes I’m fawning over his house a little, I’m a modern art lover and wish I could afford furniture from Design Within Reach, not to mention original art and custom pieces.
Here is a drunk Kanye saying he’s the number one human and number one artist in the world, just so I don’t forget who this house belongs to:
And here are pictures of the interior of the house found at InteriorDesign.net, the website of Interior Design Magazine, where the home is featured in the September, 2007 issue. Thanks to TMZ for the heads up about his blog.
Update: Thanks to Commentors Cass and Kolby for pointing out that the article, which I didn’t read carefully enough, says that the mural shows Kanye being saved by an angel after he nearly died in an accident. The big figure in the middle looks an awful lot like Kanye to me, but the article says he’s the one kneeling underneath, not the giant angel in the middle “Barnes’s resulting celebration, A Life Restored, is replete with a kneeling West and an angel swooping down.” That’s a lot less egotistical than I assumed. Why can’t Kanye West have a house I don’t love? I just wanted him to have something in his house that shows what an ass he is, but now even the mural is ruined for me.
It turns out that Kanye West is a much bigger man than we all thought. Remember his embarrassing tantrum after losing in all five categories for which he was nominated at the VMAs? Well it turns out that wasn’t the real problem – according to him. Britney opening up was sorta a problem, but the real problem? He was one of four singers performing in an “intimate performance suite” instead of on the main stage. The Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, and Justin Timberlake/Timbaland were also given performance suites, and we didn’t hear them screaming and hollering about it.
“Kanye West has revealed the real reason behind his angry incident at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (September 9). For Sunday’s event, West was among four performers who were given intimate ‘performance suites’ at the Palm’s Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters and duo Justin Timberlake and Timbaland were also given suites.
“MTV broadcast many performances from the suites throughout the ceremony, though West was upset at not being on the Main Stage explaining: ‘Everybody thinks I snapped from not winning, but there’s a lot of things that happen behind the scenes where you’re just not given a fair shake.’ Speaking on BET’s 106 & Park yesterday, West says he was ‘talked into’ performing at a suite. He recalled: ‘It was always my dream to open the award shows with “Stronger”, and they talked me into doing the suite thing. Then when they had Britney open, I said “How are you going to have Britney open? Because she’s not ready”.
Apparently Kanye was told the main stage didn’t look good – though it’s unclear why from his vague phrasing. It seems like he means people would all be seated instead of standing and cheering, and that wouldn’t look as good on television. So he was talked into the performance suites, which would have a more relaxed vibe or something.
“‘We’ve been touring across the world. Give it to the artists that deserve it, you know what I’m saying? I wouldn’t have been mad if they opened it with Fall Out Boy or if they opened it with Timbaland.’ West said when he pushed the issue, he was told that the Main Stage did not ‘look good’. ‘They told me, “That theatre stage, man, it don’t look good, you don’t want to perform on that, they’re gonna be sitting down. You don’t want that, you just need the suite.”’
“‘So I’m sitting backstage, and I already hate the fact that I didn’t win no awards, and I see Justin getting ready. I say “Where are you going?” and he says I’m going to perform” and I say “Where?” and says “On the Main Stage”, and I said “The stage that they won’t let me perform on?” And that’s when I was like “Give a black man a chance!”’ West explained before sarcastically apologising to US conservatives ‘I’m sorry middle America, I’m sorry red states.’”
So it seems that, according to West, what actually set him off was Timberlake perform on the main stage even though he’d been in an “intimate performing suite” too. Oh the complications and drama of the VMAs. He obviously did admit that he was already pretty riled up about not winning. It seems like at that point, Kanye was just looking for a reason to explode. He gave the interview in a tone that made it sound like, “Oh here’s my really good explanation that makes it all okay.” It seems like, instead of being petty about one thing, he’s just admitting he was being petty about a different thing. I’m not sure how that helps him seem like a better sport, but whatever. In other news, West’s new album “Graduation” is outselling 50 Cent’s “Curtis” by about 200,000 so far. I hate that someone with his attitude is winning. Someone go buy 200,001 of 50 Cent’s CD, please. You can throw them off a pier for all I care, just don’t let Kanye’s ego get any bigger. I think it might endanger his health.
Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Kanye at his 30th birthday bash in New York in June. Images thanks to PR Photos.
Say what you want about whinging sore-loser Kanye West, his new album, “Graduation,” is said to be musically superior and more of a move forward for the ego-challenged artist than 50 Cent’s “Curtis.”
Both artists released new albums yesterday, with 50 famously saying that if Kanye outsold him, he’d retire. The reviews and the projected sales are in, and the more obnoxious of the two may prevail.
Former producer Kanye is all too aware of how full of himself he is, and includes countless references in his lyrics to his battles with self-importance and wealth. “Graduation” is said to be a musical step forward for Kanye with a mix of multiple genres, and catchy and unique tracks. Collaborations with Daft Punk and Coldplay’s Chris Martin help make the album diverse and appealing to a wide audience, which cannot be said of 50’s album.
Here’s a review from the NY Times of West’s new album. The main criticism the reviewer seems to have is that Kanye is tripping over his own ego. They’re lauding the music and lyrics:
Mr. West is smart, forthright, thoroughly musical and nobody’s fool. On his previous albums, songs like “Jesus Walks” and “Crack Music” connected his own story to wider perspectives: community pride, thoughts of family, questions of purpose and accountability. But now that he’s “major” (as he exulted on his 2005 album “Late Registration”), with a worldwide audience awaiting his album, Mr. West’s horizons are shrinking. This time it’s all about him. He knows it; as the album begins, he calls himself “Mr. Fresh, Mr. … by his self he’s so impressed…”
As his own producer, Mr. West maintains quality control to rival any of the luxury brands he name-drops. Somehow his productions build momentum even when they revolve around a handful of repeated samples. Nearly every song on “Graduation” is memorable for both its hooks and its overall sound.
Mr. West can get Chris Martin of Coldplay to sing the hook on “Homecoming.” He can afford a Steely Dan sample on “Champion.” He has guest appearances from T-Pain, providing a filtered-voice hook on “Good Life,” and from Lil Wayne, free-associating on “Barry Bonds.”
While Mr. West is inordinately fond of soft rock — which helps him reach an audience that shies away from the brittle, freeze-dried productions of hard-core hip-hop — he is also savvy enough to latch on to a hard-nosed electronic hook from Daft Punk in “Stronger,” where he tells a girl, “I’ve been on ya/Since Prince was on Apollonia /Since O. J. had Isotoners.”
“Graduation” has some clever rhymes and some honesty. There are plenty of Mr. West’s latest career reflections, from a half-apology for his tacky outfit on the Grammys to an entire song, “Big Brother,” about his respect for and rivalry with Jay-Z.
But two things are missing from “Graduation.” One is the sense of humor that crackled through songs like Mr. West’s 2005 hit “Gold Digger.” (This album’s tale of a pickup, “Drunk and Hot Girls,” has a pulsating sample from the German rock minimalists Can, but little flair in its lyrics.)
The bigger problem is that on “Graduation,” for the first time, Mr. West can’t see beyond his own fame. “Homecoming” takes lyrics from “Home,” a song Mr. West released on a mixtape. In “Home,” John Legend sang about soldiers who weren’t coming home, while “Homecoming” chides Chicago, his hometown, for not being quite proud enough of his Mr. West’s success.
“Curtis” is being dismissed as more of the same from 50. It’s said to be the same solid rap we’ve come to expect from him, along with predictable lyrics about his former hard knock life.
Neither self-deprecation nor humility is part of Fiddy’s equation. He’s more concerned about squashing rivals, real and imagined (”My Gun Go Off,” “I Still Kill”), highlighting his street pedigree and reminding us of his bottomless wealth.
The disc is mostly standard-issue gangsta talk that only in moments recalls vintage Fiddy such as “Wanksta” or “P.I.M.P.” For example, on the menacing funk of “Fully Loaded Clip,” Fiddy takes aim at rap/R&B elite who’ve gone soft, snickering: “When Jay and Beyonce was um-um kissing/ I was cooking 1,000 grams in my kitchen/ When Nas was telling Kelis, “I love you, boo”/ I was shining my nine, you know how I do.” And over the deep bass thuds of “I Get Money,” which features a classic Audio Two sample, Fiddy gloats: “They callin’ me cocky/ I come up out the jeweler, they callin’ me Rocky/ It’s the ice on my neck man, the wrist and my left hand/ bling like BA-LOW, you like my style.”
As much as Fiddy banks on ruthless rhymes and nouveau riche bragging, he also fancies himself a rugged sex symbol. Hence the obligatory cuts that reveal his sensitive thug side, notably, “Amusement Park” and “Peep Show,” the latter featuring a lewd verse from Eminem. However, the tracks capture little of the magic of past winners such as the touching “21 Questions” or the seductive “Candy Shop.”
What’s more is that the advance sales are in and West’s album, with its mix of songs that are more radio-friendly, is expected to be more of a commercial success.
Judging these guys on their personalities, I would root for 50 any day. In the interviews I’ve seen with him, he comes off as genuinely kind and humble. He just seems like a nice guy to me. Kanye, however, is the biggest crybaby sore loser in the music business, and publicly bitches over every minor perceived wrong.
A lot of people feel the same, and Yahoo! Buzz reports that searches for 50 Cent have consistently outnumbered Kanye West, with searches the music section at two to one. What’s more is that 50 Cent’s first video off of “Curtis,” “I Get Money” is outranking Kanye’s first video, “Stronger” by about 1,500 user votes.
Personality and commercial success are two different things. They’re both incredibly successful musicians, with 50 excelling in business ventures too. At least 50 has a lot to fall back on if he does end up retiring, but considering how popular he is, that doesn’t seem likely.
Kanye West is pissed that MTV won’t “give a black man a chance” (his words, not mine) by giving him any of their prestigious Moon Man awards. And in a cutting off his nose to spite his face move, Kanye is boycotting the network. The dude is seriously a poor loser.
“Rapper Kanye West has vowed to boycott cable channel MTV after missing out on five awards at the Video Music Awards on Sunday. The ‘Gold Digger’ hitmaker made his hurt feelings known after the event in Las Vegas, hurling abuse at MTV bosses as cameras rolled backstage. He ranted: ‘That’s two years in a row… Give a black man a chance.’
“And he hadn’t calmed down by the time he hit the airwaves on New York radio station Z100 on Monday morning. He even attacked the VMA organisers for exploiting Britney Spears, who opened the show with a disastrous performance of her new single. He told the radio station: ‘They exploited Britney in helping to end her career. When Britney was opening, near the end, I felt so bad for her. I said: “Man, it’s a dirty game. This game will chew you up and spit you out.”’
“He went on to tell Z100 DJ JJ that he felt misled and ‘betrayed’ by MTV bosses, and promised to never work with the network again. West revealed he has already cancelled planned appearances set for this week.
It’s hard to say if that’s a bad move for Kanye or a bad move for MTV. The network has really been struggling lately and has lost a huge amount of their audience to BET and the internet. Though they were certainly the forerunners in television music, they’ve focused far too much on reality programming and not enough on airing music videos. Losing another popular artist couldn’t help things for MTV – the question is whether it can help things for Kanye. Though he could stand to be taken down a peg. I think he’s around 6 feet tall – five and a half of that is actually Kanye, the other six inches are his ego. If this move ends up being a mistake, maybe it’ll humble him… but likely just piss him off even more.
Kanye was also annoyed with Pamela Anderson, even though they were friends, and she co-starred in his video for “Touch the Sky.”
“The rapper also had harsh words for his one-time video co-star Pamela Anderson, who he felt ‘disrespected’ him as she introduced his VMA performance.
“The former Baywatch babe said: ‘One of the best times I’ve ever had was making out with the next performer in the middle of the desert.’
“‘I think I had my tongue so far down his throat I could taste his fiancée - and I might need a repeat performance later tonight.’
“West was far from amused: “I’m engaged, and I feel like it’s disrespectful to my relationship.’”
I’m not going to say that was the smartest joke I’ve ever head, but it was way too smart for me to believe that Pamela Anderson wrote it. I’m sure some MTV writer thought he was being clever, and Anderson just read it off the teleprompter. Kanye is one of those guys that just wants to be mad at people. He can always find someone to have a beef with. I agree with some of our commenters who said they couldn’t see what was so special about Kanye. Apart from spending a lot of money on is music videos, I don’t see what sets him apart from most other rappers. He doesn’t seem particularly innovative – or at least not enough so to justify his ego.
Update: Here’s a video from “The Insider” of Kanye’s expletive-laced tantrum. It’s even worse to hear it than to read it. He seems slightly off his rocker.
Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Kanye at the VMAs in Las Vegas. Images thanks to PR Photos.
Kanye West is always there with a kind word and a hand on your shoulder. Or to publicly bitch and moan and throw a conniption fit. For such an incredibly boring show, the VMAs managed to produce a good bit of drama this year, at least backstage. Not like the old school VMAs, where some random member of Rage Against the Machine would jump on stage, hurling his body to inexplicable heights before finally resting on some bizarre/artsy looking piece of the set. Yeah we all know he was probably paid by MTV to do it to liven up an otherwise dull show, but at least he did it. This year the biggest thing on stage was Britney’s lack of anything good. Yeah it was embarrassing and she should go dig a hole at the bottom of the ocean and stay there, but she didn’t collapse and she kept her clothes on – so in my book, she could have at least failed in a more spectacular fashion. The really good drama was behind the scenes. Tommy Lee and Kid Rock getting into a fight over their mutual love toy, Pam Anderson. Ashanti could only laugh hysterically when a reporter asked her what she thought of Britney’s performance. But of course the best drama, and biggest pouting, came from Kanye West. Famous for his “Jesus Walks” song, Kanye has an ego that’s kind of embarrassing. Jesus wants you to chill, Kanye.
“Kanye West, a virtual shut out at the Video Music Awards on Sunday night, threw a hissy fit in front of cameras and crew backstage as the MTV show was coming to an end. While waiting for a an elevator, West, 29, began yelling about losing all five categories for which he was nominated, including male artist of the year.
“‘That’s two years in a row, man … give a black man a chance,’ said West, barking his misery at the nearby reporters. ‘I’m trying hard man, I have the … No. 1 record, man.’ This outburst followed Kanye’s withering commentary on Britney Spears, who he criticized for not having any relevant recent hits.
Last year Kanye freaked out at the MTV Europe awards, when his video for “Touch the Sky” didn’t win. Kanye bum rushed the stage, grabbing the microphone from the winners and unleashed an expletive-laced tirade. He said, “‘Best video should have been mine. I should have won. It cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons! If I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility.’” Way to keep your ego in check dude. Um, also, if Kanye West doesn’t win, little children will cry and have to eat Spam. If Kanye West doesn’t win, wars will break out in peaceful mountain villages. If Kanye West doesn’t win, happiness will no longer be an emotion that humans are capable of feeling. If Kanye West doesn’t win, the universe will implode!
Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Kanye at the 2007 GQ Magazine Men of the Year Awards on September 4th. Image thanks to PR Photos. Header image of Kanye yesterday at the VMAs in Las Vegas. Image thanks to Splash Photos.
Kanye West likes to name-drop. Apparently he and Justin Timberlake are like the Michael Jackson and Prince of the new millennium. I’m not sure which one is Michael Jackson and which one is Prince.
“My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake,” West told hip-hop magazine XXL.
“He is the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect both on black radio and white radio.”
West says he and Timberlake are on a different level to everyone else and has compared their healthy rivalry to Prince and Michael Jackson’s chart battle in the 80s.
He added: “If Justin hadn’t come out and killed the game, I can’t say that my album, singles and videos would be on the same level that they’re on. We push each other. I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day.”
Likening yourself to Michael Jackson? Or, come to think of it, Prince? This is not a good career move. I believe he is a little crazy, the way he leapt on stage and told the MTV Europe Awards that his video cost $1million and if he lost in the best video category, they’d lost credibility. Of course, he had already lost and the winner was already up on stage accepting his award. Maybe Kanye should have just thanked his mum and walked away. Anyway, being a little crazy makes you like Michael Jackson, doesn’t it?
Of course, he could be calling himself the new Michael Jackson because he sells out stadiums and is African-American. In some countries he is just U2’s support act, which most ticketholders missed as they were at the bar, as is traditional in all beer loving cultures. In the U.K. he is still number one on the singles charts.
Well, the Fiddy Cent vs Kanye West fued seems to have ended in a bar. Obviously they are at home in beer loving cultures.
The two rappers formerly bitter rivals made peace over vodka shots at New York’s 40/40 Club recently.
Kanye and 50 were also joined by fellow hip-hop stars Jay-Z, Sean Combs and T.I. A clubber told the New York Post newspaper: They all strolled through the club like the rap Rat Pack. Everyone was going crazy around them. Kanye and Fiddy put their differences behind them and had a drink together at the bar.
50 cent recently vowed to quit music if Kanye outsold him, when their albums were released on Spetember 11, he’d quit music. No word on whether the ‘vow’ is being downgraded to a ’stupid-thing-I-said-that-I-didn’t-mean’, but we’ll see in a month or so.
Picture note by Celebitchy: 50 Cent is shown below on 12/8/06 at Spike TV’s 2006 Video Game Awards. Kanye West is shown in the header on 6/28/07 after his show in London. Justin Timberlake is looking annoyed at the Shrek premiere in London on 6/11/07. Pictures from PRPhotos.
If you’re anything like me, you were probably sitting around, looking at your wall, and thinking, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the richest rap mogul of them all?” If your mirror said Jay-Z, you should give it some Windex. Jay-Z was just named the richest rapper by Forbes.com. I thought they were supposed to spend their time talking about financial markets, stocks, and making people panic over real estate. But it seems that lately, Forbes is spending the majority of their time coming out with “The richest…” lists. Last week they had “The richest bald man” and “The richest one legged farmer.” Okay not really, but I would read Forbes a lot more if they did. Okay not really.
“Jay-Z wins all around, says Forbes.com. He’s got Beyonce on his arm _ and more millions than 50 Cent and Diddy. The rap icon, aka Shawn Carter, is No. 1 on the site’s list of “Hip-Hop Cash Kings,” based solely on 2006 income. He banked an estimated $34 million, Forbes.com said Thursday.
“Jay-Z, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, released his 11th studio album, ‘Kingdom Come,’ which sold around 2 million copies. Jay-Z, 37, is also part owner of the New Jersey Nets and has endorsement deals with Budweiser, Hewlett-Packard and General Motors.”
It might be good to be Jay-Z – yeah you have a lot of money, and Beyonce at your beck and call singing that “Cater 2U” song (blech) – but you’d also have to deal with that crazy mother of hers, Tina Knowles. You know, that lady that’s always trying to drape people in the fur of live puppies? Well her clothing line is one of the few out there that still uses fur, and to me it’s all the same thing. Who else makes a lot of money and doesn’t come wit the bizarre mother?
“Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson ranks second with an estimated $32 million. The 31-year-old rapper-businessman oversees his G-Unit record label, clothing line, ring tones and other enterprises, and has sold more than 11 million albums. His latest record, ‘Curtis,’ is due out Sept. 11.
“Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) placed third with an estimated $28 million. A fashion plate, he has a clothing line, Sean John, and heads Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment and its record label. Diddy, 37, is also host of MTV’s ‘Making the Band’ series.
“Rounding out the top five are Timbaland ($21 million) and Dr. Dre ($20 million). They’re followed by Eminem ($18 million); Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Scott Storch (all $17 million); Ludacris and T.I. (both $16 million); Outkast and Lil Jon (both $14 million); Ice Cube ($13 million); Jermaine Dupri and Swizz Beatz (both $12 million); Chamillionaire and The Game (both $11 million); and Young Joc ($10 million).”
You could be at the bottom of that group and still be doing pretty well for yourself. I have no idea who Swizz Beatz (sounds like the name of a cheap watch) or any of the guys after him are, but I’m pretty sure I could learn to love them, given the chance.
Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Jay-Z and Beyonce at the Black and White Ball. Header image of Jay-Z at Giant Magazine’s celebration of Rihanna’s new album on June 3rd. Images thanks to PR Photos.
Just like the video of Matt Damon telling Jimmy Kimmel to f off, some people are saying Kanye West’s ego-fueled trip out at the MTV Europe awards was staged. I’m not so sure. Everyone’s reporting it like it was real, and West is known for his temper and ego.
West crashed the stage Thursday in Copenhagen when the best video award was being presented to Justice and Simian for ”We Are Your Friends.”
In a tirade riddled with expletives, West said he should have won the prize for his video ”Touch the Sky,” because it ”cost a million dollars, Pamela Anderson was in it. I was jumping across canyons.”
”If I don’t win, the awards show loses credibility,” West said.
The rapper grabbed the best hip-hop award earlier in the night in a star-studded event hosted by Justin Timberlake in the Danish capital.
West has a particular affinity for the ”Touch the Sky” video. In an interview with the Associated Press in August, he expressed his displeasure that the clip, an elaborate Evel Knievel spoof, didn’t get nominated for an MTV video music award.
”It didn’t get any nominations, but it’s one of the most memorable videos of the year for me,” he said then.
It’s also not the first time he’s had an awards-show meltdown. At the 2004 American Music Awards, West bitterly complained backstage that he was robbed when he didn’t win a trophy.
Here’s the video. Sorry your video cost a million to make, Kanye. You’re going to lose a hell of a lot more in future revenue by blowing your cool and your reputation.
“Now that awards show crybaby Kanye West is giving MTV the silent treatment, he won’t shut up on his new blog.
This freak seriously swells my cankles, ya know what I mean?
