HASfter a series of slip-ups throughout October, including at his brand’s fashion show in Paris – he wore a T-shirt “White Lives Matter”a slogan used by white supremacists – or when he promised, on Twitter, that he would “attacking the jews”, rapper and producer Kanye West has become the subject of all the controversy. The musician, with a strong presence in the fashion world, has just lost all ties with brands, including Adidas, with whom he was in partnership for the Yeezy trainer range, one of the commercial successes of the decade, which had makes him a billionaire. In a statement, the famous clothing and footwear brand recently claimed that it was cutting ties with him, not “tolerate[ant] not anti-Semitism or any other form of hate speech”.
After a first mention of the artist, on June 10, 2004, in an article on the independent hip-hop label Galapagos 4, where Kanye West is mentioned as “star commercial rap producer”it is on the occasion of a series of papers, in the edition of September 4-5, 2005, devoted to the damage caused by hurricane Katrina, that the musician is the subject of a longer development in The world. Véronique Mortaigne and Claudine Mulard report on a telethon in support of the victims of the hurricane: the rapper then attacks, live and in prime time, on the NBC channel, the American president in office. “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” launches the musician. Referring to the various episodes of looting of which the city has been the target, Kanye West adds: “I hate how the media talk about us. If it’s a black family, they say it’s looting. If it’s a white family, they’re looking for food. » We are at the time light years away from the t-shirt “White Lives Matter”.
“Brilliant singularity”
The first article on Kanye West as a musician stricto sensu is published in The world on March 11, 2006, on the occasion of a concert by the artist at the Zenith in Paris. ” In two years, notes Stéphane Davet, Not only has Kanye West gone from hip-hop producer eminence grise to international rap stardom, but the 28-year-old studio ace from Chicago has managed to make a name for himself in concert. » In the edition of World from November 21-22, 2010, the musician’s fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is hailed, once again by Stéphane Davet, who detects his “brilliant singularity”, while pointing out that Kanye West is responsible for proclaiming it himself, without waiting for critics to do it for him. This is also a recurring feature of the artist’s personality: he talks a lot. And very quickly, way too much.
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