Kanye West StudioShow Live Stream: Rapper-Designer Talks Racism, Homophobia In Fashion and Music
Kanye West took his critics head-on in a live interview Tuesday with ShowStudio's "In Camera" series in London, addressing racism in the entertainment and fashion industries and the adversity he's faced because of it. West broke down his asipirations in the recently unveiled Yeezy Season apparel collections, which was panned by critics.
But when the discussion shifted to his similarly panned sneakers, the rapper let loose about his creative process and his frustrations over being taken seriously in the fashion industry. "They saw the 350s [sneakers] and acted like they didn't like them, because they’re racist," he said, according to Complex Magazine. "We sell shoes people want to line up for because we put love in them."
Here's a few other things West mentioned about racism, adversity and opportunity:
"Classism is [about] education and people not having an opportunity to be educated," West said in response to a question about why people don't take him seriously as a designer. "Being educated made me 'uncontrollable' [to critics of his work] ... If you keep information and opportunity away from a certain group of people, then they are destined to stay at a lower class."
West, who is a college dropout, said he sees the value of education, especially when he hasn't succeeded in prior business endeavors. "I’m envious of people who have read multiple novels and multiple philosophy books," he said. "I wish I had more knowledge. I’m envious of information. When I look at what were the reasons why I lost money, when I did, it all came down to not having the playbook, to not having the information."
West took offense to people shunning his dream of becoming a high-fashion designer. "That’s the fashion world," he said. "Me sitting here trying my hardest and everyone laughing at me."
The rapper also compared bigotry in the music industry and in the fashion industry: "I felt like I was getting discriminated against [as a designer] because I’m not gay," West said. "But in hip-hop you are definitely discriminated against if you are gay."
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