Kanye West isn’t exactly what one would refer to as a wallflower. So, of course, when he went on The Ellen Show on Thursday to talk about everything from his Twitter escapades to his burgeoning fashion career, he ditched the standard rehearsed celebrity responses in favor of a stream of consciousness style flow that was scattered, if thoughtful, in typical Ye fashion. Once again, the rapper spoke specifically about his struggles entering the fashion business and his original aspirations to work with Payless on his shoe line.
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Though Yeezys are now a household name, worn by celebs from Jay Z to Joe Jonas, that collaboration almost went very, very differently. The rapper revealed to Ellen, “I remember going to school in fifth grade and wanting to have a cool outfit. I called the head of Payless and I said ‘I want to work with you, I want to take all this information that I’ve learned from sitting at all these fashion shows and knocking down all these doors and buying all these expensive clothes and I want to take away bullying’.”
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He also cited Michael Jackson and his enduring legacy for helping break through glass ceilings for the black community with his music, referring to himself as the Michael Jackson of apparel, opening doors for future generations of young men and women who want to follow in his footsteps.
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It’s clear West has some grand schemes in terms of changing the world through his career and apparel. While his intentions are completely in the right place and Kanye seems poised to reach even higher levels of fame and success in the very near future, we’re still waiting for him to deliver on his promise of a pair of Yeezys in every closet. Once that happens, we’ll gladly consider registering for the Yeezus presidential party come 2020.
What do you think about what Kanye said? Would you buy Yeezy x Payless?
–Emily Kirkpatrick
Follow @kirkpate
