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Nicki Minaj Says Kanye West Turned Down Her Yeezy Collab Because of Kim Kardashian
Spilling the tea! Nicki Minaj has shared that she once discussed a Yeezy collaboration with Kanye West, but the rapper shot down the opportunity on grounds that he didn’t think his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, “would love the idea.”
“I told Kanye, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m about to do something and I just wanted to make sure I spoke to you first.’ I have so much respect for him,” the singer, 39, said during a Wednesday, March 9, interview on Joe Budden TV. “He was like, ‘Well, if I did something with you … my wife probably wouldn’t love that idea because I should be giving that to my wife instead. If I was doing a female version of Yeezy it should probably go to my wife.”
The Grammy award winner said the conversation took place “a while ago,” when Kanye, 44, and Kim, 41, were still married. She also noted the broader context of Kanye’s decision, considering that the Donda singer faced discrimination when he got his start in fashion.
“We have to be careful when we say things. Kanye was very vocal about the fashion industry not letting him in at one time, so if a Black female rapper, who you know has just shown herself to be sellable in the space … then when I come to you as a Black man that I look up to, I’m doing that because you inspired me,” Nicki explained.
She continued, “You [West] said the fashion industry didn’t want to let us in even though we’re so influential. Then, when I did ask to put it on his radar, he said what he thought his wife would feel about it. We didn’t really speak much more about it.”
Although the father of four did not pursue a Yeezy collaboration with either lady, he did join forces with Gap and Balenciaga recently, releasing the Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga collection in February 2022, with the goal of bringing affordable luxury fashion to the masses.
The former A-list couple is still enduring a divorce battle, but Kim became legally single on March 2, 2022, officially separating from her husband of nearly seven years. The move was met with backlash by Kanye, who shared his feelings during the process candidly on social media.
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