Kanye West has made headlines recently, airing out frustrations about breaking into the fashion industry.
Now, co-founder of Def Jam Russell Simmons has written an op-ed on ‘Ye for Global Grind, providing his take on the rapper, whom he feels is misunderstood. “I recently sat down with Ye in New York and got the chance to hear about his hopes and ambitions, his frustrations and contradictions, his happiness and his anger,” wrote Simmons. “But through it all, what I felt from Kanye was an artist who desperately wants to leave his imprint in the history books. What’s often times misunderstood about Kanye is that people believe he wants all of this for himself, in fact, quite the opposite, he wants all of this for the rest of us. He wants to destroy the glass ceiling with 808′s and crack music…so one day WE have the power to see all of the lights. Certainly he wants a piece for himself…everybody would, but at his core, at the bottom of his heart, lies an inner-truth that has led to an external battle to make this world a bit easier for those who have been dealt a hand of struggle, by showing them a glimmer of hope through his art.”
Rush continued, specifically addressing Kanye’s rants. “It is his generation that has this power. He knows it. He feels it. He tastes it. And he so badly wants it like mad. So, you may think he’s mad when he goes on his ‘Yeezy rants,’ but it is a different kind of mad. It is a mad that keeps you up at night, knowing that if you fall asleep, you are wasting time. It is a mad that makes you go into the lab and work seven days with no sleep, cause you want to perfect your craft.”
After the op-ed was posted, Kanye took to Twitter and responded:
Thank you Russel for these kind insightful words, I appreciate your mentorship.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) November 27, 2013
Simmons’ op-ed comes in light of a recent outburst from Kanye during an interview with Sway Calloway. During the interview, Kanye started yelling at Sway. “How Sway? You ain’t got the answers, man. You ain’t got the answers. You ain’t got the answers. You ain’t got the answers, Sway. I’ve been doing this more than you.” Kanye also called out Nike during a recent concert.
