10 of Kanye West's Most Notorious Feuds
10 Times When Kanye West Ruffled Feathers
Rapper Kanye West has always been unapologetically vocal, fearlessly confronting anyone who upsets him. His brash personality has led to him being involved in numerous controversies within the entertainment industry and otherwise. Not only has he provoked celebrities, but he also picks battles with other rappers through diss tracks. Over the years, his actions and crude remarks have led to him being canceled online with venues now refusing to host him and brands ending ties. Here are ten feuds that contributed to his downfall.
1. Jay-Z
Jay-Z and West were once great friends given their hip-hop interests, but things soon went downhill. Jay-Z and Beyoncé didn't attend West and Kim Kardashian's wedding. Additionally, after Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris, West stated, "Don't call me after the robbery and say 'how you feelin'?' You wanna know how I'm feelin'? Come by the house. Bring the kids by the house. Like we're brothers. Let's sit down...I can't take this s**t bro. Our kids have never even played together," as reported by The List. Jay-Z however opined that West crossed the line by involving the family in their issues.
2. Nike
The rapper once took to Instagram to voice his frustration about his partnership with the popular brand. Initially, West had signed with Nike but soon switched to Adidas in 2013. On December 31, 2015, he dropped a track called Facts, where he aired his grievances against Nike. Unfortunately, aside from the unusual spectacle of a rapper taking shots at a sports brand, the song failed to offer anything new, according to Business Insider. He also criticized the company on Twitter, though those tweets have since been deleted.
3. Zappos CEO
West once targeted the major e-retailer Zappos. In an interview with Bret Easton Ellis, he criticized Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh. He said, “I got into this giant argument with the head of Zappos that he’s trying to tell me what I need to focus on. Meanwhile, he sells all this sh-t product to everybody, his whole thing is based on selling sh*t product." With clever marketing, Hsieh and his team at Zappos responded by creating a page on their website titled 'Sh-t Product', according to Style Caster.
4. Wiz Khalifa
Not long after hinting at his album Waves, West launched a lengthy Twitter tirade against Wiz Khalifa in 2016. The drama began when West announced his album Swish was being renamed to Waves, prompting a flurry of tweets from Khalifa. He tweeted, “Max B is the wavy one. He created the wave. There is no wave without him,” as reported by Billboard. In another tweet, Khalifa wrote, “Hit this kk and become yourself.” Khalifa was talking about Khalifa Kush, but West misunderstood and thought 'KK' referred to his wife Kardashian, which made him angry.
5. Louis Vuitton
In an interview with Washington's 95.5 WPGC radio station, West made a public plea for his fans to boycott Louis Vuitton. His call to action came after the company's vice president, Yves Carcelle, refused to meet with him in Paris. "I said, 'Let me explain to you why you need to meet with me. Everybody in New York City right now doesn't buy any Louis Vuitton until after January. Now do you want to meet with me? Now do you want to meet with me?' Influence. They think that I don't realize my power," he said, as reported by Glamour Magazine.
6. DJ Deadmau5
The rapper had a Twitter feud with Deadmau5 after the DJ accused him of trying to illegally download his synthesizer software, Serum. “What the f–k @kanyewest…Can’t afford serum? D–k. Let’s start a Kickstarter to help @kanyewest afford a copy of Serum,” Deadmau5 wrote. West replied, "I’m bored. When you get married, will your wife have a giant Minnie Mouse head? This brightened up my day…thank you dead-mow-five." West continued, “Do you do birthday parties?? My daughter loves Minnie Mouse…” as reported by Us Weekly.
7. Jimmy Kimmel
After West's BBC interview with Zane Lowe, Jimmy Kimmel Live! created a light-hearted parody of it. Kimmel later revealed West's reaction and said, “Did anyone else get a very angry phone call from Kanye West about an hour and a half ago? Just me? Okay. I didn’t know if he was mad at all of us,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “He is very angry because of a bit we aired this week. He gave an interview to the BBC, and we had a kid actor take the words and reenact it. We just had the kid say the stuff Kanye said. And apparently, this upset him,” he added. Kimmel also claimed West asked him to “apologize publicly.”
8. Amber Rose
West once claimed he needed to take 30 showers after being with Amber Rose. During an interview, Rose stated, "I didn't soak up anything from him. He and I are two very different people. I'm a compassionate person, I have empathy. I'm a good person. That's why people love me. That's why anybody I've ever dated, always loved me. You can't really mention anybody who ever says anything bad about me except for him because I got away. I'm not like him at all. I didn't get anything from him," as reported by Entertainment Tonight.
9. Drake
Following West’s production of Pusha T’s 2018 track, Infrared, which included multiple jabs at Drake, their friendship took a hit. The situation worsened when rumors started circulating about an alleged affair between Drake and West’s ex-wife, Kardashian. West responded to the rumors and said, "People making rumors or thinking you f-ked my wife and you're not saying nothing and carrying it like that, that doesn't sit well with my spirit," as reported by Business Insider. In 2011, Drake announced his goal to surpass West, which may have also contributed to the feud.
10. Taylor Swift
The tension between Taylor Swift and West started in 2009 when West dramatically interrupted Swift’s VMA acceptance speech to praise Beyoncé’s Single Ladies video. He later apologized on Twitter, as noted by Watch Mojo. In 2016, West reignited the controversy with his track, Famous, which bore provocative lyrics. It went, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous," as reported by PEOPLE. Given what happened, it’s hard to see these two ever making up.
