Kanye West Song ‘Facts’ Fires Shots At Nike And LeBron James?

Kanye West has his hand in many other things besides hip-hop, but even when it comes to his music, he hasn’t seemed to be involved in any beefs lately. Maybe, until now?

Kanye’s new single, “Facts,” produced by Metro Boomin and Southside, not only name drops Bill Cosby and Steve Harvey, but the lyrics also appear to be throwing shade at LeBron James and Nike, according to Us Weekly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wCfkzHP3ko

“Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy, they line up for days / Nike out here bad, they can’t give s**t away / I stuck to my roots, I’m like Jimmy Fallon / I ain’t dropped the album but the shoes went platinum / Every time I talk they say I’m too aggressive / I was out here spazzin’, all y’all get the message? / On the field I’m over reckless, on my Odell Beckham / 2020, I’ma run the whole election.”

West, 38, released the song hours before New Year’s Day and seemed to be spitting some scathing venom at Nike. He goes on to point out and criticize Nike’s infamous manufacturing process, as well as the lifetime deal they made with LeBron James.

“Nike out here so bad, they can’t give s–t away,” Kanye raps in one bar, and continues with, “Nike, Nike treat employees just like slaves / Gave LeBron a billi’ not to run away.”

Marcus Jordan, Michael Jordan’s son, heard the song and took to his Twitter account to share his thoughts, and it’s clear that he’s not taking any of it that seriously.

“Yeezy just jumped over @Jumpman23??”???????????????????? LOL I needed a good laugh to start my #2016

— Marcus Jordan (@HEIRMJ) January 2, 2016

Meanwhile…???????? pic.twitter.com/bczUglAvnW

— Marcus Jordan (@HEIRMJ) January 2, 2016

Kanye West’s beef with Nike has been ongoing for a few years now and the rapper has been happy to paint Nike CEO Mark Parker as the villain. West was very vocal about the fact that he was not getting royalties from Nike, and though they were trying to collaborate to produce a line of “Air Yeezy” shoes, West ended up leaving and signed with Adidas in 2013.

FACTS pic.twitter.com/DdgLUWxrPl

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) January 1, 2016

Nike just die 5 hrs b4 2016

— Nick Young (@NickSwagyPYoung) January 1, 2016

Kanye West’s latest special release shoes, known as the Yeezeyboost 350, are so popular that they officially sold out online in America. This pretty much left Adidas with no choice but to cancel sales of the 350s last week. However, Nike is not doing too bad for themselves at the moment, either. They pulled in over $340 million worth of sales with LeBron’s signature shoe in 2015.

“New Slaves,” one of the singles from Kanye’s 2013 album Yeezus, also seemed to be subtly referencing his frustration with Nike.

Kanye has not declared whether or not this new song “Facts” will be appearing on his upcoming album, Swish. The album does not currently have an official release date, though fans were hotly anticipating for it to drop sometime within the final quarter of 2015.

This isn’t even the first time Kanye West has released a brand new song during New Year’s. It seems that the rapper has started somewhat of an unofficial tradition. West released the poignant track “Only One,” which featured The Beatles’ Paul McCartney on the keyboard, on January 1, 2015.

When, exactly, can fans expect to hear Kanye West’s upcoming album? Even the newly appointed G.O.O.D. Music President Pusha T doesn’t know.

“The Kanye ‘Swish’ project, you know, he come when he want to come. I don’t even bother him about his situation… I don’t even want to talk to him,” Pusha said.

For now, it looks like Kanye will be focusing on his family, along with his brand new baby boy, Saint.

[Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Vogue]