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Kanye West: Furniture Design Ambition Continues, Yeezy Still Wants to Work With IKEA

By Anne Sewell
Published on: 04:04 PST, Aug 2, 2016

Rapper Kanye West told the BBC this week that he hasn’t given up on his plans to design “minimalist” furniture for the Swedish furniture flat-pack giant, IKEA. He also discussed his political ambitions and how he messed up at the Glastonbury festival last year.

West says students would particularly like him to create “a minimalist apartment inside of a college dorm.”

Kanye told BBC Radio 1 this week in a phone interview, “I have to work with IKEA — make furniture for interior design, for architecture.”

“Yo IKEA, allow Kanye to create, allow him to make this thing because you know what, I want a bed that he makes, I want a chair that he makes.”

Kanye visited IKEA’s head office in Almhult, Sweden, earlier in the year and was pictured on the Instagram page of Emma Johansson, Project Leader Interior Design for IKEA.

West has reportedly collaborated with British fashion designer Katie Eary in the past, who has, by chance, designed a series of tableware and textiles for IKEA.

According to a report in the Local, IKEA denied rumors they were launching a design collaboration with Kanye and said he was only at their property for inspiration.

However, according to the BBC, IKEA has yet to comment on a possible tie-in with Kanye, who already has a sideline from his music career, designing clothing and shoes.

West reportedly admires the Swedish company’s ethos of providing affordable goods, which he says ties in with his own ambitions to make his products more affordable to the masses.

Following the BBC interview, IKEA Australia posted a tongue-in-cheek response to Kanye’s desire to work with the Swedish company displaying an image of a piece of furniture titled “Yeezy,” with the caption: “Hej Kanye, we’d love to see what you’d create … we could make you Famous.”

During the interview with Annie Mac, Kanye also spoke about his headline set at the Glastonbury festival last year. According to West, he made a musical error at the beginning of his set, which caused him to forget his lyrics, leading to knock-on effects throughout the rest of his set.

“It was incredible. I started off the show and I completely messed up the music. And me, as you can imagine by this phone call, I’m a bit of a perfectionist. So it really put me into a slightly depressed state and it put me back in the position of when I was in high school and I got fired from my job,” said Kanye.

West continued by saying “I don’t usually get nervous, I prepare, I get fully prepared. When that music messed up in the beginning it tapped into my nerves and when you’re nervous or vulnerable something special and something different can happen.”

During the interview, Kanye also brought up his political ambitions, as he had previously said he would run for U.S. president in 2020.

There has been speculation that he initially made the announcement of his intentions to run for president to get publicity, or just on the spur of the moment. However, he has always said he is totally serious about running in 2020 and that he wants to make a difference.

West said, “When I talk about the idea of being president, I’m not saying I have any political views,” adding, “I just have a view on humanity, on people, on the truth.”

Referring to all the recent shootings in the U.S., Kanye added, “We are numb, we’re numb to 500 kids getting killed in Chicago a year, we’re numb to the fact that it was seven police shootings in the beginning of July.”

“If there is anything that I can do with my time and my day, to somehow make a difference while I’m alive I’m going to try to do it.”

[Photo by Harry How / Getty Images Entertainment]

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