“The silence is deafening” is perhaps an overused cliche, but those are the best four words to describe Kanye West’s 2017 as he bounces back from the reported mental health crisis he suffered at the end of 2016. Sure, there was the recent “Dat Side” track with Cyhi, and impromptu photo ops here and there — including the one we all want to forget with President Trump. But beyond that and a recent performance at a Kid Cudi show, the father of three has been relatively absent from the hip-hop universe.
Everything we know about what he’s been up to has been delivered via secondhand info. NBA player Mike Conley told us Kanye gave him some preseason advice. TMZ sources told us he and Jay-Z are inching toward reconciliation, because, as 2 Chainz said, they’re still brothers.
That said, Mal, from Joe Budden’s podcast, said Ye still has some things to say to Jay via record. The most encouraging news — besides a $17.8 million windfall from selling his house — is what frequent collaborator Cyhi The Prince recently divulged, that Kanye has been locked in the studio, “producing 10 beats a day” for GOOD Music projects.
It’s anyone’s guess as to when he plans to drop all that music or if Yeezus 2 or the New Year’s Eve project with Kid Cudi are priorities, but it looks like Kanye has enormous plans for 2018 — including some with legendary industry figure Irv Gotti. Gotti took to Instagram last night to post a picture of he and Kanye after what he described as a “meeting of the minds” between the two “out-of-the-box thinkers.”
Kanye’s innovations go without saying — but it seems like hip-hop has forgotten about Irv Gotti’s impact. The Murder Inc. boss and former Def Jam executive helped bring Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule to the forefront, and served as a much needed gatekeeper during Def Jam’s late 90s-early 00s heyday. At just 47 years old, he has a lot more to offer the hip-hop world — just like Kanye does. We’re intrigued to eventually see what they’re working on.
