In 2013, Kanye West infamously launched a longstanding meme during an interview with Shade 45 radio host Sway Calloway when he exploded on the host after being questioned about his fashion ambitions. “You don’t have the answers!” he roared when Sway suggested that he produce his Yeezy clothing line independently. But today, it appears he’s changed his tune after dealing with protracted disputes with apparel manufacturing partners Adidas and Gap for the better part of the summer — and really, almost since the start of those partnerships.
In a new interview with ABC News excerpted on Good Morning America, Kanye admits, “You know what? I will go ahead and say Sway had the answer,” grinning sheepishly. “I know people on Twitter are gonna be like, ‘No!'”
“I will go ahead and say that Sway had the answer.” @kanyewest talks about selling Yeezy brand on his own amidst brand battles and references an interview with Sway from 2013. https://t.co/pJ0AQzgKkj pic.twitter.com/iPvZU9i8YJ
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 22, 2022
Kanye declared his plans to go it alone after sending notice of intent to cut his deal with Gap short earlier this month. The deal, which was to run through to 2030, became unsatisfactory to him when he alleges the company did not follow through on its end, which he says included plans to build brick-and-mortar Yeezy stores and make his designs available in its own stores by 2021. Over the past month, he’s expressed his dissatisfaction with both Gap and Adidas in a series of needling posts on Instagram, including sharing a draft from his legal team summarizing the details of his licensing deals with both companies.
As Kanye (and Sway) are likely sure to learn soon, producing at the scale that Kanye foresees for himself isn’t quite as easy without a global partnership; perhaps, in a few years, a more humble Ye will also admit that he didn’t really have the answers either.
For fun, you can check out Kanye’s original interview with Sway below.
