US musician John Legend has admitted he’s ‘sad’ to have witnessed the very public fall from grace of his former friend and collaborator Kanye West.
The 47-year-old rapper, who now goes by the name Ye, has displayed erratic behaviour and made controversial social media posts, including some of an antisemitic nature, in recent years.
Legend, 46, was among the first artists Ye signed to his Good Music label in the early 2000s, and the rapper was an executive producer on his 2004 debut album, Get Lifted.
Speaking in a new interview, Legend, known for his solo hits and collaborations with Sam Smith and Ariana Grande, reflected: ‘Back then, Kanye was very passionate, very gifted, and he had big dreams not only for himself but also for all the people around him.’
‘He had so much optimism, so much creativity,’ he added to The Times.
‘It does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he is now.’
Earlier in the year, calls were made to X owner Elon Musk to remove Ye from the social media platform over a string of offensive tweets.
In 2018, the Gold Digger hitmaker also gave an explosive interview to US outlet TMZ where he said slavery ‘sounds like a choice’.
Additionally, at the Grammys in February, he caused controversy on the red carpet with his wife, Australian model Bianca Censori, wearing a transparent dress.
Since marrying in a private ceremony in 2022, Ye and Censori’s relationship has been a topic of debate. For several months, the internet has speculated that he ‘controls’ her and what she wears, given how Ye will always be fully clothed out in public while his spouse is nearly naked.
Ye was previously married to Kim Kardashian, and they share four young children. They finalised their divorce in 2022.
It’s believed the Skims founder’s relationship with her ex-husband is now incredibly strained, despite navigating co-parenting.
The exes’ latest public row came when Kardashian, 44, allegedly fumed over Ye involving their 11-year-old daughter, North West, in a song with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
In fact, according to Page Six, the Skims founder has shown ‘support’ for 30-year-old Censori and has let her know she’s there to ‘talk if she needs’.
An insider claimed to the outlet that Kim ‘feels like she’s the only other person on this planet who truly knows what Bianca has been through’.
‘Kanye blew up after producing Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint in 2001,’ Legend added.
‘Then he experienced a buzz as a solo artist, and the whole time I was travelling with him, doing shows with him, getting exposure not only as his singer and keyboard player but also as an artist myself.
‘I had been turned down by labels everywhere, then The College Dropout (Ye’s debut studio album) sold 400,000 copies in its first week, everyone wanted to know what was happening in our camp—and all those people who turned me down suddenly decided that my music sounded a lot better than it did the first time round.’
In 2022, All of Me hitmaker Legend told The Axe Files podcast that he did not agree with West’s decision to run for public office and added that it had become difficult for them to ‘sustain our friendship’.
‘I didn’t see a hint of what we’re seeing now, his obsessions with antisemitism, anti-Blackness, and it is sad to see his devolution,’ he stated.
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