In an interview (see full audio below) with Ryan Seacrest last night, Kanye West revealed multiple details on the Adidas x Yeezy 750 Boost set for a February 14th launch date. Some of the highlights:
- Only 9,000 pairs of the Yeezy 750 Boost will be released this Saturday at a price of $350
- Additional Yeezy sneakers will be made but no date has been announced.
- The Adidas x Kanye West presentation will be shown to buyers and media and will be streamed in 40 locations worldwide following the show.
- West will focus on making high school uniforms next.
West also discusses the Grammy Awards and why he ran up to the stage. He explained that while his intention was partially playful, he did want to call attention to who won. He added that he won’t return next year until something is done to fix the voting process, which he feels is broken.
On Thursday, February 12th, West will stage a 45-minute concert at 23rd Street and Broadway, a RocNation sponsored kick off event for the NBA All-Star weekend. It’s not clear if the performance will be tied in with the presentation.
Full audio here:
Grammy discussion transcribed:
Why did you decide to get out of your seat and come up when Beck won album of the year?
You know, I felt like just the whole Grammys, right when that happened, everybody was looking at me and then people started screaming, “Kanye! Kanye! Go do it!” Ok, that didn’t really happen, these were voices in my head. So the voices in my head told me go and then I just walked up like halfway up the stage. You know, what I really wanted to do is just joke around about what had happened before, but I just really didn’t want to take away from Beck’s moment or the time he’s having to talk because you know the Grammys, they play music really quick no matter who you are and everything. So I didn’t want anything to take away from his screen time. So I just walked back down because you know, it was kind of a joke like the Grammys themselves.
Some say it was disrespectful to Beck. What would you say if you could say anything to him?
Well first of all, Beck is one of the nicest guys and one of the most respected musicians in the game. So there’s nothing that I will want to do as a fellow musician to disrespect him in any way. And the weird thing is like, and I don’t feel like I have the right to take away from people’s moments, but the reality of it is — and case in point by who came up to me right afterwards — is it’s almost like a chiropractor. You know, you just get a little crook out like, “Wow, this crook has been there!” It’s just a little jolt of truth, right? And then you know, everyone feels better after the fact, or everyone is way more famous after the fact, or everyone sells way more albums after the fact, and then Kanye just goes on being an a**hole to everyone.
Would you collaborate with Taylor Swift?
Yeah, she wants to get in the studio and we’re definitely going to go in. Any artist with an amazing point of view, perspective, fan base, I’m down to get in the studio and work. I don’t discriminate, I don’t have an elitism of music because of like how many Grammys or you know, the amount of ratings you get on an album. I that think everyone loves music whether they love hip-hop, alternative, country, and if I could be involved in giving people any type of energy, advice in the studio, whether you’re Beyoncé, whether you’re Taylor Swift, whether you’re Jay Z, whether you’re Beck, whoever, and they can be reciprocal with that, I’d like to be involved with that.
Do you think there’s an issue with perception versus intention?
Oh yes, definitely, but the road to hell has been paved with good intentions. You know, I’m at a point where it’s ways to do things in a smoother way. And feel like at the Grammys — I don’t know exactly what the press has been [saying] because I don’t keep up with that — but at the Grammys when I did go up onstage and left off, there was a really good vibe about it, and everybody was laughing and smiling.
On his serious post-Grammys rant with E!:
Well you know what happened? It’s because I sat there and I kind of let that [smolder] and I was asked my opinion and I was given a platform. And when given a platform, it’s very hard as we know — and I’m going to talk in third person like I’m a crazy person — but it’s very hard for Kanye West to not be very true and vocal to what he feels. You know, it’s like people take the Grammys for granted in a way because of the commercials, because a lot of the musicians are very rich and everything, but this is our Super Bowl. You know, and someone’s got to be mad that [Marshawn Lynch] didn’t get the ball.
On the critics who say his stunt stemmed from racism:
I also wanted to stress to people that it’s not a black or white thing at all. It’s not me always standing up for a black artist. I feel that racism is a distraction to humanity. We are one race. We are the human race, period. And I feel that we have to base our new society, the future post-Internet society, off of blocks and bricks of truth. And if the Grammys are capitalizing off the amount of views that Beyoncé gets for them and still not laying that brick of truth and being respectful towards [deserving artists] — because Beck says afterwards, literally, says, “Hey I think Beyoncé should’ve won it.”
On his comment about Beck disrespecting artistry:
And when I said that thing about respect artistry, I think it came off the wrong way, and that was a mis-wording on my part because obviously Beck is one the most respected artists and respects artistry. But I felt — and this is my opinion and he’s his own man and he’s not wrong and we’ll still go play basketball and stuff [unless] he doesn’t want to do it — but I felt that even though the Grammys some times gives awards to people who you wouldn’t think should win in the category, as a respect to artists, we mention the other artist’s name in our speech. And that was the point I was making about it. There’s like many of times I gave other people my award, literally made them come up onstage. Maroon 5, when they won best new artist, [Adam Levine] mentioned me because it was the College Dropout and [it had] 10 nominations and all that. Do you believe Beyoncé didn’t win because she’s so commercial, popular, and successful? I believe she didn’t move and run to the stage because she’s a respectful individual. But because she is so successful, a lot of times, success disables your ability to communicate exactly what the f**k you want to say!
What’s the story of your song “FourFiveSeconds” with Rihanna and Paul McCartney?
I had the amazing opportunity to work with Paul McCartney and you know, we just went in a vibed out. As you can see, I might be a little bit more angst than Paul. And remember the last time when Paul had somebody really angst working with them, the type of music they made?
Hey everyone, America, I’m not comparing myself to John Lennon, I’m just saying I’m angst a bit like John Lennon. And the [tension creates] a new magic. The pressure creates the diamond from the coal. And he came in with the best vibes ever, and I said, “Four, five, seconds from wildin’,” and he said, “It’s great everyone!” and we just had that. And then Rihanna heard it — I’m executive producing Rihanna’s album — and she heard it, and literally she was not going to be satisfied until she had this record. I didn’t feel like I was projecting [the song]. Excuse me if I compare Rihanna to Annie Lennox, but I feel like she has this type of energy in her vocals. And she even brought it to another level of like soul and heart and artistry — keyword of the week, artistry. I said, ‘”Ok cool, I’ll give you the song.” I gave her the song and the next day I woke up on the Grammys, so I guess it worked out.
