Though it's hard to imagine this mattering to the average person given the litany of other things to which one could devote their attention at the moment, Kanye West has revisited his business issues with Gap and Adidas, two companies that—as is quite widely known—have greatly benefited from and/or will greatly benefit from his creativity.
Among tweets shared early Thursday by West came a vow to release nothing with the Gap brand until "I'm on the board." As announced back in June, West and his Yeezy brand are—unless these tweets affect the previously detailed plans—set to bring an apparel collaboration to Gap stores under the Yeezy Gap moniker in 2021.
When first announcing the link-up, Mark Breitbard—global head of the Gap brand—promised a "next-level retail partnership" while referencing West’s lyrically documented prior history with the company as a teenager working in retail in Chicago. An accompanying press release added that the deal will see West maintaining sole ownership of the Yeezy brand, while Gap Inc. maintains sole ownership of Gap. Furthermore, per the press release from June, Yeezy will get royalties and potential equity in connection with sales achievements.
Back in July Gap shares dipped after West threatened to "walk away" from the company during his widely panned campaign event in South Carolina. And earlier this month, West famously said "Black board seats matter" when again addressing his business agreements with Gap and Adidas. The latter was also mentioned during Thursday's comments, with West vowing that he would proceed to wear Jordans until given a spot on the board.
Also this week, West followed up his ongoing battle for artists' rights—specifically with regards to how creatives are taken advantage of by labels and other potentially exploitative forces—with a Billboardinterview conducted via text through an intermediary.
During the discussion with Colin Stutz, West elaborated on his larger goal, stating that his strategy can be best outlined as aiming to "Free All Artists by any means necessary." A huge part of this, West reiterated, is to abandon an approach that remains favored by many in the industry that is laughably antiquated when compared with how the average listener consumes music in 2020.
