Kanye vents his frustration about working with Nike in an onstage rant and calls out the company's CEO, Mark Parker.
- Nov 29, 2013
AceShowbiz - Kanye West called out Nike executives in an onstage rant at his concert. The rapper showed up at the Bridgestone arena in Nashville, Tenn. on Wednesday, November 27 as a part of his "Yeezus" tour. During the show, he vented his frustration about working with the company and its CEO in a more-than-6-minute talk session.
"Do you know who the head of Nike is?" he asked the audience members, as reported by Associated Press. "No, well let me tell you who he is: His name is Mark Parker, and he just lost culture. Everyone at Nike, everyone at Nike, Mark Parker just let go of culture."
"I'm talking directly to you. No miscommunication. Did you not want the Yeezys? Nike would make you believe it was my fault that you couldn't get them, but that was not the case. I wanted there to be as many Yeezys as there was LeBrons, and I wanted them to be at a good price, but that was not my choice, and we're going to change everything. And ... I'm going to create more than you think that any musician in the history of time ever could have," he continued.
The sports apparel company and Kanye collaborated for Air Yeezus shoes which first released in 2009, but their relationship turned sour. "Nike told me, 'We can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete.' I told them, 'I'll go to the Garden and play one-on-no one.' I'm a performance athlete," he told New York's Hot 97 in a recent interview.
During the radio session, Kim Kardashian's fiance also revealed partnership with Adidas. "I took the Adidas deal because I have royalties and I have to provide for my family... I'm gonna be the first hip-hop designer and because of that, I'm gonna be bigger than Wal-Mart," Kanye said.
