In recent years, Kanye West turned off some of his fans and peers with his controversial statements and actions. Ye’s longtime associate, Pusha T, spoke about why the polarizing rapper still manages to collaborate with big stars.
Kanye West angered some African Americans by suggesting chattel slavery was a choice and promoting “White Lives Matter” shirts. He also caught heat from members of the Jewish community. West threatened to go “death con 3 on Jewish people” and praised Adolf Hitler.
“I believe that there’s a level of visibility that comes along with being next to somebody like Ye. At the end of the day, it’s a level of musicality and genius-level production that comes along with being next to him,” Pusha T told Complex.
In addition, the My Name Is My Name album creator said, “So you get a lot of things that I think artists are looking for these days in being next to him. I mean, you get that. You get a lot.”
Kanye West recently partnered with R&B singer Ty Dolla $ign to release their Vultures 1 collaborative studio LP. The album features Nipsey Hussle, Quavo, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Lil Durk, Rich The Kid, Chris Brown, and more.
Pusha T has worked extensively with Kanye West throughout his music career. The Clipse member signed to West’s G.O.O.D. Music, and he eventually became president of the label. Push and Ye also appeared together on songs such as “Runaway” and “New God Flow.”
“It’s all about the music for me and just making music at a certain level,” Pusha stated in his interview. “I’ve been in this game a long time, so it’s about a certain type of hip-hop that I want to make. And truthfully, Ye definitely knows what I like to make, and I only want to be a part of things that I want to do.”