Increasingly a fashion icon as much as a musical one, Kanye West has been voted GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Year, facing off against Idris Elba in the final bracket of a user-based poll for the site.
Earlier this year, West was featured on the magazine’s cover for a feature article about his status in the fashion industry and opened up about previous comments regarding the difficulty he’s encountered breaking in.
“Alexander Wang made sure that I was able to go to a Balenciaga show, and I was never allowed to do that before because I was a celebrity,” he said. “Listen to what I’m saying—me, as Kanye West: I guarantee you, I’m more than 50 percent responsible for every men’s shoe that [Balenciaga] sell. Me, the singular person. More than 50 percent responsible for every Balenciaga shoe they sell. And they would say, ‘You can’t come to the show, because you are a celebrity.’ But all honesty, no ego, I have a level of influence, and I have a level of respect for the designers. And we move product on that Barneys floor.”
While initial plans for West’s collaboration with adidas hinted at a fall drop-date for the next installment of his increasingly coveted Yeezy sneakers, the follow-up has yet to be released and looks to be slated for an early 2015 debut instead. Nonetheless, 2014 saw the last of his collaborations with Nike released in the form of an already legendary all-red color-way of his Yeezy 2’s. The rapper also released two collaborative lines with the high-end French fashion brand A.P.C., the latest of which included a $780 bomber jacket and a $90 plain white tee.
article by Jay Balfour via theurbandaily.com
Decades after hip hop music hit the streets of New York, and later, became an cultural phenomenon enjoyed by listeners around the world, it’s all coming back to the Big Apple, as a Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum is set to open in 2017.
Below is his statement in full:
“I was taught that justice is a right that every American should have. Also justice should be the goal of every American. I think that’s what makes this country. To me, justice means the innocent should be found innocent. It means that those who do wrong should get their due punishment. Ultimately, it means fair treatment. So a call for justice shouldn’t offend or disrespect anybody. A call for justice shouldn’t warrant an apology.“To clarify, I utterly respect and appreciate every police officer that protects and serves all of us with honesty, integrity and the right way. And I don’t think those kind of officers should be offended by what I did. My mom taught me my entire life to respect law enforcement. I have family, close friends that are incredible police officers and I tell them all the time how they are much braver than me for it. So my wearing a T-shirt wasn’t a stance against every police officer or every police department. My wearing the T-shirt was a stance against wrong individuals doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons to innocent people.
“Unfortunately, my mom also taught me just as there are good police officers, there are some not-so-good police officers that would assume the worst of me without knowing anything about me for reasons I can’t control. She taught me to be careful and be on the lookout for those not-so-good police officers because they could potentially do me harm and most times without consequences. Those are the police officers that should be offended.
“Being a police officer takes bravery. And I understand that they’re put in difficult positions and have to make those snap decisions. As a football player, I know a little bit about snap decisions, obviously on an extremely lesser and non-comparative scale, because when a police officer makes a snap decision, it’s literally a matter of life and death. That’s hard a situation to be in. But if the wrong decision is made, based on pre-conceived notions or the wrong motives, I believe there should be consequence. Because without consequence, naturally the magnitude of the snap decisions is lessened, whether consciously or unconsciously.
“I’m not an activist, in any way, shape or form. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I keep my opinions to myself on most matters. I worked extremely hard to build and keep my reputation especially here in Ohio, and by most accounts I’ve done a solid job of decently building a good name. Before I made the decision to wear the T-shirt, I understood I was putting that reputation in jeopardy to some of those people who wouldn’t necessarily agree with my perspective. I understood there was going to be backlash, and that scared me, honestly. But deep down I felt like it was the right thing to do. If I was to run away from what I felt in my soul was the right thing to do, that would make me a coward, and I can’t live with that. God wouldn’t be able to put me where I am today, as far as I’ve come in life, if I was a coward.
“As you well know, and it’s well documented, I have a 2-year-old little boy. The same 2-year-old little boy that everyone said was cute when I jokingly threw him out of the house earlier this year. That little boy is my entire world. And the No. 1 reason for me wearing the T-shirt was the thought of what happened to Tamir Rice happening to my little Austin scares the living hell out of me. And my heart was broken for the parents of Tamir and John Crawford knowing they had to live that nightmare of a reality.
“So, like I said, I made the conscious decision to wear the T-shirt. I felt like my heart was in the right place. I’m at peace with it and those that disagree with me, this is America, everyone has the right to their first amendment rights. Those who support me, I appreciate your support. But at the same time, support the causes and the people and the injustices that you feel strongly about. Stand up for them. Speak up for them. No matter what it is because that’s what America’s about and that’s what this country was founded on.”
article by Dylan Scott via talkingpointsmemo.com
