Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, went on Drink Champs, a podcast hosted by N.O.R.E and DJ EFN, for his first interview since the release of Donda. Ye discussed many different aspects of his life, from his marriage to Kim Kardashian West to working with Soulja Boy, but not without taking a few hits from a blunt and a few shots. The artist called out Saturday Night Live for having Kim make jokes about her divorce during her monologue after he allegedly helped her with her monologue. On his pending divorce with Kim, Ye said, “SNL making my wife say, ‘I divorced him,’ on TV because they just wanted to get that bar off, and I ain’t see the papers. We’re not even divorced … They ain’t no joke to me. My kids want they parents to stay together. I want us to be together.†Assuming because Ye did not mention Pete Davidson at all nor his onscreen kiss with Kim, the podcast was most likely recorded before the photos of Davidson and Kardashian were leaked to the press. When talking about his pastor at his church, Ye spoke to him about “wanting to put his family back together†and called out the family’s nannies and publicists for affecting his family. In response to the Kardashian’s reality empire, he said that, “This is my family, E! This is my family, Hulu.â€
On a lighter note, in his discussion about Donda, Ye addresses taking Soulja boy off his album. N.O.R.E directly asked Ye if Soulja Boy’s verse on the track “Remote Control†was good, and Ye responded with a straight “Nah,†leading to the trio erupting in laughter. Ye mentioned his beef with Drake throughout the interview, calling the feud “professional rap†similar to sports. The entire two-and-half-hour interview can be found below.
Update, November 5 at 10:30 a.m.: Two of the musicians Ye spoke about during his Drink Champs interview have now entered the chat. When asked to pick between GOOD Music rappers Pusha T and Big Sean, Ye said, “When I die, on my tombstone it’s gonna say, ‘I deserve to be here because I signed Big Sean.’†He went on to add that signing Sean was “the worst thing I’ve ever done.†Sean responded by tweeting a photo of himself with Ye, writing, “Was just wit this man, he ain’t say none of that!!! And this was after the interview! I’m dying laughing at you @kanyewest 😂.†In another tweet, he added, “I can’t wait to go on drink champs now!!!â€
Ye also took aim at Just Blaze, the producer known for his work with Jay-Z, calling him “a copycat.†“He gets credit for The Blueprint,†Ye claimed. “I did the first half, he just copied me on the second half.†Blaze replied in a long Notes message posted to Twitter, saying he’s “just a bit confused and disappointed.†The producer went on to say that Ye wanted to work with him on multiple recent projects, including “his last album,†presumably Donda. “We were a part of history together and I wish him well and continued success,†he added.
Update, November 5 at 5:25 p.m.: Jay-Z has come to the defense of producer Just Blaze, whom Ye criticized for production work on Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint. Asked to respond to Ye’s interview on a Twitter Spaces event for his film The Harder They Fall, Jay-Z said “the one thing†he would directly reply to was that “the Just Blaze thing was a bit unfair.†He continued, “If you’re making an album, if you’re creating an album, and the assignment is soul samples, everyone’s coming with soul. It’s not, you’re trying to make a cohesive piece of music.†The rapper went on to directly say that he didn’t “think anyone was copying off anyone†on The Blueprint. Jay-Z added, “It’s something that we all should be proud of and everyone should be prized for, you know, their contribution.â€
This is a breaking news post that has been updated throughout.