Rapper Nicki Minaj recently revealed that Kanye West turned down her idea for a Yeezy collab because of The Kardashians star Kim Kardashian. With Kanye being a powerful rap/fashion mogul, even other rap superstars know to align themselves with the Yeezy founder. Nicki has hopes of launching her own fashion line and went to Kanye years ago to run her ideas by him. However, with Kanye being married to Kim at the time, his loyalty was to helping his then-wife reach mogul status within the fashion industry.
Kim has given Kanye his credit when it comes to her current status as a fashion icon. When accepting her fashion icon award last year, Kim thanked Kanye for introducing her to the fashion world and boldly petitioning for her success. Kanye went on to influence Kim and help lead her to launch her SKIMS brand that has helped to turn her into a billionaire. As the couple works to finalize their divorce, Kim has a net worth that skyrockets past what it was when she and Kanye started dating back in 2012.
But Kim might’ve possibly blocked a potential Yeezy collab with Nicki Minaj that would’ve helped the rapper be at the same billionaire mogul status Kim is today. Nicki appeared on Joe Budden TV on Wednesday, March 9 for an in-depth conversation and revealed the fashion collab she petitioned to Kanye years ago. “I told Kanye, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m about to do something and I just wanted to make sure I spoke to your first,’” Nicki told Budden of the private conversation she had with Kanye “a while ago.” It was around the time of the successful launch of her “Fendi Prints On” release in October 2019 that she felt confident about releasing a potential collection with Kanye. However, Kanye decided the fashion collab wasn’t in the best interest of his wife. “He was like, ‘Well, if I did something with you … my wife probably wouldn’t love that idea because I should be giving that to my wife instead,’” Nicki revealed.
She went on to explain how Kanye shut down her idea of launching “a female version of Yeezy” because he felt like “it should probably go to my wife.” At the time, SKIMS was in its early stages with Kim announcing the brand in June 2019. Kim took time to come up with a new name for SKIMS after the initial name of Kimono was accused of cultural appropriation. What started as just a shapewear brand has expanded into a loungewear and apparel company that has secured deals with the likes of Fendi and Team USA. It was Kanye’s influence and natural artistic ability in fashion that would help Kim launch her first fashion endeavor.
Nicki’s reveal further confirms the backing Kanye gave Kim to help secure her success in fashion. Kim has been under fire for her recent comments about women’s work ethic. Knowing that The Kardashians star potentially prevented a talented female rapper from working with her husband on a fashion line that would’ve impacted the culture in monumental ways, will possibly come as a sting to some hip-hop fans. However, according to Kim’s advice, Nicki might want to “get your f—— ass up and work.” Yikes!
