Kanye West’s complicated relationship with Drake could be the driving force behind the antisemitic comments that landed the Yeezy boss in hot water last year, according to Malik Yusef.
On Monday (September 25), the poet and rapper made an appearance on the Rap Today With Francis podcast. During his chat with host Francis Argueta, the 52-year-old went into detail about Ye’s recent fall from grace and his remarks about the Jewish community.
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“I think they were for Drake,” he said about his longtime collaborator and fellow Chicagoan. “That’s what I think. I don’t know who else you would say that was. I have never directly worked with Drake ’cause Kanye asked me not to.
“He said, ‘Please don’t go work directly with Drake.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ ‘Cause Kanye’s brother, but I love Drake too, though. He asked Travis [Scott] the same thing, but Travis said no.”
Yusef also questioned the legitimacy of Kanye’s antisemitism, suggesting that it might just be an act.
He explained: “He’s saying he’s attacked by the Jews — I don’t fucking know. I see him with Jewish people all the time. One night, when he was going through that rant, he was in a car with a Jewish dude, so I don’t know, man. I think it’s all entertainment. He’s an entertainer, he’s born to be an entertainer, and I think that’s what this shit is.”
He then circled back to Drake, saying that Ye doesn’t have any justifiable reason for repeatedly attacking the Canadian rapper.
“I think that Drake loves Kanye, and that Kanye hates that Drake loves him,” Yusef speculated. “I don’t feel like him being angry with Drake has any credence, because Drake has been nothing but kind and good and a good student of Kanye, so I don’t know where the anger comes from.
“’He took my style!’ Okay, cool. Drake takes everybody’s style. To me, Drake has his own unique style — it’s a hodgepodge of several different styles.”
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In 2009, Yusef worked with Kanye closely on his sophomore album, G.O.O.D. Morning, G.O.O.D. Night. A few years later, he was featured on the G.O.O.D. Music compilation, Cruel Summer, on the song “Sin City.”
Ye’s reputation has since plummeted a great deal, reaching an all-time low last year when he went on a lengthy antisemitic rampage across media networks and platforms. This resulted in a number of organizations cutting business ties with the mogul, including Adidas and Balenciaga.
