John Legend Opens Up About Fallout With Kanye West

John Legend is having a look again on his friendship — and fallout — with embattled rapper Kanye West.

In an interview with The Times revealed Saturday, May 10, Legend mentioned that West used to be a unique particular person when the pair met within the early 2000s.

“Back then Kanye was very passionate, very gifted, and he had big dreams not only for himself but also for all the people around him,” he defined.“He had so much optimism, so much creativity. It does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he is now.”

Legend used to be pals with West all the way through the discharge of his landmark album College Dropout. “Kanye blew up after producing Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint in 2001,” he mentioned. “Then he experienced a buzz as a solo artist and the whole time I was travelling with him, doing shows with him, getting exposure not only as his singer and keyboard player but also as an artist myself. I had been turned down by labels everywhere.”

The consideration on West rubbed off on Legend in a great way. “Then The College Dropout sold 400,000 copies in its first week, everyone wanted to know what was happening in our camp, and all those people who turned me down suddenly decided that my music sounded a lot better than it did the first time round,” Legend added.

The “All of Me” singer pointed to a significant loss in West’s existence as a turning level for his former buddy. When requested why West is so other now, Legend responded, “I don’t think we’re qualified to psychoanalyze him, but after his mother passed in 2007 there was definitely a difference. His descent started then and seems to have accelerated recently.”

West has made headlines lately for antisemitic feedback and behaviour and for his ongoing custody saga with ex-wife Kim Kardashian. On April 30, the rapper went on a rant in a livestream the place he spoke about no longer having the ability to see the pair’s 4 youngsters, North, 11, Saint, 9, Chicago, 7, and Psalm, 5.

“[DJ] Akademiks put that battery in my back, bro. ‘Cause I was in the airport by myself … I’mma go get these kids, man!” the rapper mentioned, in keeping with a video from Hollywood Unlocked. “I’mma go get these kids, bro. I’m talking to the lawyers — it gets to the point where I don’t lose my f***ing mind where I got to get used to not seeing my kids.”

West in the past when compared the dynamic to “visitation” in “jail.”

Related: A Complete Timeline of Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Tumultuous Relationship

Jay-Z and Kanye West had been as soon as one of the vital dynamic duos in hip-hop, taking part at the back of the scenes and buying and selling raps on singles and their collaborative album, 2011’s Watch the Throne. Since their heyday, then again, the 2 have reputedly fallen out — and their secure flow of chart-topping collabs has dried up. “He’s my brother. […]

“I DONT WANT TO JUST ‘SEE’ MY KIDS. I NEED TO RAISE THEM. I NEED TO HAVE SAY SO OF WEAR [sic] THEY GO TO SCHOOL AND WHO THEIR FRIENDS ARE AND WHOS [sic] HOUSES THEY SLEEP OVER WEATHER [sic] MY DAUGHTERS WEAR LIPSTICK AND PERFUME,” he wrote in a since-deleted submit from March. “ALL THESE RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM ME BY THE KARDASHIAN MOB HULU AND DISNEY AND THE BIGGER AGENDA TO USE THE SELECTIVELY BRED BLACK CHILDREN TO BE PLATFORMS TO INFLUENCE BLACK PEOPLE.”