- LOS ANGELES — Grammy-winning Jazz musician John Legend has shared his thoughts
about his former friend and business partner, rapper Kanye West.
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- Legend said it’s “shocking” to see what has become of the
once prolific artist and mourned the days of friendship and shared passion he
had with West back in the mid-2000s, reports ‘Variety’.
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- He told ‘The Times of London’, “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 had so much optimism, so much creativity. It
does feel sad, sometimes shocking, to see where he is now”.
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- As per ‘Variety’, West saved Legend’s fizzling music career
back in 2004 when he signed the Grammy-winning pianist to his label, GOOD
Music. As one of the brand’s first artists, Legend got to see the rise and fall
of West first hand.
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- “Kanye blew up after producing Jay-Z’s album ‘The Blueprint’
in 2001”, Legend explained. “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. 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”.
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- Despite their falling out in 2022 after West went public
with his support of Donald Trump, Legend still did not expect things with West
to escalate as far as they have.
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- “I didn’t see a hint of what we’re seeing now, his
obsessions with antisemitism, anti-blackness, and it is sad to see his
devolution.” Legend said. “I don’t think we’re qualified to psychoanalyse him,
but after his mother passed in 2007 there was definitely a difference. His
descent started then and seems to have accelerated recently”.
