Beef explained: What is Kanye West’s problem with GAP and Adidas?
Just over a week has passed since Kanye West made his comeback to Instagram, and as usual, it’s been a wild trip. Since his comeback, the rapper has used his platform to criticize practically everyone, including Kim Kardashian, Adidas, GAP, and poor Kris Jenner, who got caught in the crossfire.
However, Adidas and GAP have been the targets of Ye’s entire rage as he has tweeted criticisms of the two apparel companies practically every day. But this isn’t the first time West has criticized the company; earlier this summer, he criticized Adidas for having slides that too closely resembled his Yeezy slides. Since then, the Grammy Award winner has only intensified and sharpened his criticisms. We’re here to explain the entire West, Adidas, GAP, and Yeezy drama, as well as what all those Instagram postings imply.
WHAT IS KANYE WEST’S BEEF WITH ADIDAS?
So, all of this conflict between West and Adidas originally came to light after the musician criticized the company for making sandals called the Adilette 22 that he said were an exact replica of his Yeezy slides. Shortly after the post was uploaded, West erased it.
Following that, everything was rather calm (by Ye’s standards, at least) until that fateful day in August, also known as Yeezy Day. When West re-entered Instagram, he said that both Yeezy Day and the sneakers that Adidas was releasing were not authorized by him. In all respect, we don’t believe he was really involved based on the terrible colorways that were revealed.
West remained silent until his second appearance in late August, when he ratcheted up the pressure by making a number of claims against Adidas. However, things really began to pick up steam on September 2. He made veiled references to Adidas officials in a seemingly endless
string of Instagram postings that were both published and removed, notably making fun of Adidas SVP Daniel Cherry III.
While West posted images of JP Morgan Chase and Adidas’ executive board (some bank executives sit on the sportswear company’s supervisory board), Kid Cudi also took a few errant shots. Additionally, he momentarily changed the Instagram profile picture on his account from the standard black circle to one of Jing Ulrich, managing director of JP Morgan. He changed it back to the black circle after that and replaced it with a picture of Adidas CCO Alasdhair Willis.
Kanye West kept posting pictures of Adidas and JP Morgan executives after venting about how Instagram was trying to delete his postings and giving us all some music advice (he labelled Wizkid’s “Essence” the “greatest song in the history of music”).
West went so far as to say that Adidas had made him a $1 billion buyout bid for his Yeezy line. He released an updated version of the Marvel Civil War meme that he posted in February to annoy Davidson as his Instagram tirade reached a fever pitch. This time, West competes against Cherry and Adidas.
WHAT IS KANYE WEST’SBEEF WITH GAP?
West argues that, similar to the Adidas catastrophe, GAP is mimicking the YEEZY GAP ENGINEERED BY BALENCIAGA (YGEBB) look in its mainline fashions. The item that got under Ye’s skin was a black GAP t-shirt that looked like it was made by West himself.
On August 31st, he shared a photograph of some neon Yeezy spectacles to Instagram with the message, “Gap convened a meeting about me without me?” Later that day, he reappeared, this time publishing a snapshot of text messages accusing GAP of copying one of his designs. West commented in the text, “This is GAP copying YGEBB.” “But they cancelled the picture shoot with my kids,” he captioned the post.
West announced on September 1st that he intends to construct his own Yeezy boutiques, despite both GAP and Adidas legally agreeing that “they will build permanent storefronts.”
Let’s not forget to share the knowledge with our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter friends.
We at SFI.COZA think that stories have the ability to educate, uplift, and unite people. As a sociable and committed editor, we work hard to provide rich media coverage that connects with our audience. Our ambition to positively touch our audience's lives, one article at a time, is equal to our enthusiasm for storytelling. Come along on this adventure with us as we explore the planet.
