MGT TERM

kanye west | yeezy

Alanna Wiltraut

Abstract

Throughout this report I will be explaining Kanye West and Yeezys brand image by providing a detailed analysis of lyrical promotions with explanation, background information, music/ fashion career struggles in chronological order, cultural/ entrepreneurial success, managerial style/ leadership style. Kanye West's creativity and cultural influence will also be highlighted throughout the project.

Summary

Kanye (Ye) West is an American producer, rapper, and fashion designer who gained great popularity in the early 2000's. Kanye has won 24 Grammys, a Billboard Artist Achievement Award, as well as many Billboard hits. Although Kanye is a very controversial celebrity, he successfully created an outstanding success story for himself. In February 2015 Kanye revealed his collaboration with Adidas for his first Yeezy collection. His first Yeezy collection consisted of sweatshirts, jackets, sneakers, boots, and more. With his 2015 collaboration, Kanye's fashion brand kick started great success, having Forbes estimate Kanye making around $220 million annually! Kanye’s hard work on his initial release led up to his 8th Album, The Life of Pablo, where he debuted tracks for the album at his Yeezy Season 3 showcase. For the next following years, Kanye continued to thrive in his music and fashion career, demonstrating entrepreneurial skills. However, in the following years, Kanye faced many scandals and lawsuits regarding his behavior in various cultural and political aspects. After further controversy, Adidas ended their endorsements with Kanye in 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks. The West/ Adidas partnership offered over 250 styles of shoes, generating approximately 10% of Adidas total revenue. With the termination of this partnership, Adidas will face short term negative impacts as it tries to sell its remaining inventory.

in the lyrics...

Kanye West has mentioned Yeezy in various songs, including "Facts", "Blame Game", "The Glory", "Monster", "Yikes", "Go2damoom", "The Life of the Party", "Fortunate", "On Sight", "Power", "Dark Fantasy" and more. In the song "Heavy Hitters", Kanye raps "Man the people's askin', Yamamoto Adidas, ya sick with the fashion. Ya already got dough, so ya spit for the passion". Through these lyrics, Kanye referenced Japanese designer Yohji Yamamota who with Adidas debuted their first collection in 2002. Kanye is bringing together a mixture of sports silhouettes, money, and fashion references to promote his brand and share his thanks. In the song "Im The Ish" Kanye raps "I got them yeezys on my feet, I got them Louis in the store, And I dropped another album 'fore we finished off the tour". Here, Kanye boosts Yeezy by stating that he wears them himself. Fans and supporters will correlate what Kanye wears with what is stylish, easily influenced by their idol. In the song "New God Flow" Kanye raps" Hold up, I ain't trying to stunt, man but Yeezys jumped over the jumpman." Again, Kanye is shining light on his brand by stating Yeezy is superior. Overall, Kanye West successfully uses his song lyrics to promote Yeezy by referencing the brand and his success. Kanye uses cultural relevance and exclusivity points to showcase his fashion line.

past struggles

Despite Kanye's high net worth from brand and music success, he has been an incredibly controversial topic in the Hollywood industry for quite some time. A brief timeline would include the following events -2004 Career breakthrough and fame: Kanye dropped the album "The College Dropout" which gained a huge audience -2009 Backlash: Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift at the VMA's which hurt his public image. He also began talking of starting his own fashion line -2012 Beginning Fashion Struggles: DW Kanye West, his first line was debuted, and faced harsh critics due to Kanye's known erratic behavior -2013 Nike Partnership: Kanye partnered with Nike and faced and struggled with many internal creativity/ relationship issues. The partnership ended and the album "Yeezus" was released showing Kanye's frustration through lyrics -2015 Yeezy and Adidas partnership: Kanye's new fashion partnership takes off, but he often vents about feeling undervalued by designer fashion brands -2016 Stress and Hospitalization: Kanye released "The Life of Pablo" album and publicly breaks down at the Saint Pablo Tour. As well is mental health struggles, Kanye also financial struggles from his Yeezy fashion Venture -2018 Political Controversy: Kanye endorses Donald Trump, and made offensive statements such as calling slavery "a choice", which sparked outrage amongst fans. Yeezy, however, continued to grow. The brand's future was skeptical due to Kanye's recurring foul attitude. -2020 Campaign: Kanye West ran for President (unsuccessfully). Tensions between Yeezy and Adidas arose -2022 Brand Fallout: Kanye makes anti semitic remarks causing Adidas to end their partnership, impacting the businesses success -2023 Redemption Attempt: Kanye continues to try and heal his brand image due to lawsuits and financial setbacks from his past partnerships. Despite these struggles, Yeezy has remained a cultural force

Entrepreneurial Success: -Yeezy Brand: The high demand of the Yeezy sneakers proved Kanye West's entrepreneurial success. Limited drops and vast styles brought to life Kanye's vision of success -Creative freedom: Kanye's refusal to conform opened many unique ideas up. His relentless personality allowed him to create his own profitable brand, Yeezy -Combining Art and Culture: Kanye's ability to art with market appeal allowed him to turn a fashion line into a cultural phenomenon.

Cultural Impact: -Kanye West redefined the hip-hop world through blending different genres with often controversial lyrics. His creativity has inspired many different rappers to change their style. -Kanye West has challenged norms by speaking out on various topics such as racism, politics, and mental health, pushing industry expectations. Through the years these remarks have made West influential to some, and controversial to others. -Kanye West's fashion appeal brought new styles to popularity, with more of a simplistic look. His fashion line has impacted streetwear culture, bringing new trends to light.

Kanye West's creativity shines through his cultural success and eutreprenurial impact. His ability to push boundaries sets him apart from many other popular artists.

cultural and euntrepreneurial success

leadership & manegment style

Kanye's Management:Kanye is involved in the creativity portion of his businesses, especially Yeezy, but like many other rappers he relies heavily on a team. Kanye's main roles in business management are to control the creative designs and campaigns, help form major partnerships, and delegate aspects of the businesses to trusted advisors. Kanye is the visionary behind Yeezy.

Kanye's Leadership: -Visionary: Kanye pushes boundaries in both fashion and music. His innovative personality has allowed him to foresee trends with Yeezy and set new fashion standards. Kanye is known to inspire his teams to embrace his goals. -Risk Taking: Kanye's leadership is shown through his willingness to take big risks. Kanye often disregards traditional rules and expectations to help reach his goals. THis has caused him backlash and fueled his success. -Unpredictable and Emotional: Kanye's leadership is sometimes emotionally charged, seen through his public struggles and unstable environments. Since this behavior has caused endorsements to end, this shows Kanye is a Raw leader, but inconsistent -Creative: Kanye has a reputation of passion surrounding his work which inspires others. His team expectations have led him to groundbreaking collaborations such as Yeezy

Personally, I don't love many of the things Kanye West has done in the past, but I do enjoy his music, and I think he demonstrates a fearless image. Kanye is fearless, breaking norms, even if it is controversial. To me this shows his confidence and ability to defend his opinion, which is something I admire. Kanye is also authentic and bold which is important to be a good leader. I respect his courage to speak out, even if it is often a topic of controversy. I also think Kanye is redefining in the music and fashion industry. When looking closely at other similar Hollywood stars, no one seems to have the same characteristics of Kanye's behavior. His ability to stand apart from everyone else makes him unique, whether it is for good or bad reasons. Lasty, Kanye is a creative genius. I genuinely admire his talent to string thoughts together into clever and catchy phrases. When I listen closely to his music, the shade and analogies that are referenced make me laugh.

What do I admire?

After extensive research, I have concluded Kanye West's success is a testament to his creativity, drive, and ability to push boundaries. Despite his many past challenges, it is clear that Kanye represents an industry icon, legacy, and successful brand owner. His bold managerial approaches and opinions illustrate the power of unique vision.

Conclusion

Edler, Brandon. “A Guide to Kanye West’s Lyrical Sneaker References.” Complex, Complex, 16 July 2012, www.complex.com/sneakers/a/brandon-edler/a-guide-to-kanye-wests-lyrical-sneaker-references. Twohey, Megan. “Kanye and Adidas: Money, Misconduct and the Price of Appeasement.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Oct. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/10/27/business/kanye-west-adidas-yeezy.html. “The Politic.” The Politic, thepolitic.org/article/notes-on-the-fall-of-kanye-west. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024. “Search Results for ‘Yeezys.’” Lyrics Containing the Term: Yeezys, www.lyrics.com/lyrics/Yeezys. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024. “What to Know about Kanye West’s Sneaker & Clothing Brand.” Highsnobiety, www.highsnobiety.com/tag/yeezy/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024. Leaders, Industry. “Why Everyone Should Follow Kanye West’s Example.” The Industry Leaders, The Industry Leaders, 17 Sept. 2024, www.theindustryleaders.org/post/why-everyone-should-follow-kanye-west-s-example.

Sources