Yeezy Begs Nike for a Gig

Posted by Bossip Staff

And it goes a little something like this:

Rap superstar Kanye West is begging Nike executives to “give (him) a chance” and let him design his own sportswear range. The Stronger hitmaker recently teamed up with designers at the sports brand to come up with the Nike Air Yeezys, a limited line of sneakers which went on sale in the U.S. on Saturday (06Apr09).

The $215 (£147) shoes have sold out in stores across the country – and now West wants the opportunity to showcase the full extent of his creative talents by launching his own fashion line with Nike. He tells Complex magazine, “I’m going to keep coming up with ideas, but I do want to state in black and white that somebody needs to give me a f**king chance. Don’t just one-off me!

“If Nike gave me the opportunity to be in there creating – not that they don’t already have genius designers like Hiroshi (Fujiwara) – I’m not saying that I think I’m the best designer in the world, but what I’m saying is that I think I can become that. I want to be able to be mentioned in the same breath as the greats. I just want to be competitive. Doing a licensing deal or something like that, that’s not real. What if Nike would’ve really given me a deal and allowed me to do (a) lifestyle (clothing range)?”

West admits he could easily press ahead with plans to launch a clothing range independently – but acknowledges the marketing pull big brands like Nike have when it comes to promoting their goods. Comparing his fashion dreams to his music career, he says, “I just feel like I’m screaming and jumping up and down; I feel like when I was trying to get a record deal and nobody would sign me. And yeah, I could put out an album independently, but without that Def Jam machine I wouldn’t be able to get to a point where I could do the Glow in the Dark Tour.”

And you know it don’t stop. Kanye & Rihanna have landed perfume lines courtesy of Jay-Z:

Rihanna and Kanye West have landed perfume lines thanks to mentor Jay-Z’s company Iconic Fragrances LLC. Parlux Fragrances Inc. have signed an agreement with the rap mogul and entrepreneur’s licensing company to market scents for the hitmaking pair.

Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, says, “We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Parlux and their management team in the launch of these dynamic new brands. This venture will take what is already a successful franchise at Parlux to a new level.”

A Parlux spokesman insists the Rihanna and West deal will “make an indelible impression in the fragrance industry.” A press conference to officially announce the new deal is scheduled for Wednesday.

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