Ye Says Nay

Kanye West Explains Break up with Gap Inc.

American rapper Kanye West announced his resignation from his partnership with Gap Inc., a worldwide clothing brand, on Thursday, Sept. 15. The intended 10-year contract between West, who now goes by Ye, and Gap, was terminated after two.

Ye’s attorney, Nicholas Gravante Jr., told retailers that Gap has not met certain contractual obligations, including failures to sell certain Yeezy clothes and decisions against the opening of Yeezy-exclusive stores. Ye stated that his agenda with Gap simply wasn’t aligned.

“I signed on with them because they said they were gonna invest in stores in the contract, but they just ignored us about building stores constantly,” Ye said in an interview with ‘Closing Bell’. “Sometimes I would talk to [them] and it would just be like I was on mute or something.”

Ye also claimed that he wasn’t able to set the prices how he wanted to for his Yeezy collections. While he was more concerned with customer satisfaction, Gap was more concerned with income.

Sometimes I would talk to [them] and it would just be like I was on mute or something.

— Kanye West

“I would talk to them about doing products for $20. The best product in the world, designed at the same level of the top fashion houses in the world, at $20 for the people,” Ye said in his interview. “Then they actually priced my stuff at $200.”

In response to Ye’s argument, Gap CEO Mark Breitbard sent a letter to Ye’s staff confirming that the company has a firm plan to pull away from Ye and the Yeezy fashion line as efficiently as possible.

“Ye will now focus on opening his own Yeezy clothing stores,” attorney Gravante said in his letter. “[He] has plans to ‘go at it alone.’”

After the complications of Ye’s partnership with Gap Inc., he has made it clear that business will be done his way or not at all.

“I’m the King, and a king can’t live in someone else’s castle. A king has to make his own castle,” Ye said. “Like, don’t bring a leader in and have them not lead.”