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West's mindset today is a far cry from 2013, when he set out to burn down the universe. His celebrity and attempted moves into the fashion industry were met with continuous roadblocks. He's a king in hip-hop, but to many in fashion, he was a rapper who didn't belong in the upper echelon of high fashion. He also claimed Nike wouldn't grant him royalties even though his Air Yeezys were an unqualified success. 'Ye was enraged, so through interviews and his Yeezus tour, the public was treated to sanguine rants that blasted Nike, taught many who Hedi Slimane was, and made becoming the "Tupac of product" a thing. He also gave us a little album called Yeezus, an avant garde bi-product of colliding with the roadblocks that stand outside music. Hell, even Lou Reed liked the thing.On Noisey: Why Is Kanye West's "Only One" So Good?
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Recently, West has made it a point to start distancing himself from the term "rapper" and favors Vogue over Vibe these days. Although this wrongly implies that hip-hop is some lesser form culture, one can argue that his hip-hop accomplishments obfuscates of his other creative achievements. His appropriation of imagery from Jodorowski's The Holy Mountain is both grandiose and a marvel in design. DONDA's designs (album covers, marketing campaigns) proved it was more of a legitimate creative house than a vanity project. And you remember how much of a frenzy there was over those Red Octobers, which to this day will set you back a cool $4,750 at Flight Club.West's struggles in fashion are ignominious, but they aren't an anomaly in his resume. Jay Z didn't even believe in West when he first started trying to rap and now West has arguably eclipsed him. Even if West's musical hot streak cools down a bit in 2015, all signs say that we are watching the inception of something greater—West transferring the awesomeness he brought to hip-hop to a bigger, broader canvas.Follow Brian on Twitter.