Adidas Says Its Relationship With Kanye Is Under Review, Ye Responds

Adidas is reviewing its relationship with Kanye West, the global shoe brand said in a statement Thursday (Oct. 6). "After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review. We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period," the company said in a statement per CNBC.

West responded Thursday to CNBC’s story on the latest Adidas statement in a Instagram post, saying "F-------- ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS."

Adidas announced its partnership with West in 2013. In June 2016, Adidas and West announced they had extended their partnership, calling it a "Yeezy-branded entity creating footwear, apparel and accessories for all genders across street and sport," per Yahoo Sports.

Last month, the rapper wrote on social media that he was "willing to give" Adidas "20% of net profit/sales" in a since-deleted Instagram post. Clarifying that if they were to accept this deal that this will "not [be] ownership," but "a nonexclusive manufacturing and distribution partner."

The artist then declared, "I love war" in the following since-deleted Instagram Story post. This is not the first time Ye has called out Adidas on social media.

In another post where he called out several Adidas executives by name, rapper also posted a headshot of Ekwan E. Rhow, one of Adidas' attorneys. He accused Adidas of hiring Rhow to change their contract in a since-deleted Instagram post.

"I have no chill. It’s going to cost you billions to keep me. It’s going to cost you billions to let me go Adidas," he wrote under a headshot of Rhow back in September.  "You stole my f---ing designs amongst other things I’ll give you to Tuesday. I’m not waiting 7 months to leave like the breach letter I sent you refers to. It’s up now I’m going to make things unbearable. And I promise I’ve only been playing nice I know eeeeeeeverything. I promise the fake shoes y’all sold behind my back in China. Eeeeeverything."

Additionally, last month, West’s Yeezy terminated its partnership with retailer Gap. That partnership saw Yeezy clothing sold at Gap stores and online. But West similarly claimed he wasn’t given enough control over the items, including color selection and price point.

"Yeezy notified Gap of its concerns in August and gave the company a contractually-designated 30 days to cure its breaches," Nicholas Gravante, a lawyer for West, told CNBC at the time. Gravante said Gap took no action on the concerns, so Yeezy ended the relationship.

"He’s had a tremendous impact globally for us," Kasper Rorsted, CEO of Adidas told CNBC in August. "Kanye is our most important partner worldwide. We have a very, very good relationship with him. We communicate with him on a very ongoing basis. And we’re very proud of that relationship."

Kanye has been going on a controversial social media tirade for the last couple of days but Adidas has not publicly stated whether or not that has impacted their decision in reviewing their partnership.

Before Kanye was the rapper, entrepreneur, and trendsetting mogul that he is today, he got his start as a producer most notably working with Jay-Z. Back in 2000, Ye was signed to Roc Nation’s team of in-house producers and from there the rest is history. With over 20 years of experience in the music business, Ye has continued to raise the industry standard.

Take a look at 15 songs you might not have known he produced for other artists:

Ye produced Foxy Brown's "My Life" which was released in 1999. The song was featured as part of the soundtrack in the 2003 hit film "Cradle 2 The Grave" starring the late DMX, Jet Li, Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, and Paige Hurd.

Lil' Kim's "Don't Mess with Me" was released in 2000 from the rapper's second studio album The Notorious K.I.M. Ye is also credited as a co-writer along with Kimberly Denise Jones (Lil' Kim), Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie, Geoff Gill and Cliff Wade.

"Brown Sugar (Fine)" is from the soundtrack of the film Brown Sugar. Mos Def plays Chris “Cavi” Vichon, a cab driver and underground rapper, and he performs the song in the film and tags Faith Evans' angelic vocals later on the soundtrack. The song contains a sample of Norman Connor’s “Invitation” (1979).

Monica released "Knock Knock" in 2003 on her fourth studio album 'Before The Storm.' The record peaked at No.75 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 24 on Billboard’s R&B chart."Knock Knock" samples The Masqueraders' 1976 song “It’s a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love.”

"Go!" is the third single from Common's 2005 album Be. Ye provides background vocals alongside John Mayer. Be was nominated for "Best Rap Album" at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

“You Don’t Know My Name” is the lead single of Alicia’s second studio album The Diary Of Alicia Keys , which was released in 2003. The song won a Grammy for "Best R&B Song" at the 47th Annual Grammys where the singer also picked up "Best R&B Album," for The Diary Of Alicia Keys , "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" for "If Ain't Got You," and "Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocals" for "My Boo" featuring Usher.

"Overnight Celebrity" is the second single from Twista's 2004 album Kamikaze. The song has uncredited vocals by West and violin by Miri Ben-Ari. The track samples Lenny Williams' 1978 song "Cause I Love You." The song received a nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

"Stay The Night" is from Mariah Carey's The Emancipation of Mimi, the singer's 10th studio album, which was released in 2005.

Alicia Keys and Ye teamed up again on the singer's "Unbreakable" which was released in 2005. The track was originally supposed to be a part of the R&B icon's second studio album The Diary Of Alicia Keys but it ultimately did not make the cut.
"The song was always one of my favorites, but I did not think it would fit well into my second album," the singer said per Genius. The record draws from Eddie Kendrick's 1977 "Intimate Friends." "Unbreakable" was nominated for "Best R&B Song" and "Best Female Vocal R&B Vocal Performance" at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

"Did It Before" is from Lil Wayne's The Drought Is Over 2: The Carter 3 Sessions. The Drought Is Over 2: The Carter 3 Sessions is an unofficial compilation of Lil Wayne songs that was released in 2007.

"Show Me A Good Time" is from Drake's 2010 album Thank Me Later. Not only did Ye produce this song but he also has a co-writing credit along with Drake, No I.D., and Jeff Bhasker. Ye also produced Drizzy's "Find Your Love" which is also on the album. Thank Me Later was nominated for "Best Rap Album" at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

The original "Runaway Love" is found on Justin Bieber's 2010 album My World 2.0. Bieber and Ye's collab came after Kanye tweeted his admiration of the song. He then added Wu-Tang's Raekwon onto the project for the remix. The remix samples the beat from Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 hit "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F--- Wit."

"Party" is from Beyoncé's fourth studio album 4 and includes a guest appearance from André 3000. Ye also contributes background vocals to the track along with Consequence.

"Let's Get Lifted" is from John Legend's debut studio album Get Lifted. Ye who was Legend's manager at the time, executive produced this album including "Let's Get Lifted." Get Lifted won "Best R&B Album", and earned Legend another two awards, for "Best New Artist" and "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance" for his single "Ordinary People" at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

"Industry Baby" appears on Lil Nas X's debut album Montero which was released in 2021. The song features a guest appearance from rapper Jack Harlow. The song debuted at No. 2 in August of 2021 then went to No.1 on the chart on the week of October 23, 2021. The track became Lil Nas X's third No. 1 song and Harlow's first. The song received a nomination for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.