Kanye West has ended his partnership between his fashion brand YEEZY and Gap after two years. His lawyer confirmed the news with CNBC. In a letter sent to the retailer on Thursday (Sept. 15), West’s lawyer, Nicholas Gravante Jr. told Gap that it “failed to meet its obligations in the companies’ agreement. The agreement included distributing Yeezy products in its stores by the second half of 2021 and creating dedicated Yeezy Gap stores.”

“Yeezy notified Gap of its concerns in August and gave the company a contractually-designated 30 days to cure its breaches,” said Gravante. He added that Gap took no action on the concerns.

“It was always a dream of mine to be at the Gap and to bring the best product possible,” Ye told CNBC’s Closing Bell on Thursday. “Obviously there’s always struggles and back-and-forth when you’re trying to build something new and integrate teams.” The rapper mentioned that he was not involved in conversations involving color choices and couldn’t set the prices he wanted on his projects.

“It was very frustrating. It was very disheartening because I just put everything I had. I put all of my top relationships,” Ye said. “Our agenda, it wasn’t aligned.”

He was also disappointed that the clothing retailer did not open YEEZY stores as they were contractually obligated to. “Everyone knows that I’m the leader, I’m the king,” Ye added. “A king can’t live in someone else’s castle. A king has to make his own castle.”

Gap CEO Mark Breitbard confirmed in a memo to employees Thursday that the retailer would “wind down” its partnership with YEEZY. “While we share a vision of bringing high-quality, trend-forward, utilitarian design to all people through unique omni experiences with Yeezy Gap, how we work together to deliver this vision is not aligned,” Breitbard reportedly said in the statement.

“Important to know is that throughout this partnership, we have upheld our commitments – and the teams have done so with the utmost integrity, navigating obstacles and demonstrating incredible resolve,” he said.

In June of 2020, Gap announced its partnership with YEEZY which was set to continue through 2026. Ye, who solely owns YEEZY, would receive royalties and equity based on the sales. Gap also agreed to distribute 8.5 million shares to Yeezy as certain sales targets were met.

The Donda artist warned Gap they were next on his list, after a social media rant that attacked Adidas whom the rapper has a 10-year deal with.

“It’s going to cost you billions to keep me. It’s going to cost you billions to let me go,” West told Adidas in another since-deleted Instagram post, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Kanye West: 15 Songs You (Might) Have Not Known He Produced

• 1. Foxy Brown, "My Life" (1999)

  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.

• 2. Lil' Kim, "Don't Mess with Me" (2000)

  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.

• 3. Mos Def feat. Faith Evans, "Brown Sugar (Fine)" (2002)

  “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).

• 4. Monica, "Knock Knock" (2003)

  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.”

• 5. Common – "Go!" (2005)

  “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.

• 6. Alicia Keys, "You Don't Know My Name" (2003)

  “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.

• 7. Twista, "Overnight Celebrity" (2004)

  “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.

• 8. Mariah Carey, "Stay The Night" (2005)

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

• 9. Alicia Keys, "Unbreakable" (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.

• 10. Lil Wayne, "Did It Before" (2007)

  “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.

• 11. Drake, "Show Me A Good Time" (2010)

  “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.

• 12. Justin Bieber, "Runaway Love" Remix (2011)

  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.”

• 13. Beyoncé, "Party" ft. André 3000 (2011)

  “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.

• 14. John Legend, "Let's Get Lifted" (2011)

  “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.

• 15. Lil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, "Industry Baby" (2021)

  “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.

Sign me up for the 107.7 The Bounce email newsletter!

Bounce with us, as we'll bring you the hottest music news and notes, plus great contests, concerts, local news and events, and so much more!

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.