Kanye West's "Famous" video is being hailed as a master class in the art of provocation by some and derided as "dumpster juice" by others. Inspired by "Sleep," a painting by American realist Vincent Desiderio, the video depicts a bed in which wax statues of 12 celebrities doze peacefully in the nude: George W. Bush, Anna Wintour, Donald Drumpf, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner and Bill Cosby.
“It’s not in support or anti any of [the people in the video]," Kanye explained in an interview with Vanity Fair. "It’s a comment on fame.”
Specifically, "Famous" is a comment on Kanye's own fame. It might best be categorized as performance art; the reaction of the media and public is part of the production. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Desiderio likened Kanye to Andy Warhol: "Think about how [Warhol's] whole life was a performance piece and then you understand why Kanye at one point said, 'I'm Andy Warhol.' The way we're thinking about Kanye West and the way he's portrayed, there's an orchestration to it, but social media is so large right now that it spins wildly out of control."
HNHH traced Kanye's relationships with the eleven other celebrities depicted to better understand the "Famous" video and its implications.
George Bush
Bush's camp had by far the best response to the "Famous" video: "In case there was any doubt... that is not President Bush,” a Bush rep said. “He is in much better shape.”
Kanye introduced himself to millions by way of his legendary "George Bush doesn’t care about black people" speech from 2006. In retrospect, even Kanye admits that his attack on Bush was not personal so much as an attack on the larger institutional forces that Bush represented.
“Maybe in some alternative universe me and George Bush could have been friends,” he told Vanity Fair.
. “I could have been his O.J. Simpson black friend on the golf course.”
Anna Wintour
"I adore Kanye," said fashion icon Anna Wintour during a 2015 interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers. "The wonderful thing about Kanye is he likes to talk and basically likes to talk about anything sort of like Karl Lagerfeld... He's brilliant. I like to listen, so we have a very close relationship."
Kanye appeared to confirm his friendship with the Vogue editor-in-chief on Cruel Winter cut "Cold." "Dinner with Anna Wintour, racing with Anja Rubik/ I told you motherfuckers it was more than the music," he rapped.
Wintour and Kanye are close enough that she sat with his family in the VIP section during the unveiling of Yeezy Season 3 and The Life of Pablo. She appeared to get bored of the show, which she described as "migrant chic," and proceeded to get lost in MSG's subterranean tunnel system, only to be rescued by a security guard who also happened to be her son's baseball coach.
Donald Drumpf
Given his history of threatening to sue rappers who use his image and name without his permission, as well as the fact that his presedential campaign is currently in dire straits, Drumpf is probably the most likely celebrity to sue Kanye over "Famous." The share much in common -- robust ego, an affinity for controversy, an inability to keep their mouth shut, and unlikely political aspirations.
Who you got in the 2020 election?
RT for Kanye
FAV for Drumpf pic.twitter.com/7tu7ph1WGw
Rihanna
Kanye and his "lil sis" Rihanna are both members of the TIDAL Mafia, the small group of ubersuccessful musicians who have invested in the streaming platform. Though not frequent collaborators, they have linked on the "Diamonds" remix, "Run This Town, "FourFiveSeconds," and of course "Famous."
Chris Brown
"Waves" ("WAAAAAVES DON'T DIEEEEEE") was the most dazzling on track on The Life of Pablo and it marked Kanye's first collaboration with Chris Breezy since the 2010 remix of "Deuces." That doesn't mean they haven't stayed in contact. Brown dispensed Twitter advice to Kanye during Kanye's run in with Jimmy Kimmel in 2013.
"@kanyewest hire some security or some street niggas to take care of the bullshit so u not explaining Yaself," Brown tweeted.
"I hate how the media makes us look like aggressive animals," he continued. "On some real shit If those cameras on ya property that means its trespassing."
Though he was mildly peeved at his portrayal in the "Famous" video, he seemed honored to have been included. "Why I gotta have the plumbers butt/ crack showing WAX figure?" he lamented on Instagram. "This nigga KANYE CRAZY, talented, but crazy."
Taylor Swift
Kanye West had never met Taylor Swift when he leapt on stage at the 2009 MTV VMAs, snatched the mic from her hand, and proclaimed, "I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!!!"
It was a breathtaking move in every way and it resulted in a massive media backlash against Kanye. The two of them eventually made up, then had a falling out when Kanye's voice blared over the MSG speakers at the TLOP premiere: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ Why? I made that bitch famous!"
The obligatory inclusion of her wax likeness in the video undoubtedly did nothing to repair their relationship.
"I did not diss Taylor Swift and I've never dissed her," Kanye explained on Twitter when the song was initially released. "First thing is I'm an artist and as an artist I will express how I feel with no censorship."
I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her…
2nd thing I asked my wife for her blessings and she was cool with it
3rd thing I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings
4th Bitch is an endearing term in hip hop like the word Nigga
5th thing I’m not even gone take credit for the idea… it’s actually something Taylor came up with …
Kim Kardashian
Not a lot to say here. Kanye's wife and the mother of his two children. BOUND.
Ray J
It has been well-documented that Ray J takes immense pride in the fact that he "hit it first." He didn't seem keen to discuss the "Famous" video with a TMZ paparazzo. His manager Wack 100, who also manages The Game and famously KOed Game's archenemy Stitches, intervened to offer his own two cents: “They show him with his dick in his wife, though? If they don’t show Ray J with his dick in Kim Kardashian mouth, tell Kanye to reshoot that shit. He better watch his motherfucking mouth.”
Alrighty then. Kanye has not shied away from the Ray J-Kim sex tape, and he even extended a theoretical olive branch (similar to the one he extended GW Bush) in "Highlights":
"I bet me and Ray J would be friends
If we ain't love the same bitch
Yeah, he might have hit it first
Only problem is I'm rich!"
Amber Rose
Kanye dated Amber Rose from 2008 to 2010. After declaring that he "owned" Sebastian, the 2-year-old son of Rose and her ex-husband Wiz Khalifa during a Twitter rant against Khalifa in January,
Rose responded swiftly: "Awww @kanyewest are u mad I'm not around to play in ur asshole anymore? #FingersInTheBootyAssBitch." She punctuated the tweet with an emoji of a hand with the lone index finger extended upward.
Kanye denied any sort of penchant for buttplay.
Awww @kanyewest are u mad I'm not around to play in ur asshole anymore? #FingersInTheBootyAssBitch
Lol @kanyewest Now u wanna delete ur tweets cuz Muva has arrived? #TwitterFingers #UrGettingBodiedByAStripperNigga
Exes can be mad but just know I never let them play with my ass… I don’t do that… I stay away from that area all together
I’m not into that kind of shit… I like pictures and videos Me and my wife got the kind of love that can turn exes into best friends
Caitlyn Jenner
Kanye West appeared alongside Kim Kardashian in 2015's "I Am Cait," an E! series documenting Caitlyn Jenner's transition to womanhood. Kanye met Caitlyn for the first time as a woman and gave her a few words of encouragement.
After ceasing to smile when he sees the camera and greeting Jenner with a ginger hug, Kanye told her, "I think this is one of the strongest things that have happened in our existence as human beings, that are so controlled by perception."
In an interview recorded later, Jenner commented on her relationship with Kanye. "Kanye and I have never really been very close. But I love his open-mindedness, and I love how he's helped Kim come to grips with what's going on," she said.
Before showing his sock shoes to Jenner's sister, Kanye applauded her courage to go through with the transition. "You couldn't have been up against more. Your daughter’s a supermodel, you’re a celebrity… but it was still like, ‘Fuck everybody, this is who I am.’”
Bill Cosby
In February, Kanye joined a chorus of rappers who have denounced allegations that Cosby raped dozens of women. He doesn't know Cosby personally, but in Cosby he likely sees himself: a rich, successful black man victimized by his own fame.
BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!!