Though it seems an unlikely beef, there were some minor jabs thrown between Kanye West and Justin Timberlake earlier this year. From a fan's perspective, it's difficult to tell if there is still bad blood between the artists. In an interview with Sway, Justin Timberlake has revealed that he has no issues with West, and in fact, he REALLY wants to work with him.
Justin spoke of approaching Kanye West at the VMAs about a possible collaboration. “I told him, ‘I fuck with you in a way you probably don’t even understand,'" JT said. "We’ve never worked together so I don’t know that he fully understands what it is that I can do. That's fine. As a matter of fact, Jay said the same thing. That's okay. What I do agree with, is I would have loved to have had him as a part of the [recording] process...I hope something spawns out of that [conversation].”
Apparently Kanye was relatively open to the idea. “[Kanye] said the exact perfect thing, which was, ‘Well, the best way I know how to do that is just for us to sit down and just play music,'" said Justin. "And I said, 'Exactly...’ I love 'Ye so I feel like I understand what he’s doing. I love Yeezus, I love that album. I think he’s ahead of a lot, especially in his genre. He's ahead of a lot, all the time. You have to at least listen and give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s earned that and I get it. I think people are going to appreciate it a lot more in the future.”
JT then explained that Kanye had credited him with inspiration in the past. "I remember when he came out with 'Stronger' and he was talking to be about 'Sexy Back' and that was an influence," he said. "I don't know if he'd say that still, but that's the way I remember the conversation. I played Staples Center in L.A. and brought him out on stage and said, 'Come perform the song in the middle of my show.' We did 'Stronger' together at Staples Center."
Timberlake revealed that if there's any beef between him and 'Ye, it's not coming from his end. "Look at me," he said. "I'm not the guy who's going to have beef. And if we do, that's fine. But I have too much respect for him. I have too much respect for him as an artist."
Watch full interview below.