John Legend on what strained his relationship with Kanye West
John Legend says the relationship went sour after he failed to support Kanye during his presidential campaign.
It is not a secret that John Legend and Kanye West were quite close over the years.
But, in recent times, their relationship has gone sour.
Speaking to Billboard, Legend says what led to this was when Kanye ran for presidency in 2020 and he failed to support him.
As a result, he says the 'Can't Tell Me Nothing' hitmaker got upset with him.
“He was upset with me that I didn’t support his presidential candidacy,” Legend said.
However, he added that he does not regret his decision to not support Kanye.
“I don’t really know a way around that. I’m not going to take back the fact that I didn’t support his presidency, I’m not going to apologize for that because I believe that was the right thing for me to do. If that means he doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore, so be it," he said.
“We have great music that we made together. He helped make me who I am as an artist and I’ll never forget that. We just not seeing eye to eye right now and that’s life," he added.
The American rapper announced his 2020 United States presidential election campaign via Twitter. According to BBC, he only received 60,000 votes. He has announced that he will be running for presidency again in 2024.
READ: John Legend sings songs he heard his mother and grandmother singing during his childhood
KANYE 2024 pic.twitter.com/Zm2pKcn12t
— ye (@kanyewest) November 4, 2020
John Legend also spoke about his latest album, 'Legend', which he released over the weekend.
He said he is at a stage in his musical career where he feels he has earned the title of 'legend'.
"It’s a stage name that’s been following me for almost 20 years, and I feel like I’m ready to embrace it,” the singer explained.
He went on to speak about what his album means to him.
“It represents so much of who I am as an artist, all of the artists who inspired me, all the music that I love," he said.
The EGOT winner says he feels he is living his dream.
“I feel like this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve been wanting to do this since I was a kid, and I’m so grateful that I’m living my dream out right now. I feel like, man, pinch myself. This is amazing," he said during the interview.
He also explained on Instagram that the album brought him healing.
"LEGEND is full of sensuality, joy and celebration. But our lives are more complex than that. My family and I have also been challenged by loss and grief and pain. I wanted to make space on this album to be vulnerable, spiritual and reflective. I needed this music to help me heal, and to hopefully help others heal. I brought my full self to this album, and that’s why I decided to make it my first (sorta) self-titled album," he wrote.
Watch: John Legend thinks 'You Deserve It All' this holiday season
See the post below.
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Image courtesy of Instagram/ @John Legend