Kanye West Makes Appearance at Cannes Lions Festival
Kanye West has really been making the rounds lately. Fresh from his weekend performance at the Bonnaroo music festival, Yeezus dropped into Cannes, France, Monday (June 16) to participate in an open-ended panel discussion on technology and culture.
During the talk, West spoke about his impact and aspiration, as well as his desire to extend the legacy of Steve Jobs. After Jobs died in 2011, West made it his "life's mission to do what he did inside of that company." The 37-year-old newlywed's goal is to "raise the palette and raise the taste level of a generation," he said.
His loyalty to Jobs and the Apple brand is partly why West has no desire to work with competitor Samsung. Although he respects Jay Z's collaboration with the tech company, the "New Slaves" MC doesn't hold Samsung to a high standard. "The reason I said I didn't like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1," explained 'Ye. "I can't work with anyone but Jay Z, because he's No. 1. I can't be with any girl but Kim [Kardashian], because that's the girl whose pictures I look at the most and get turned on by. I'm not going to represent any company but Louis Vuitton, because that's No. 1."
For what it's worth, West is already successfully proving his "No. 1" theory, and his wedding last month is an example. Photographer Annie Leibovitz pulled out of shooting the ceremony at the last minute (possibly because she's "scared about the idea of celebrity," West noted), causing the new groom to handle the photos on his own. The image of him and Kardashian sharing a kiss behind a wall of flowers became the most-liked photo in Instagram history. West admitted that he spent "like, four days" editing the color palette to perfect the photo.
"I still wanted my wedding photos to look like Annie Leibovitz," he stated. "Now, can you imagine telling someone who just wants to Instagram a photo, the No. 1 person on Instagram, that we need to work on the color of the flowered wall? But the fact that the No. 1 most-liked photo has this certain aesthetic on it was a win for what the mission is — of raising the palette."
Celebrity, according to West, is the "highest form of communication," which in his case is used as a tool to sell a lifestyle. "People are less about the brand and more about self-confidence and how the brands can assist them, similar to what Steve was doing with tech," he said. "This is my goal in lifestyle, in everyday life — to change the idea of what luxury is. Because time is the only luxury. It's not all these brands that we just drove by that are somehow selling our esteem back to us through association."
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(Photo: Gigi Iorio / Splash News)