Kanye West has hinted that he will be returning to his first love of art.
The Chicago native, who has been involved in various mediums outside of music such as fashion design, video games, filmmaking and architecture, has been a lover of art since he was a child.
In a text message exchange with Digital Nas (who produced several songs on Vultures 1 including the chart-topping hit “Carnival”) which the producer posted on Instagram, Kanye wrote: “I’m going into my full art Ye art studio mode.”
The rap legend himself then provided a clue about his creative pivot by posting various clips from the 1995 satirical film The Painter which lampoons various famous artists.
Kanye previously spoke about his history with art during a chat with film director Steve McQueen for Interview Magazine in 2014.
He said: “Well, I’m a trained fine artist. I went to art school from the time I was 5 years old. I was, like, a prodigy out of Chicago. I’d been in national competitions from the age of 14. I got three scholarships to art schools — to St. Xavier, to the American Academy of Art, and to the Art Institute of Chicago — and I went to the American Academy of Art.
“So the joke that I’ve actually played on everyone is that the entire time, I’ve actually just been a fine artist. I just make sonic paintings, and these sonic paintings have led me to become whatever people think of when you say ‘Kanye West.’”
Some artwork Ye made during high school was also estimated at being worth more than $20,000 when it was brought on to PBS’ Antiques Roadshow by the husband of his cousin.
Appraiser Laura Woolley said of the surreal illustrations and paintings: “I think these pieces demonstrate an extraordinary facility as an artist.”
One of Kanye West’s more recent pursuits was an apparent attempt to branch out into pornography.
It was reported by TMZ earlier this year that the father of four planned to launch a porn studio, which would be part of “a broader adult entertainment division” in his existing Yeezy empire.
The outlet claimed that he was in talks with Mike Moz, the ex-husband of porn star and industry veteran Stormy Daniels, to help him get the brand up and running.
Kanye himself appeared to confirm his venture into the adult movie industry in a post on Instagram which simply read: “YEEZY PORN IS CUMMING.”
However, he would later pull the plug on the project following turmoil within his Yeezy company.
