"Ye reached out to me as a big brother" - Antonio Brown credits Kanye West for saving him from the NFL world's backlash

Antonio Brown talked about how rapper Kanye West saved him when those associated with the NFL turned against him. In an interview with hip hop magazine XXL, the former NFL wide receiver said how the 24-time Grammy award-winning musician reached out to him, brought him to Los Angeles, and embraced him like a "big brother":

"Right when that situation happened off the field, Ye reached out to me as a big brother, just to bring me closer and embrace me. [He] brought me to L.A., made me President of Donda Sports, had me in the suite at the Soho for weeks, while he [was] working on his album, providing me producers, engineers, songwriters."

West reached out to the receiver after he stripped himself off his jersey and pads while playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they faced the New York Jets in a Week 17 game of the 2021 season. Soon after Tampa Bay cut him, the receiver released a song titled Pit Not The Palace.

The creative partnership between West and Brown grew from the friendship between the two, and they remain close to this day. With music and a friendship with West, Brown also picked up another friend in Brooklyn drill artist Freshman Fivio Foreign. The receiver said the rapper is the King of New York and talked about his perseverance:

"Fivio, he's first off, the King of New York, and he's just so talented. I feel like he's so used to persevering through so much adversity. Just being able to still express that positivity, and that's what made it so special."

Fivio made two appearances on the receiver’s album, Paradigm, featuring on the album opener, Champions, and Half A Moon, another track from the album.

Antonio Brown and his NFL career

Brown as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers

The receiver played the first nine seasons of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2010-2018). As a Steelers player, he had 11,207 yards receiving, 74 touchdowns, and 837 receptions. Brown is second only to receiver Hines Ward for the most receiving yards, touchdowns, and receptions in Steelers history.

He played with the New England Patriots for one game in the 2019 season before joining the Buccaneers in the 2020 season. With Tampa Bay, he had 87 receptions, 1,028 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns in 15 games.

Now, the 33-year-old looks set to shift away from football and focus on his music. We’ll see if he wants to return for a 13th season in the NFL at some point in the future.