Kanye West, whose relationship with Adidas ended last year after a social media meltdown, has reportedly opened his new Yeezy office next door to an Adidas store on LA’s Melrose Avenue.
The controversy began in October 2022, when Ye went on an unhinged spree of spouting anti-Semitic rhetorics and conspiracy theories on social media. His association with white supremacists and his negative attitude towards the "Black Lives Matter" movement brought him immense criticism from industry peers. It also led to Adidas ending its partnership with the rapper.
The recent news about the Yeezy office was shared on Wednesday, May 3, by Donda Times, a Ye fan site. According to the post, the Yeezy office is located between Laurel and N. Edinburgh on Melrose Avenue. It is separated from the Adidas store by a Life Soleil store in the middle.
Another Twitter page, Daily Loud, also shared the news, to which one user @keybladevolo replied that Ye was back as a businessman.
Netizens react to Kanye West opening Yeezy office next door to Adidas
This news surfaced months after a report that claimed that Yeezy headquarters’ last known location was faced with eviction after it failed to pay two months of rent worth $63,254. The 15,000 sq. ft office space was first leased by Ye in 2015.
When the lease was signed, the brand agreed to pay $31,477.40 as rent per month and continued to do so in full until November last year. It missed payments for both November and December. Though it’s unclear if the due rent is the reason Kanye West moved offices, people have been calling it a petty move on his part to choose the same block as an Adidas store.
Kanye West and Adidas controversy
Adidas was compelled to sever ties with Kanye and his Yeezy clothing line after he engaged in multiple anti-Semitic tirades on both Twitter and Instagram in October 2022. However, in February this year, the 45-year-old rapper reportedly reached an agreement with the company to get them to unload the rest of the designs in their Yeezy collection.
According to reports, the new contract between Adidas and Kanye would allow the company to release and promote the existing product created during their partnership deal. However, the agreement did not make any provision to continue partnering with Yeezy.
The value of the remaining products under the Yeezy x Adidas is approximately $500 million, as per reports. Adidas has previously blamed the rapper for their financial loss, which followed after the brand and Kanye West ended their deal. Their deal so far, was estimated to be around $1.3 billion in 2023.
Adidas claimed that it currently had numerous Yeezy designs that it were unable to be sold. Earlier in November, the company stated that it was going to repurpose those designs under a different name in order for them to get sold.
As for Yeezy, though the brand is now independent, it is still facing lawsuits from its previous employees. There has not been an official confirmation regarding the new Yeezy office on Melrose Avenue. However, people are speculating that this move was Kanye’s attempt at trolling Adidas.