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Brief Overview

Kanye West, otherwise known as “Ye” or “Yeezy,” a college dropout

from Chicago, has made a name for himself in the public sphere. In the beginning

of his career, Kanye gained fame from producing hit songs for famous artists such

as Jay-Z and John Legend (REVOLT TV, 2018). Kanye went on to release his

debut album in 2004 titled “The College Dropout.” His debut album, along with

his second album titled “Late Registration,” went on to win six Grammy awards

in total (REVOLT TV, 2018). Along with his music success thus far, Kanye is

also known for his unfiltered and flamboyant personality, especially seen on

social media. Named one of the top 25 most influential people on social media by

Time ​magazine, Kanye continues to shock people with his unfiltered thoughts on

Twitter, calling his own tweets “contemporary art” (Berman, 2018). Kanye’s

infamous and lucrative personality shown through his social media platform is a

brand in and of itself; it has given him a foundation to build from and has allowed

him to eventually create his own successful clothing and shoe line.

First Media Platform

Kanye West is known for outwardly speaking his mind, especially through

his Twitter account. The newest controversy that he has stirred involves a

sensitive subject where he suggests abolishing the 13th Amendment in a tweet.

Kanye later clarifies his statement in another tweet, claiming he should have used

the word “amend” instead of “abolish” when referring to the 13th Amendment in

his original tweet (France, 2018). While Kanye has simply been “brushed off” in
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the past due to the controversies he has caused, he has never been more influential

than he is right now (​Caramanica​, 2018). Kanye’s social media platform has

grown at a steady pace throughout the years due to the fact that the public has

become fascinated by his erratic personality. He is not afraid to share exactly what

he is thinking through his social media presence. For example, a normal tweet by

Kanye would be similar to “You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t

make me not love him. We are both dragon energy…” (West, 2018). Written by

Kanye on April 25th, 2018, this tweet shows that he is not afraid to openly share

his opinions. Named one of the top 100 most influential people in the world by

Time​ magazine, Kanye is “​not afraid of being judged or ridiculed in the process”

(Musk, 2015). People love him because he doesn’t care about what others think of

him; he is simply and unapologetically himself. According to ​Time​ magazine,

“Kanye’s been playing the long game all along, and we’re only just beginning to

see why” (Musk, 2015).

Second Media Platform

Kanye’s self-assured personality through his social media presence has

branded itself. People may love him or hate him, but he is inarguably an

influential public figure that is consistently true to himself. Russell Brunson, an

author and entrepreneur, states in his book ​Expert Secrets​ that “​having a

polarizing personality is one of the key archetypes in creating a charismatic leader

that raving fans will follow and buy every product that’s offered to them” (Grate,

2017). Because of his confident personality, fans are more likely to want to buy
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his products. Furthermore, ​Kanye uses smart marketing strategies to allow his

brand to succeed. For example, his use of campaigning through social media led

to a “45% spike in search demand for Yeezy products in the week after the

campaign was launched compared to the week before” (Hanbury, 2018). Kanye’s

brand has become a culture: Yeezy sneakers have become extremely popular on

the resale market, selling for an average $1,876 on Ebay (Hanbury, 2018).

According to ​Business Insider​, Quynh Mai, founder of Moving Image & Content,

says ​"The Yeezy team is embedded into culture - art as well as pop - and are not

afraid to play with those codes in their marketing efforts” (Hanbury, 2018). Kanye

uses his social media platform to advertise his brand, which is a reflection of

Kanye as a whole.

Comparison of the Uses of Platforms

Kanye’s two different platforms, his social media presence and his Yeezy

brand, are different yet similar. On social media, Kanye expresses his opinions

outwardly. People believe that Kanye carelessly voices his opinions on his

platform without taking a moment to think about what he is saying, but he

questions anything and everything and encourages his fans to do the same ​(Musk,

2015). ​Comparing this to his brand “Yeezy,” Kanye puts his opinions aside in

order to do what any smart entrepreneur would do. His website that fans can

purchase Yeezy products from, yeezysupply.com, contains no mention of his own

personal opinions or ideas. The visually pleasing website is simply a list of all the

products in his clothing line. He sets his opinions aside to ensure that his brand
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and clothing line remain professional, unlike his Twitter account. Instead, he uses

smart advertising techniques such as selling his products in limited quantities.

This led his Yeezy Boost 350 sneakers to sell out in only one hour after they were

released online (Hanbury, 2018). Although both platforms are different, Kanye’s

social media presence and clothing brand are a reflection of his personality. When

people see a piece from his line, they see his character. Kanye created a personal

brand simply from his flamboyant personality through social media, and

eventually was able to create a successful clothing and shoe brand from it. Kanye

West is unapologetically himself, and that is shown through both his social media

presence and his Yeezy brand.

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References
Caramanica, J. (2018, June 25). Into the Wild With Kanye West. Retrieved

from

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/25/arts/music/kanye-west-ye-interview.

html

France, L. R. (2018, October 02). Kanye West explains his 13th Amendment

comments. Retrieved from

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/entertainment/kanye-west-13th-amendme

nt-clarification/index.html

Grate, C. (2017, June 25). 3 Things Kanye West Can Teach You About

Personal Branding. Retrieved from

https://medium.com/@christophergrate/3-things-kanye-west-can-teach-you

-about-personal-branding-ab6beca6a5eb

Hanbury, M. (2018, April 26). Kanye West's secret to building a footwear

empire to compete with Nike. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-kanye-west-made-yeezy-brand-a-suc

cess-2018-4

Musk, E. (2015, April 16). Kanye West. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from

http://time.com/collection-post/3822841/kanye-west-2015-time-100/
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REVOLT TV. (2018, June 08). A timeline of Kanye West's 41 years of

excellence. Retrieved from

https://revolt.tv/stories/2018/06/08/timeline-kanye-wests-40-years-excellen

ce-07004cac65

Berman, E. (2018, June 28). 25 Most Influential People on the Internet in

2018. Retrieved from ​http://time.com/5324130/most-influential-internet/

kanyewest. (2018, April 25). ​You don't have to agree with trump but the mob

can't make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother.

I love everyone. I don't agree with everything anyone does. That's what

makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.

[Tweet] Retrieved from

https://twitter.com/kanyewest/status/989179757651574784?lang=en

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