He was a young tech entrepreneur, and Kanye West wanted to partner with him. What could go wrong? Well, everything. But to hear West tell it, it was a simple collaboration: West, the “Yeezy” rapper, would become the head of a company that would grow to have more than 100 employees.
On Thursday, West’s company, The Information, filed for bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg, which cited regulatory filings in Los Angeles County. West’s company has been forced to lay off employees and close its Oakland office. The filing also signaled a loss of faith by West in the company he founded. In a tweet, West said he is taking “a break from music and product to spend time with my family.”
But while the West’s partnership with Information Technology Holdings Corporation has been rocky from the start, it isn’t the first time West has come into conflict. The rapper has been involved in other partnerships that have not gone as well.
How West got in trouble with other celebrities
West first met the founder of the digital media company the Black Eyed Peas at the rapper’s music video shoot in 2001. But the two met again after the video shoot, when West was in New York City, about 15 miles from the Manhattan offices of the Black Eyed Peas’ record label and music publisher, Sire.
West introduced himself to the music industry’s youngest, most successful and most infamous rapper, Sean Combs, who was at the time the founder of the Black Eyed Peas. West said that he met with Combs at McDonald’s. West also said that he went back to the Black Eyed Peas office after meeting with his business partner, and brought his wife Kim Kardashian West.
On Aug. 18, 2004, the singer tweeted on his Twitter account, “@seancombs just wanted to say, thanks for everything my man @kanyewest and his crew did