"He got that ambition, baby, look at his eyes, this week he moppin' floors, next week it's the fries," Kanye 'Ye' West once rapped. And now, the controversial artist does appear to be taking his talents to the world of fast food, teasing an apparent partnership with McDonald's.
After a brief hiatus from Instagram that followed a 24-hour suspension in March, the rapper-producer-designer made his highly anticipated return to the grid on Tuesday (NZ time) with an announcement that he is "reimagining" McDonald's packaging.
The rapper, 44, shared a minimal image that revealed his take on the Golden Arches' wrapping, captioning the preview: "Ye teams up with industrial designer Naoto Fukasawa to reimagine McDonald's packaging."
The photo appears to show a boxy-shaped burger encased in a transparent wrapper, with the iconic Golden Arches emblazoned on top.
West, who legally changed his name to Ye in 2021, also teased the new packaging on his Instagram Story alongside the line, "next week it's the fries" - a lyric from his hit song 'Gold Digger', which appeared on the 2005 album Late Registration.
With its minimal and modern design, the packaging appears to reference the futuristic yet understated aesthetic of his popular Yeezy clothing line - a far cry from McDonald's traditional red-and-yellow wrappers. Ye's designs typically work with neutral, monochromatic colour palettes, boxy cuts and oversized fits, with more classic lines offset by distinctive shoes styles and fabrics.
And Naoto Fukasawa is no small name in the industry. The Japanese industrial designer, 66, is respected in the fields of product, interior and furniture design and has worked for a wide range of leading brands worldwide. Fukasawa is also the curator of The Japan Folk Crafts Museum and is a professor in the Integrated Design Department at Tama Art University in Tokyo.
McDonald's has yet to officially comment on the collaboration on their social media platforms.
The rapper previously expressed his love for Mickey D's in 2016 when he penned an unexpected poem about the fast-food chain for fellow artist Frank Ocean's magazine, Boys Don't Cry.
Ye and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian also appeared in a post for McDonald's Instagram in 2020, in which they shared their go-to meal by the fast-food giant. While Ye was partial to a milkshake, fries, Chicken McNuggets and tangy BBQ sauce, Kardashian opted for a hamburger and fries with a shake, side of McNuggets and an apple pie for dessert.
The apparent announcement also marks the first time Ye has updated his Instagram following his temporary suspension in March. A spokesperson for Meta, the company that owns the social networking platform, told TMZ the rapper's relentless harassment of Kardashian and her new partner, comedian Pete Davidson, on the platform had violated their policies on hate speech, harassment and bullying.
In the series of erratic posts earlier this year, Ye said he was "really concerned" Davidson would get Kardashian "hooked on drugs", demanded Davidson "apologize to your family for being in your family", and shamed his former wife for her approach to parenting.
