The Story On Kanye's Nike Trouble: West Addresses Nike CEO During Show

Kanye West has never been one to hold back from speaking his mind and those that incur his wrath better watch out. The latest on Yeezy’s hit list is Nike CEO Mark Parker, who received one of the most cryptic slams we’ve ever heard from Kanye, during a tour stop in Nashville.

"Do you know who the head of Nike is?" West asked the audience at Bridgestone Arena, according to The Associated Press. "No, well let me tell you who he is: His name is Mark Parker, and he just lost culture. Everyone at Nike, everyone at Nike, Mark Parker just let go of culture."

West’s problems with the company date back to 2009, when the rapper collaborated with Nike over the creation of the Air Yeezy shoes. According to Kanye, Nike refused to pay him for the creation of the shoes. He recently explained to New York’s Hot 97 that "Nike told me, 'We can't give you royalties because you're not a professional athlete.' I told them, 'I'll go to the Garden and play one-on-no one.' I'm a performance athlete."

He continued the story during the Nashville show, in what can (maybe?) be considered an open address directed at Parker. "I'm talking directly to you. No miscommunication," he said, calling out Parker. "Did you not want the Yeezys? Nike would make you believe it was my fault that you couldn't get them, but that was not the case. I wanted there to be as many Yeezys as there was LeBrons, and I wanted them to be at a good price, but that was not my choice, and we're going to change everything. And I'm going to create more than you think that any musician in the history of time ever could have."

Recently, West has been explaining in interviews that he is now partnering with Adidas. In a rather comical display during the Nashville show, he chose to sing his disappointment with the company, backed by a piano and autotune.

"I talked to the head of Disney today," West sang. "And I talked to the head of Louis Vuitton today. I swear to God on my life, I talked to them both today. I swear to God I talked to them both, and they wished me a Happy Thanksgiving. I said, 'I want to talk about something that isn't turkey day. I want to talk about something different. I want to talk about dreaming.'"

It’s as poetic as any other Kanye track (or public statement for that matter) but we probably won’t be the only ones to say: Wait, what?