Kanye West’s recent appearance on DJ EFN and N.O.R.E.’s YouTube Show, Drink Champs, made major internet waves over the weekend.
In a two-and-a-half hour interview, Ye took addressed every elephant in the room. Speaking on everything from his bizarre new haircut to his beef with Drake to his divorce from Kim Kardashian, the artist formerly known as Mr. West cast a wide umbrella.
While Ye’s proclamation that signing Big Sean to G.O.O.D. Music was the worst thing he ever did received the lion’s share of attention following the interview, the 44-year-old did touch on his Roc-A-Fella Records days, and revealed who coined his iconic “Yeezy” nickname.
Explaining that he always received nicknames from the groups he was around, Ye said that Beanie Sigel was the first to call him Yeezy.
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“People who took a liking to me in volatile situations, would always give me a nickname, so it seemed like I was cool like them,” Ye said. “(Yeezy) was Beanie’s name for me when I was at Baseline. On some like ‘That’s Yeezy’ … make him one of us. He let me wear his State Property chain. He really just embraced me.”
Along with the explanation of where “Yeezy” came from, Ye said that he’s been trying to compensate Sigel for coming up with the name that has become a billion dollar brand.
“I still owe Beanie money, and I been trying to give him this money for a minute,” he told DJ EFN and N.O.R.E. “I been trying to give it to him … this man made up the name. It’s like, you know, the lady who made the Nike Swoosh. Phil Knight went back and made sure she was straight.”
During a weekend appearance at a club in his hometown of Philadelphia, Sigel revealed just how much money Ye has been trying to give to him.
“I got a call from the motherf*cker the other day, Kanye West, he said ‘Sig I owe you $50M and 5% stock in Yeezy,'” Beanie told the onlooking crowd.
Sigel continued on to explain that Ye’s Yeezy brand did $1.7 billion in sales in 2020, and while he didn’t reveal exactly how much that 5% stock is worth right now, it is certainly an impressive chunk of money. And combined with the flat $50M that Ye says he owes him, it looks like Sigel is in for a massive payday.
Keep it locked to HNHH for any updates on when Sigel gets paid and, in the meantime, let us know what you think of Ye saying he owes Beanie for coming up with his Yeezy nickname down in the comments.