There was a time when Kanye West smiled often. But that changed during his 2013 Yeezus campaign and in the aftermath, as he adapted a grimace that screams “don’t f*ck with me.”
West finally revealed the method to his mad-ness at The Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards, where he was an honorary guest presenter.
The G.O.O.D. Music founder’s inspiration for the scowl dates back to the 1800s per the statement below:
“Back when I was working on Yeezus, I saw this book from the 1800s and it was velvet-covered with brass and everything,” West said. “I looked at all these people’s photos and they look so real and their outfits were incredible and they weren’t smiling and people, you know the paparazzi, always come up to me, ‘Why you not smiling?’ and I think, not smiling makes me smile… When you see paintings in an old castle, people are not smiling cause it just wouldn’t look as cool.”
Well, there you have it. So from now on, please attribute Yeezy’s smile-less face to history, not his attitude or angst towards the status quo.
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Photo: Saturday Night Live
