Kanye West Tops Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People List
Kanye-haters, eat your words.
Despite a slew of recent controversial publicity—the whole Beck debacle at the Grammy’s his polarizing NYFW debut, anything to do with his wife—Kanye West has been named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People and featured on one of the magazine’s covers.
For those who scoff, Kanye is—for better or worse—an innovator. With 21 Grammys, a Vogue cover, a major shoe line with Adidas, over 12 million twitter followers, and a penchant for saying exactly what he think without worrying about harming his image, West’s reach is indisputable and his influence is undeniable.
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Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, wrote about Kanye for Time, saying that the rapper’s “belief in himself and his incredible tenacity—he performed his first single with his jaw wired shut—got him to where he is today.” Can’t argue with that: The guy’s had no shortage of media backlash and public criticism, but none of the negative publicity has ever stopped Kanye from doing Kanye—and getting us talking.
The “Most Influential” list this year featured a few other major names in fashion, including Diane von Furstenberg, and Alexander Wang. Other celebrities that made the cut include comedian Kevin Hart, Reese Witherspoon, transgender actress Laverne Cox, and Taylor Swift, just to name a few.
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One celebrity we’re sure Kanye doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight with? His wife. Kim Kardashian was also named to the list in the same category as her husband: Titans, extremely large and important people. Love them or hate them, their influence cannot be ignored.
Head over to Time now to see the full list!
