Kanye West, who goes by the legal name Ye, has been an entrepreneur along with being a spectacular musician. The artist has his hands in many businesses as well as philanthropy ventures. He has a contract with shoe giant Adidas through which he can sell ‘Yeezy’ sneakers. Ye has also made waves with his collaboration on Yeezy Gap x Balenciaga. Along with the entrepreneurial gigs, West runs his own Sunday Services. However, the ‘Graduation’ artist is now venturing into academia.
On August 31st, Ye opened a school in Simi Valley, California. Ye named it ‘Donda Academy,’ after his mother. The school is a faith-based Christian school with many extracurriculars including Basketball, school choir, and Parkour. As per the website, the school aims “to provide youth with the passion, purpose and spiritual foundations they need to thrive in tomorrow’s world.”
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Kanye West’s Donda Academy Raises Many Questions
With the new announcement, Rolling Stone did a detailed piece about Ye’s new venture. From the article, it seems that there are many scrupulous uncertainties regarding the motive behind forming an educational institution. The main issue is the qualification of the head of the school, Brianne Campbell. She is the Executive Director, Principal, and Head of the school choir. As per the information, she has zero-to-no experience in the formal education sector. Campbell had run an instrument tutorial business in her own abode. Currently, she is pursuing her Master’s degree. So, how can a little experienced candidate hold such a significant position?
Another point of suspicion is the speculation about Non-Declaration Agreements. Two parents who have enrolled their children in the school were asked to sign NDAs. Now, NDAs are not unknown to the ‘Donda’ rapper as all his ventures require one. However, why is an NDA required to enroll your child in education? The most important thing is the accreditation of the institution. The school has applied for accreditation. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges will accredit the institute at the end of the year. However, West’s longtime creative collaborator, Malik Yusef has registered full faith in his friend’s and partner’s venture.
He said, “I think people don’t understand the gravity of that. This man always wanted to create a school in his mama’s name.…” He continued, “Look at what we’re doing with the choir and the fashion in school – I don’t think there’s a venture capitalist or anybody that’s had a vision this clear on what education can look like for you.” Yusef has also mentioned the purpose with which parents would send their children to the academy.
Yusef said, “People choose to bring their kids to Donda Academy for a sense of privacy. A sense of care, a sense of concern, a sense of love, an environment of health, and an environment of wealth, an environment of learning, and putting God as a focus.”
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Is Kanye West Experimenting With Academy To Expand His Business Empire?
As per TMZ, Kanye West’s company, Mascotte Holdings, has acquired trademarks for the Donda brand. They are looking to produce bags, shirts, jackets, and shoes. Kanye West has also designed school uniforms, and unsurprisingly, they are designed in collaboration with Gap despite its contract termination. Another interesting collaboration is with Adidas. The shoe giant has collaborated with the Academy’s Basketball team, the Donda Doves. The team appeared in Slam Magazine wearing Balenciaga-manufactured jerseys.
Kanye has recruited terrific players from all across the country. He is planning to expand the Doves brand so that he can have exclusive merchandising rights for athleisure wear and sports equipment. It looks like a heavy brand centralization is happening in-between education. This cannot come at the right time when Kanye is allegedly discontinuing the Adidas contract after its completion.
This discontinuation will lead to a loss of $1 billion. Adidas pays Ye a sum of $225 million annually to sell Yeezys under their brand. Looking at the circumstances, time will tell whether the Academy will flourish on its aim to educate the children or will it be a preparation for an upcoming business catastrophe for Kanye West.
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