Justin Timberlake recently addressed his relationship with Kanye West, discussing what has been perceived as a feud between the artists.
The alleged feud stems from when West and Timberlake exchanged words in February. West first said he didn’t “fuck with” Timberlake’s ‘Suit & Tie,’ a track that also featured Jay Z. Timberlake then switched the lines in “Suit & Tie” during a performance for “Saturday Night Live” where he said, “My hit’s so sick, got rappers acting dramatic.” Following the performance, Timberlake went on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” to address the perceived diss. “Did it seem that way?” Timberlake said. “I don’t remember that. Did I change the line? It is live. You know, really, everyone, keep calm. Keep calm. Let me just say, for the record, I absolutely love Kanye. So there’s that. We love Kanye.”
When the two met on Sunday (August 25) at the MTV Video Music Awards, they discussed their differences, said Timberlake during an interview with satellite radio stationShade 45.
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“I told [Kanye West], ‘I fuck with you in a way you probably don’t even understand,'” Timberlake said. “We’ve never worked together so I don’t know that he fully understands what it is that I can do. That’s fine. As a matter of fact, Jay said the same thing. That’s okay. What I do agree with, is I would have loved to have had him as a part of the [recording] process…I hope something spawns out of that [conversation].”
Though it is yet to be seen if a collaboration comes from this interaction, Timberlake said he appreciated West’s response to his statements.
“[Kanye] said the exact perfect thing, which was, ‘Well, the best way I know how to do that is just for us to sit down and just play music,'” Timberlake said. “And I said, ‘Exactly…’ I love ‘Ye so I feel like I understand what he’s doing. I love Yeezus, I love that album. I think he’s ahead of a lot, especially in his genre. He’s ahead of a lot, all the time. You have to at least listen and give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s earned that and I get it. I think people are going to appreciate it a lot more in the future.”
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The respect has been mutual in the past, said Timberlake, before recalling a time when they spoke about how his own “Sexy Back” influenced West’s “Stronger.”
“I remember when he came out with ‘Stronger’ and he was talking to be about ‘Sexy Back’ and that was an influence,” Timberlake said. “I don’t know if he’d say that still, but that’s the way I remember the conversation. I played Staples Center in L.A. and brought him out on stage and said, ‘Come perform the song in the middle of my show.’ We did ‘Stronger’ together at Staples Center.”
After speaking about their performance together, Timberlake talked about future beef with West.
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“Look at me,” Timberlake said. “I’m not the guy who’s going to have beef. And if we do, that’s fine. But I have too much respect for him. I have too much respect for him as an artist.”
Timberlake’s recent interview with Shade 45 can be seen below.
RELATED: Justin Timberlake Disses Kanye West On “Saturday Night Live”
