{"id":409589,"date":"2026-01-14T22:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/409589\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T22:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:38:08","slug":"teyana-taylor-explains-enduring-friendship-with-kanye-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/409589\/","title":{"rendered":"Teyana Taylor Explains Enduring Friendship With Kanye West"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tGolden Globe winner Teyana Taylor<\/a> has revealed the raw honesty and loyalty that characterize her friendship and professional relationship with on-off collaborator Kanye West<\/a>, who buoyed her first wave of fame as a singer before she exited the music industry to pursue Hollywood stardom more than five years ago.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor is poised to light up the remainder of awards season after bagging her first major trophy<\/a> at Sunday\u2019s Golden Globe Awards, where she took home best supporting actress for her scorching turn as revolutionary and reluctant mother Perfidia Beverly Hills<\/a> in Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s One Battle After Another. Before her pivotal role in this year\u2019s Oscars frontrunner \u2014 as well as the 2023 indie A Thousand and One, comedy roles in White Men Can\u2019t Jump and Coming 2 America; and TV work including Straw and All\u2019s Fair \u2014 Taylor was a sought-after choreographer and rising singer.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGoogle Me,\u201d Taylor\u2019s debut single, was released before she was 20, and its modest success landed her on the rosters of some of the music industry\u2019s hottest labels, including Pharrell Williams\u2019 Star Trak Entertainment, Kanye West\u2019s G.O.O.D. Music and Def Jam. In 2016, Taylor went viral for her memorable, sexy dance in the video for West\u2019s \u201cFade.\u201d In the clip, she vamps solo around an empty gym \u2014 writhing, dipping and doing splits \u2014 a routine that captivated millions on YouTube. She also appears on West\u2019s iconic 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, singing on the hook of the opening track and contributing background vocals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBut these were for her friend West\u2019s projects, not her own music, which struggled to gain traction. Five years ago, after four studio albums and a dozen singles, Taylor quit the music industry in frustration, announcing that she felt \u201cunderappreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI ain\u2019t gone front \u2014 I\u2019m feeling super underappreciated as an artist, receiving little to no real push from the \u2018machine,\u2019 constantly getting the shorter end of the stick, being overlooked,\u201d Taylor wrote<\/a> on Instagram in 2020.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn paper, West might have appeared central to that disillusionment, as G.O.O.D. Music released \u2014 and failed to adequately promote \u2014 her third album that same year. Yet Taylor refuses to hold a grudge, according to her recent Vanity Fair cover story<\/a>. This is despite West\u2019s many controversies, including an ill-fated 2020 presidential run and a series of Twitter tirades \u2014 one of which was so antisemitic and hateful it torpedoed the lucrative partnership between his Yeezy brand and Adidas.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI don\u2019t have to agree with everything that he does or says, but I\u2019m not going to abandon him and be like, \u2018Yeah, eff that motherfucker,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cMy brothers do shit that I don\u2019t agree with. I don\u2019t get into any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTaylor further explained how her relationship with West is built on blunt honesty.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf you want a real answer, you ask me. So if he asks me something, he knows he\u2019s gonna get a real answer,\u201d Taylor told the outlet, before adding her personal philosophy on hard work and perseverance. \u201cI do my shit behind the scenes and do what I need to do to help. I\u2019m in my business and I drink my water.\u201d<\/p>\n