Ye reportedly put a stop to a Australian restaurant that stole his artwork from his debut album, and now the owner is crying out for attention from the mogul.
When a Melbourne restaurant went viral last December, social media users wondered how they were getting away with using Kanye West’s artwork for their brand. We reported on the College Dropout Burgers restaurant that was storming the internet, named after West’s stellar classic debut album. Not only did they snag the title of West’s award-winning record, but they also named their items after the Rap mogul’s songs. If that isn’t blatant enough, there is even said to be a mural of the rapper inside the restaurant.
It was puzzling to Hip Hop fans how the business was able to get away with this unscathed, but it seems that Ye wasn’t letting them off the hook.
According to reports, College Dropout Burgers is scrambling to rebrand now that West and his team have threatened legal action. Owner Mark Elkhouri was reportedly hit with a cease and desist letter from West’s attorneys and he later confirmed on the restaurant’s Instagram that he planned on removing any and all references to West.
“The whole idea or the whole concept was to kind of celebrate Kanye West and show a different side of his music, and artwork and fashion line,” Elkhouri said. “This is the guy that I kind of get my creative inspiration from. Anyone that is a fan of Kanye West and his music would kind of understand he actually does seek inspiration from other artists.”
“So I was kind of like ‘OK, well I don’t sing, I don’t rap, what I do is kind of like another form of art, and I believe it’s modern-day art, which is food.'”
While that certainly resonates with millions of the rapper’s fans, it has been argued that taking the album name, imagery, artwork, and song titles from West is more like stealing than it is an inspiration. Because West was not involved with the development of the restaurant or its branding, it came as no surprise that he would put a halt to this business’s practices.
