Justin Vernon Says He “Can’t Really Kick it” With Kanye West Anymore

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has a great track record with Kanye West. For the past decade, Justin Vernon has arguably been a key component in Kanye’s tracklist, going back from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy days to even Ye and Kids See Ghosts. Kanye is undoubtedly a different person now than he was at the top of the decade, but that’s normal; it’s the evolution of being human. However, that also meant that some of his own political beliefs have changed also. He professed his love for Donald Trump last year which made the internet collectively scratch their heads. But unfortunately, Ye’s political alignments have cost him some relationships.

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Justin Vernon recently dished about his relationship with Kanye West with Pitchfork. He dished out playing three-on-three basketball games with Ye during recording sessions, artists like Kendrick Lamar, Common, Win Butler of The Arcade Fire popping by. But he also explained that he and Kanye have drifted apart to an extent. 

“Vernon and Kanye’s idea of how to run a highly collaborative recording session may be the same, but they have drifted apart in their politics. “I can’t really kick it with him anymore on a personal level, just the energy,” Vernon tells me, diplomatically. “But I’ve got mad love for him, and we’re still friends.” As opposed to Kanye’s infamous Trump worship, Vernon is more attracted to the progressive ideologies of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.

Bon Iver is fresh off of the release of their latest project, i,i that arrived last week.