# Billy Corgan Wonders If Kanye West Took Inspiration From His Approach to Fame

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/billy-corgan-wonders-if-kanye-west-took-inspiration-from-his-approach-to-fame/
- Published: 2026-10-22T23:19:37+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:11:22+00:00
- Original publisher: Consequence
- Original article: https://consequence.net/2026/10/billy-corgan-kanye-west-inspiration-fame/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Corgan thinks West may have drawn on a similar approach to fame.
- Both used provocation to challenge perceptions of their artistry.
- Corgan says they have spoken only once, in a friendly 15-minute call.

## Summary

Billy Corgan said Kanye West may have adopted a similar approach to fame, using provocation and controversy to make audiences reassess an artist’s work. Speaking on Popcast, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman wondered whether West had been influenced by his own tactics, while allowing that the approach may simply have been “in the water”.

Corgan described this as creating “cognitive dissonance”: picking fights or doing provocative things so people must decide whether an artist is a genius or an idiot. He recalled that West was working at a Gap store near the studio while the Pumpkins made *Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness*, but said they did not know each other then and have had only one friendly phone call, lasting about 15 minutes. The Pumpkins’ ongoing *Rats in a Cage* tour marks the album’s 30th anniversary.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.