Billy Corgan Wonders If Kanye West Took Inspiration From His Approach to Fame
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.
In short
- 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.
Explained simply
Billy Corgan is the lead singer of the Smashing Pumpkins, an American rock band that rose to prominence in the 1990s. Their 1995 double album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, became one of their best-known records and is being marked by a 30th-anniversary tour.
Kanye West is a US rapper and producer whose public image has often drawn attention alongside his music. Corgan has described using provocation to make people question how they judge an artist’s work, and has wondered whether West took a similar approach. He has said they did not know each other when West worked near the Pumpkins’ studio and have spoken only once.