Mogul of the rap industry, Kanye West
, aka Ye’s influence on the world cannot be denied. His melodious brilliance has taken him beyond the realms of the musical universe and has compelled the rest of the world to acknowledge and appreciate his multifaceted and innovative techniques, through which he redefines rap. And star NBA player Kevin Durant is one of those admirers who cannot get enough of him and his musical legacy.
A long-time fan of Ye, Kevin Durant had once shared a very heartwarming statement for the rapper. The video is grabbing attention on the internet around the important milestone for Ye, who turns 48 on June 8.
Throwback to when Kevin Durant raised a glass to Ye’s legacy
Besides being an active player for the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant is also a host of his sports- and entertainment-related podcast, The ETCs With Kevin Durant
. And during one of the episodes in 2022, the player gave a special shoutout to Ye, saying that from fashion to music to creativity in general, “people lean on Ye for inspiration. Whatever he does, we do stop and listen,”
as seen in a viral clip on X. Durant, who is a fan but also is aware of Ye’s unpredictable behavior, also shared that despite the rapper’s actions, people pay attention to him.
Kevin Durant says people lean on kanye for music fashion and everything creative. Your influence @kanyewest will always live on. Happy Birthday goat pic.twitter.com/C9gdYeqfjS
— Ye Muse (@YeMuse_) June 8, 2025
Kevin Durant also highlighted how his music, as well as his merch, is always a big sellout while appreciating his longevity over the past decades. His podcast co-host Eddie Gonzalez also had some big flowers to throw on Ye, as he appreciated the rapper’s confidence in himself from his early days in the industry and proved his worth to the world.
Read More: 15 Craziest Ye X Posts of All Time
Kevin Durant has been a big fan of Ye for a long time now and has also created some music inspired by the latter.
How Ye became a musical muse for one Kevin Durant
The NBA player, who is a big name in his field, also tried his hand in the music industry. Kevin Durant has featured in ‘The Best In The League,’ ‘Worried Bout Tomorrow,’ and ‘Scared Money’. And last year, when he appeared on the AUX Money
podcast, Durant shared that two iconic albums from Ye left their musical marks on him, sharing, “It was College Dropout; it was Late Registration.”
These two and “how Kanye sampled music
” made him wonder, and
he was “always intrigued by how he did that.”
It led Durant to make beats on his own. It was just Ye who got him into dabbling in this world, adding, “Ye got me into trying to understand what production means.”
According to some reports, Durant has also had some influence on one of Ye’s most famous albums, ‘Donda.’ Ye might be an endless controversy-creating celebrity
, but for Kevin Durant, he is the supreme figure in the music world whose heavy influence cannot be denied.
What are your thoughts on Kevin Durant’s special praise
for Ye? Share with us in the comments below.