UPDATE:
Yeezy and Aziz-y! Kanye West supposedly made Aziz Ansari‘s parody of his controversial new single, “Famous,” the song’s official video, but the rapper’s camp eventually denied it on Thursday, April 28.
A rep for West confirmed to Vulture that the parody video is not the official clip for “Famous,” hours after the news went viral early Thursday.
The situation started after a rep for JASH, a comedy collective cofounded by Ansari’s Master of None costar Eric Wareheim, initially confirmed the strange news to Consequence of Sound on Wednesday, April 27.
“Eric uploaded it on his own YouTube channel with the help of JASH, a comedy collective that he helped found, when Kanye agreed to have it be the official music video for the song,” the rep told Consequence of Sound of the video shared on Wareheim’s YouTube account on April 15.
In the video, Wareheim (Big Bud) and Ansari (Lil Bud) do ridiculous things across Italy as they spoof West. (The season finale of Master of None showed Ansari’s character boarding a Rome-bound plane to pursue his culinary dreams in the pasta-friendly city.)
Along with the rapper’s signature pout, the two also imitate his style. The parody-turned-official music video shows the pair biking through the cobblestone streets of Rome and walking through scenic fields of flowers while sporting oversize coats and shades. The duo even make his signature hand motions to the sky.
In reality, Ansari has previously worked with West. The Parks and Recreation actor, 33, was featured in the rapper’s 2011 “Otis” video with Jay Z.
Not included in the visuals for “Famous,” however, is Taylor Swift, who West controversially name-dropped in the single, rapping that he was responsible for her success. While the Yeezy designer has repeatedly claimed that he received the 1989 pop superstar’s permission, the pop star countered his claims in her Grammys 2016 acceptance speech for Album of the Year.
“I want to say to all the young women out there — there are going to be people along the way who are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame,” Swift, 26, noted, alluding to West’s “Famous” track. “But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. And that will be greatest feeling in the world.”
