KEEPING UP

Kanye West Is Now a Full-Fledged Cast Member on Keeping Up With the Kardashians

"I just see our life becoming more and more like 'The Incredibles', until we can fly."


Kanye West, Kim Kardashian West
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

In the past few seasons of Keeping Up With the Karsdashians, Kanye West was rarely seen, and even more rarely heard, occasionally popping up in the background of a family party or in previously filmed footage. Think of him as more of a Gunther than, say, a Ross or Rachel. Well, give him a colorful umbrella and send him to the nearest fountain, because as of Sunday night’s season premiere of KUWTK, West is officially a full-fledged Kardashian, with to-camera interviews and all.

The premiere of the show’s 16th season started out with a bang, in the form of West’s first testimonial, which he filmed alongside his wife, Kim Kardashian West. It wasn’t his betrothed, however, who finally convinced him to try his hand at reality television, but rather, well, a cartoon. “Part of the reason I even considered doing this recording, or interview, is because of the movie The Incredibles,” he said. “It starts off with interviews. The superheroes give interviews. The wife got a big butt, and I just see our life becoming more and more like The Incredibles, until we can fly.” Coming from a guy who has favorably compared himself to Will Ferrell in Elf, this makes sense.

But West wasn’t just there to provide sound bites; his mission to give back to his hometown of Chicago—and subsequent feud with friend Rhymefest over the handling of Donda’s House, a charity named after West’s late mother—was a central plotline of the episode. (In case you don’t remember—and to be fair, this happened in May 2018, light-years in Kardashian time—here’s a refresher.) In addition to rehashing the Twitter drama between Kardashian and Rhymefest, we also got to see a previously unknown-about sit down between all three parties, wherein the beef was finally squashed. It certainly made for a riveting behind-the-curtains scene—certainly more so than our C-plot of grandma Mary Jo teaching Scott Disick to make scrambled eggs, which, yes, really happened.

Giving West so much screen time—he appeared far more than both Kendall and Kyle Jenner combined in this episode—is certainly a risky move, given the show’s name and the rapper’s divisive reputation, but if he keeps delivering bons mots (“I’m not rational, I’m spiritual; spirit is love”), well, then, he’s more than welcome to stay. For now, at least.