Scooter Braun speaks onstage at D.LUXE presented by WSJ. Magazine. October 18, 2017.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Dow Jones
Pop mogul Scooter Braun's two-and-a-half year management of Kanye West came to an end in April when the two parted ways. It seems there working relationship has restarted, according to a new interview with Braun in The Guardian, though Braun insists that he's no longer Kanye's "manager," per se.
Braun describes the "rough" couple of weeks with West before leaving, which included West's proclamation of support for Donald Trump and calling slavery a "choice" on TMZ (Braun believes this was a "manic" episode for West, caused by his bipolar disorder). Braun's departure, which was reportedly brought on after he refused Kanye's order to dismiss all of his other clients and manage just him, came with a tweet from Kanye: "I no longer have a manager," Kanye posted. "I'm nobody's client."
Still, Braun and West were reported by TMZ to be "on good terms," and in his interview with The Guardian, Braun said West reached out soon after the split. "[Kanye] called me up and said: ‘We’ve had a great thing for the last couple of years. And [in] the last two weeks, I think, a lot of things have got out of hand, and we’re brothers – come help.’"
The business title has shifted, Braun said: "We’re not going to use the word ‘manager’ – it’s not a word that he likes, nor does it really describe our relationship. I see myself as an adviser and a partner in his efforts.”
When asked about Kanye's social media habits, Braun dodged the question. "[I'm] more concerned with the president of the United States being on social media than I am with Kanye West."
Read the full interview at The Guardian.
