The art of shade! Kanye “Ye” West seemingly dissed his estranged wife, Kim Kardashian, and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson, in his new song “City of Gods.”
“This afternoon, a hundred goons pullin’ up to SNL,” the artist, 44, raps in one verse of the collaboration with Alicia Keys and Fivio Foreign, which was released on Friday, February 11. “When I pull up, it’s dead on arrival.”
The reference of the NBC show appears to be aimed at the Saturday Night Live comedian, 28. And in a separate part of the track, Ye takes a dig at the former Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, 41.
“And if I let ‘em have my wife, [n-word] should thank me,” the rapper says in another lyric. “With this Balenciaga and Balenci boots and a new blue Yankee.”
The mention of the design brand sounds like a direct aim at Kim being Balenciaga’s campaign star, which she even posted about on Instagram one week prior to the song’s release. As for the “Blue Yankee” reference, Ye apparently recalled that Pete is reportedly a fan of the New York Yankees baseball team.
This wouldn’t be the first time the “Stronger” rapper referred to Kim and Pete’s romance. Upon dropping “Eazy” on January 14, fans heard Ye’s direct threat to Pete in one lyric: “God saved me from that crash / Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s ass.”
Pete wasn’t insulted by the song, though. He actually thought it was “hilarious” and felt “honored,” an insider exclusively told Life & Style on January 20.
“Pete’s not watching his back when he goes out in public,” the source said. “He’s not trying to make too light of the situation considering he is dating Kanye’s ex and there are legit feelings there, but it’s all a bit surreal. He’s been a fan of Kanye’s music way before he ever met Kim.”
The KKW Beauty founder filed for divorce from the “Praise God” artist in February 2021. Eight months later, she and the King of Staten Island actor sparked romance rumors after she hosted SNL on October 9. In the episode, the pair shared an onscreen kiss while performing an Aladdin-based sketch. By November 17 of that year, the duo unintentionally confirmed their relationship when they were spotted holding hands in Palm Springs, California.
As their romance blossomed, Ye made it clear that he wasn’t happy about his estranged wife’s new relationship, which was her first since their split. From his public apology before the Thanksgiving holiday to begging Kim to “run right back to me” at the Free Larry Hoover concert that December, Ye seemed like he wasn’t giving up on their marriage — until 2022 began, when he started dating actress Julia Fox.
The coparenting relationship between the “Heartless” artist and the Skims founder took a turn for the worse by mid-February, as they got into a heated social media exchange. After their dramatic back-and-forth Instagram debate, Ye removed his posts and seemingly offered an olive branch by sharing a collage of Kim and their children.
“PLEASE GOD BRING OUR FAMILY BACK TOGETHER,” the music producer wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, February 9.