Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa's impossibly dumb Twitter fight, explained
Decades from now, when historians go back to analyze this thing we call Twitter, they'll be able to point to one day that simultaneously exemplified the apex and the nadir of the medium: January 27, 2016, when an almost impossibly dumb tweet-feud broke out between rappers Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa.
The trouble began around 13 hours earlier, when Khalifa tweeted some fairly benign thoughts about the new title of Kanye's upcoming album, WAVES, arguing that Max B — a hip-hop artist currently serving a 75-year sentence for murder — is the true "wavy one." Seven hours after that tweetstorm, Khalifa tweeted this:
It's here that Kanye took objection — interpreting "kk" as a veiled reference to his wife, Kim Kardashian. He responded with his own long, angry tweetstorm, full of shots at Khalifa and his ex-wife, Amber Rose, who previously dated Kanye:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Khalifa quickly responded:
This might sound like an unconvincing dodge. But Urban Dictionary — surely the most authoritative source for such things — backs Khalifa up: The sixth most popular definition for "KK" is "Khalifa Kush." Khalifa Kush even has its own page on the marijuana review site Leafly, which calls it a hybrid with notes of "sour lemon and pine" that was bred specifically for Khalifa.
No matter. Kanye, perhaps sensing his mistake, pivoted by starting a hashtag for Khalifa's cool pants:
Kanye went on for another 19 tweets, and you can check them out here if you care, but trust me — it didn't get any better than that.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
-
Today's political cartoons - January 30, 2025
Cartoons Thursday's cartoons - RFK Jr. remonstrated, funding freeze thawed, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Brutalist: 'haunting' historical epic is Oscar frontrunner
The Week Recommends Adrien Brody is 'savagely good' as Hungarian-Jewish architect chasing the American dream
By The Week UK Published
-
Bonnie Blue, Andrew Tate and a new cult of sex extremism
Talking Point OnlyFans adult worker and male misogynist have 'plenty in common' claims commentator
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box office
Speed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published