The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival kicks off today with Kanye West, Kings of Leon, the Strokes, Arcade Fire and many more set to take the stage this weekend.
VIDEO: The Most Memorable Coachella Performances
But, before you bum rush a tent to catch Wiz Khalifa’s set or surf the web for cheap tix so you can catch the fest next year, check out how Kanye is linked to a slew of the artists set to rock the stage.
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Want to know how an unsigned artist catches the attention of a multi-platinum producer/rapper? Well, you can start off by being funded by the founder of … let’s say Vimeo. If that doesn’t work out, then, heck, you can just cover the artist’s song and upload it to YouTube. It worked for Francis Farewell Starlite. [See: Starlite’s “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” cover.] The performer also hit the stage with Kanye collaborator Drake.
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Tinie Tempah and Kanye have yet to work together but they do have an interesting connection. The British rapper and Kanye shared an interest in being the spokesperson for Lucozade’s energy and sports drinks, but the UK-based went with the hometown boy and picked Tinie.
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On his time off, Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti tours with the Weird Al Yankovich-esque singer and sometimes rapper, Har Mar Superstar. Har Mar received a cosign from ‘Ye for his 2009 video for “Tall Boy.” Kanye posted the video on his blog, but that didn’t stop Har Mar from talking trash and revealing that he hoped people didn’t think he and Kanye are friends. Yikes.
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Now this is an easy one. Kanye and Amber Rose spent two years jetsetting across the globe together, walking red carpets and defending each other in the media. But when it was over, Amber moved on and is now kicking it with Wiz Khalifa. Amber — a friend to Global Grind — stands by her man and is often seen at Khalifa’s shows. Let’s see if Ms. Rose makes an appearance at Coachella, where both Khalifa and Kanye are set to perform.
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Last August, Arcade Fire and Google released an interactive music video — directed by Chris Milk — for The Wilderness Downtown project, a web experience meant to highlight Google’s Chrome Browser special features. It was the first time the band teamed with Milk, but Kanye has tapped the video director several times. Milk teamed with Kanye for his “Jesus Walks,” “All Falls Down” and “Touch the Sky” videos.
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This one is tricky, so follow along. The Black Keys and Kanye have more than music to discuss if they bump into each other backstage at Coachella. Kanye and the Keys producer/drummer Patrick Carney can talk basketball. Last year, Cleveland Cavalier fans were heartbroken and outraged to hear that Lebron would be leaving Ohio, but Carney, an Akron, OH, native, penned an open letter to Cleveland in support of Lebron’s decision. How does Kanye tie in to this? Well, the fellow Midwest boy and Kanye are homies. Not only was Kanye there to help Lebron celebrate his move to Miami, but the rapper and bballer even go back as far as 2005 when they posed together on the cover of XXL magazine.
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Bonus:
How are the British New Wave foursome linked to Yeezy? Well, when Kanye hopped in the lab to work on Kid Cudi’s sophomore album, the super-producer lent his vocals to “Erase Me.” Before releasing the song, Cudder revealed in several interviews that the Jim Jonsin-produced track featured a Duran Duran sample.
