Vibe explore DONDA, Kanye West's shady creative agency

Vibe ran a very interesting story yesterday on DONDA, Kanye West's mysterious creative agency.

For a bit of background, DONDA was established in 2012 following a series of tweets (what else) from Kanye's official Twitter laying out a very ambitious business plan. The company have since quietly been behind projects both hugely ambitious (the seven-screen, custom-built cinema-cum-installation) and seemingly inconsequential (designing a Lil Wayne album cover, re-cutting a trailer for The Canyons).

The thing is, not many people know what DONDA actually do – like much of Kanye's private life, the company is kept tightly under wraps; this is what Vibe's article sets out to explore.

A few of the more bizarre revelations in the story include the fact that the company has no website and no office (there was one at one point, but no one knows where – staff had to sign a confidentiality agreement), it's had quite a lot of employees that seem to change on a rotating basis, and some of its ventures include "toys and playthings, plush toys, teddy bears… home furnishings, bedding and linens…". Naturally.

Also, Kanye West's business consultant on DONDA is Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, which is quite a big deal.

On whether the whole scheme amounts to blind ambition or egotistical dream, Vibe comment: "Whether DONDA becomes another told-you-so moment or a pipe dream remains to be seen. Limitations exist in the corporate world, but from the looks of it (the ambiguous anti-business business plan), West wants to see just how much he can break the rules. As DONDA progresses, he’ll have disciples and cynics, either blindly following or silently skeptical, but never counting him out."

If your interest has been piqued, head here to read the rest of the article.

In other Kanye news, it was reported today that he's given his first televised interview since 2010, to be screened on Friday on Kim Kardashian's mother Kris Jenner's TV show.