4. RIO GRANDE, RIO DE JANEIRO, BEIRA GALERA [RICHARD ARAUJO, THIAGO BAZZONI] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Um Homem No Sotao.Heidi Klum. Photo: Rob Kim/Getty Images
In the past two weeks, there’s been a lot of attention paid to a video posted to YouTube and shared widely on Facebook of a man who is said to be the same man who was wearing a gorilla suit in a photo taken at the 2005 Kids’ Choice Awards that surfaced earlier this week. After the fact, reports came out that the man is in fact rapper Kanye West.
Regardless of that, it has not come out whether West is wearing a banana suit or a banana mask or if the gorilla suit in the photo is a Banana Republic exclusive. But, on Friday, a statement on Facebook said it was “an exclusive from Banana Republic!” It is from the Banana Republic Facebook page:
“Kanye West is our KUNG FU expert for the coming fall. He chose the Black Mamba Slim Fit 3-in-1, which is an updated take on our classic shape. Pair with the Three-in-One Stonewashed T-shirt or our new Mountain High 3-in-1 tech shirt and you’re ready for all things Bona Fide Warrior in the coming fall season.”
Kanye has since defended his fashion choices. But the context of the photo and videos has also been discussed. The gorilla suit that West wore in the photo had appeared on his album of the year, Watch the Throne, and, it was said, was a reference to wife Kim Kardashian’s “mamba”-covered body. He also wore the same mask in a performance of “All of the Lights” on SNL, and others have reported that the suits that have emerged in the past few days are similar to the one in the photo.
I actually don’t think the banana suit is a reference to the “Mother Nature” line on “New Slaves” off The College Dropout, which is another Kanye production, but I guess that’s why I’m not the face of Banana Republic.Rumsfeld: ‘No Longer Taking ‘Opinions’
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