Former basketball player Dennis Rodman invited celebrity rapper Kanye West to North Korea in the hopes that the trip would inspire an album.
Rodman, 57, who considers North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a close friend, told Us Weekly on Tuesday he hoped to visit the East Asian country in September. His invitation to bring a friend extended to Kanye West, following a tweet the rapper wrote thanking Rodman for a signed Chicago Bulls jersey and calling the man "one of his biggest inspirations...always breaking barriers with independent thought."
Rodman responded on Saturday with a recorded video thanking West for the shoutout, and suggested he and West "do a track together man, about world peace, about leaders of love, baby, about leaders of love."
Rodman and West previously bonded at a Black Lives Matter rally and over their support of Donald Trump. West had not yet confirmed whether or not he would attend the trip. At the moment, West is reportedly preoccupied creating music in Chicago with Chance the Rapper, according to an NME report.
Most recently, Rodman cried after witnessing President Donald Trump shake hands with the North Korean leader at a summit in Singapore in June. Both leaders consider Rodman a mutual friend. Rodman also revealed plans in the works to take fans to North Korea with him using his Houston-based ticket company. He equated the option to buy a ticket with the experience of a basketball game, and said: "If the price is right, if you want to go North Korea with me, we can do those places with Dennis Rodman any time you want."
Back in April, the two artists released a series of tweets supporting the president. One tweet in West's series included a photo of a signed "Make America Great Again" baseball cap, and another alluded to the "shared dragon energy" West felt he shared with Trump. Both celebrities had been seen sporting the hat in public, according to a Sky News report.
The hat, when West first wore it, eventually led to a song by West and T.I. In a CNN video, West said "the ability to do what no one said you can do, to do the impossible," was what he found most inspiring about Trump. The 2018 song "Ye vs. the People" featured T.I. as the voice of the people, and has lyrics that include West saying, "Make America Great Again had a negative perception. I took it, wore it, rocked it, gave it a new direction."
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