Kanye West is a lot of things, including one of hip-hop’s most self-aware, self-involved and unguarded rappers on wax. And though the rapper is prone to air his inner thoughts about himself and his life in his lyrics, it’s always interesting to hear what those around him think of him as well. And if you ask his ex-girlfriend, Brooke Crittendon, what she thinks of ‘Ye, she’ll tell you she thinks he’s, well, needy, insecure and a cheater.
In a new interview with Britain’s The Sun, Crittendon speaks bluntly about her time with West, whom she met while backstage at an Usher concert in 2004 when she was a production assistant for MTV and West was Usher’s opening act.
After a few months of dating, West and Crittendon were inseparable and she decribes the relationship as a trip to “Disneyland.” But, despite the opulence and fun of their relationship, Crittendon says their was a dark side too: ‘Ye’s insecurity.
“He was not macho — he needed you to be with him and needed your opinion. He was quite vulnerable,” she said. “He was insecure as he couldn’t be with me every day. I got the impression he worried he wasn’t good enough for me. He needs people to tell him he is good and that he is needed and wanted.”
“He wouldn’t start his show unless I was at the side of the stage. One night the show was delayed because he couldn’t find me,” Crittendon added. “He refused to go on till I’d told him it was going to be OK.”
Although Crittendon says that West was “a good boyfriend in f—ed-up circumstances,” she and West ended their two-year relationship over his infidelity.
“I was never OK being one of many — or even one of a few,” she said. “There was a lot of attention from other women. Kanye was very open and honest but it ended up with me knowing too much. I don’t want to be silly and say it wasn’t cheating because I knew about it.”
And when it comes to West’s new girlfriend and future baby’s mama, Kim Kardashian, Crittendon explains that their relationship is predictable and temporary.
“For Kanye, what other person besides Kim Kardashian is there?” she said. “There’s Halle Berry, J-Lo and Beyoncé but they are all taken. She fits into his brand.
“I know he has had a thing with her for a while,” she added. “I’m sure he watched her tape. After we broke up, we caught up as friends and he mentioned her, I knew something was there. In Hollywood, you cannot say ‘forever.’ Them being together satisfies them for now. Having a baby ticks a box. She wanted kids and it’s his legacy.”
Crittendon said West was definitely a ladies’ man. Check out some of his most noteworthy girlfriends and hookups below. –nicholas robinson
