CANNES — Not content with just taking over the Palace of Versailles and an Italian fort for his over-the-top wedding festivities, Kanye West is now taking his talents to Cannes Lions as a last-minute speaker.
Having been out of the spotlight for what must feel to West like a lifetime (at least a few weeks) after the wedding extravaganza, the opinionated rapper has signed up for a surprise Tuesday Cannes Lions presentation.
The 1 p.m. seminar title, “Technology, Culture and Consumer Adoption: Learning to Read the Cultural Landscape,” about how digital progress and cultural evolution are inextricably linked, sounds like a subject close to West’s heart.
While festival execs were unable to fully confirm Kanye’s participation on Monday afternoon, if he makes it, he will be speaking alongside an already strong panel of Translation CEO Steve Stoute, Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle and Andreessen Horowitz’s Ben Horowitz. We suggest they get their comments in early.
But, if West does confirm, he’ll join an impressive line-up of stars speaking at the festival, which includes Bono, Ralph Fiennes, Ne-Yo, Jared Leto, as well as corporate luminaries including Jeffrey Katzenberg, Marissa Mayer and Sheryl Sandberg.