Neither braggadocio or an elevated sense of style are likely to save Kanye West from this one. The rapper-producer faces 30 months in jail after being charged in connection with his airport tantrum last autumn.
The incident took place on 11 September 2008, in the golden days before the term "altercation" had been monopolised by Rihanna and Chris Brown. West and road manager Dan Crawley were at Los Angeles International Airport when they got into a dispute with two amateur paparazzi. At least two cameras were allegedly smashed as West and Crawley demanded the footage, including the explicit order to "Gimme that fucking tape!" Both men were eventually restrained by police.
Footage of the incident later appeared on gossip site TMZ.
West was charged with misdemeanour battery, grand theft and vandalism. Crawley faces two of each of the same charges, and up to five years in jail if convicted.
All charges were brought by outgoing city attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who picked up the case after Los Angeles prosecutors decided not to pursue it, the Associated Press reports. Delgadillo is the same prosecutor who targeted Britney Spears last year for an improperly registered driver's licence, but the case was eventually dropped.
West has yet to comment – or blog – about the charges. Earlier this week he did, however, reveal the way his popular, and prolific, blog works. "I might [blog for] two hours in a day, [I] might [for] 15 minutes in a day," he told New York Magazine. "I have two people that I hired and I tell them exactly what I want ... I tell them, you know, Surface magazine, Wallpaper, Architectural Digest, Hypebeast, Bossip – go to these different blogs and keep on pulling information. And then they send it to me, and I get like 80 emails, and I have to check and go through them. And sometimes I'll have my own stuff where I'll just be in a cool place, like if I had my camera right now, I'd like photograph this stuff and go home and be really excited to blog it. You know, cause I'm in cool places all the time."
If you happen to be in a cool place with Kanye West, however, it's probably best not to take his photograph.
