Culture

Kanye Finally Joined Instagram And Is Confusing Everyone With A Shot From ‘Total Recall’

Can't wait for the new collab with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

by Matilda Dixon-Smith  19 September 2016

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Earlier this week Kanye tweeted: “I got rid of my phone so I can have air to create”. Now it seems he’s had all the air he can handle. Over the weekend, Kanye casually joined Instagram (traditionally the domain of his wife, Insta-goddess Kim Kardashian), as kanyewest, and racked up over 200k followers within 24 hours, without even posting a single photo.

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Hardcore Yeezy fans noticed the new account over the weekend and spread the word: here was a kanyewest account with a very official blue Instagram tick beside it. (The account was also followed by his manager Scooter Braun, as well as a stack of Kanye’s celebrity friends adding to its potential legitimacy.) Then a press release announcing the auspicious occasion was released by Kanye’s people.

It’s here. It’s real. Kanye is on Instagram.

This is big news for those of us who remember the notorious Kanye “I DO NOT HAVE AN INSTAGRAM… ” tweet of 2013.

So, what’s Yeezy done with his brand-new account, which has now clocked over 700k followers (though Kanye is yet to follow anyone back)?

A photo posted by Kanye West (@kanyewest) on

Yup, Kanye’s first photo is… kinda weird. The shot is a still from the film Total Recall, and arrived captionless on Kanye’s Insta because, folks, interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.

What could it mean? Is Kanye announcing a new career as an action star? Is he revealing some of his dark speculative thoughts about the state of the world as we know it? His dorky love for blockbusters is well-documented; is he just a massive early-Schwarzenegger fan? Only time will tell.

Meanwhile we’re left to wonder what’s next for the Kanye Instagram; and why Kim K and Kanye are yet to follow each other, thereby making their love Insta-official.