Rapper Kanye West has already been portrayed as a “gay fish” on South Park, so it’s only right that he (himself, this time) cross over to another animated adult comedy series: “The Cleveland Show!”
Yeezy’s animated alter ego “Kenny West” will appear on the Family Guy spin-off on May 2nd. According to EW, in this episode, Kanye plays a 19-year-old local hero named Kenny West, who ends up getting into a rap battle with Cleveland’s son, Cleveland Brown Jr.
“We knew that Kanye was a Family Guy fan,” Cleveland Show co-creator Rich Appel tells the Music Mix. “He’s made reference to it on his website and stuff. In the writers’ room, we just thought it would be great to have him as a character on the town. So we came up with the story. He really liked it and said, ‘Sure!’”
One year ago, West came in for a table read at the L.A. building where Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show are all produced. “You know, I’ve worked on The Simpsons and Family Guy and King of the Hill,” says Appel. “We’ve had a lot of guest stars. It’s very rare that a guest star is eager and willing to come to the table read. He showed up 15 minutes early.” West went on to record his part last March. About a month ago, when the time came to re-record a few lines for the final cut, Appel says the star obligingly stepped into a booth at the studio where he’s working on his next album and sent the new dialogue over.
The experience went so well that West has already recorded an appearance for an additional episode of The Cleveland Show’s upcoming second season — and Appel hopes there’s even more to come. “He could not have been more collaborative or easier to work with. We’re excited, because his character has become a recurring character in our universe…He’ll become our Sideshow Bob!”
- EW
Can’t wait to see this one!
