Muhammad Ali’s Grandson Shares Forgotten Snap of Kanye ‘Ye’ West With His Late Grandfather

It’s not usual to see forgotten images of boxing’s greatest, Muhammad Ali emerge out of the vault now and then. However, when visuals of him with one of the most spoken celebrities resurface, some noise is expected. Further, when that celebrity is Kanye West, the internet enters into a loud frenzy.

Lately, ‘Ye’ seems to be going through a reckoning of his fame. For a while, he was in the headlines for his atypical antics. Then, of course, his divorce to influencer-billionaire, Kim Kardashian. However, a lot of this noise died down when his Yeezy commercial hit the Super Bowl LVIII halftime. The ripples from his ad, which broke all rules of such fashion hit the internet; an avid discussion ensued. A part of this conversation included a glorious past he led. Reliving a significant element of this past is, Ali’s boxer-grandchild, Nico Ali Walsh.

Stronger meets the Greatest

On his Instagram stories, 23-year-old, Ali Walsh rerouted a post that was an archival of his grandfather’s meet with Ye. The 2008 image is an omnipresent unit of pop culture. A hip-hop enthusiast account posted an image that features Kanye, who was in his prime time. He was reaping the success of his fourth album, ‘808s & Heartbreak’ which held two of three top songs of that year, “Love Lockdown” and “Heartless”.

One nostalgic facet of the image is the shutter shades that Ali is donning. Those glasses were a famous part of Kanye’s concerts in those days. In 2007, the rapper wore glasses for the first time in his music video, ‘Stronger’. They were known as the “Kanye West Glasses.” In 2008, Shutter Shades, Inc. partnered with West to sell these shades to his fans during the iconic “Glow In The Dark Tour.”

About Ali, in 2008, he was hardly in the public eye. His Parkinson’s disease was worsening, and he could hardly walk. This is the only image of Ye with the Greatest. However, his ode to the former heavyweight champion came two years later. His famous song, “Gorgeous,” a part of his hit album, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ had a verse that highlighted the flak Ali faced in his career for his unpopular choices. The verse reads, “Remind me of when they tried to have Ali enlisted / If I ever wasn’t the greatest n*gga, I must have missed it” 

These visuals of Ali with the who’s who of the world fill the heart of a boxing fan. While he was one of the most controversial figurines in a significant part of his career, later on, his name was truly acknowledged as the ‘Greatest.’

Also Read: Kanye ‘Ye’ West’s Super Bowl Commercial: Former World Champ Stunned by $7 Million Yeezy Ad

Did these images of Ali with Ye also send you down a nostalgic spiral? Let us know your favourite memory of Ali in the comments section below.

Also Read: Jimmy Connors Puts Muhammad Ali on a Pedestal as He Snubs His Interaction With Pop Artists for the Boxing Legend