What That Strange Cat Imagery in Kanye West's "Fade" Video May Mean

Updated on Aug 31, 2016 at 11:00 AM

At Sunday night's MTV Music Video Awards, Kanye West presented his new music video for "Fade." The video, starring a fit-as-f*ck Teyana Taylor, features too many hot moments to GIF, plus one very, very bizarre sequence. At the very end, Taylor's has face has morphed into that of a cat. She has a long, black tail that curls up off her rear end, and she's cuddling close to her fiancé, Iman Shumpert. Their child, Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. (who they call "Junie") sits nearby. And milling around beneath them is a whole hoard of sheep. Considering most of the video involves sexy, sweaty dancing and a hot shower scene, we can't help but wonder: what's the significance of this strange, surreal shot? We did some digging, and we've got a few answers.

Teyana Taylor's Quotes

On the final shot: "We filmed that cat scene first," Taylor told Vogue. "We didn't shoot the video in order. I was in three hours of makeup and prosthetics to get that thing on my face. The director Eli [Linnetz], he wanted it to be a little bit sexy, so I drew my own brows on the cat face."
On what Kanye told her: "He was just like, I'm going to put you in this cat face. It's going to be chic. At the same time, being an actor, I love doing stuff like that. To be able to get dressed up and get out of my comfort zone."
On the significance of the sheep: "It was definitely something deep. The whole video is deeper than people probably processed it. So I feel like it's up for the people to figure it out. I get it, but I want them to really figure it out and really understand what's going on. And for them to understand, they're going to have to watch it 20, and 30, and 40 times."

Choreographer and Artistic Director Jae Blaze's Quotes

On the significance of Teyana Taylor: "I think the vision behind that," Blase explained to Pitchfork, "was how amazing Teyana is, and how she's been on the rise, and how she's working, and you are now seeing her blossom into this fierce lioness, this fierce cat."
On Taylor's personal "lioness" status: "She has worked her way into that, and she's in a great position right now in her life. She has her family. She's being held down by her amazing husband. She has a beautiful daughter. You know, the lioness always protects her baby. I think it really is about her coming into her fierceness. And that's where she is in her life right now. She is blossoming."

The Biblical Implications

In the book of Isaiah 11:6, the text of the Bible reads: "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them." How, exactly, this aligns with Kanye West's vision is unclear. The passage itself, though, refers to the Kingdom of God, and how it will manifest when the Messiah returns. War will cease. Creatures who were once embattled with one another — the wolf and the lamb, for instance — will coexist in peace. And man, "a little child," will lead all animals. Perhaps it's a commentary on the state of fame, which Kanye spoke about during his speech at the MTV VMAs. Does Kanye hope to end the war? Is he calling for peace and coexistence?

The Other, More Common Saying

Kanye may be moving for peace in the pop culture world, but we have to admit: the lioness here seems quite elevated above her sheeply subjects. An old saying comes to mind. The origin and exact phrasing are unclear, but some claims trace it back to Homer or Aesop. "A lion doesn't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep." Detail-oriented Game of Thrones fans will remember Tywin Lannister, the patriarch of the Casterly Rock clan, uttered something similar: "A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of a sheep."

In any iteration, and regardless of origin, the message of the phrase is clear: a strong individual doesn't pay attention to how he or she is perceived by those he or she deems as weak. This seems pretty in line with Kanye West's attitude, both in the music industry and the world at large. If you ask him, he's at the top of his game. He's a genius. He's the future. And there's nothing you can say to make him doubt that. Perhaps he used Taylor as the manifestation of this creed.