Since his recent firing from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Antonio Brown has moved on. In the days since he dramatically exited his former team’s game against the New York Jets, he’s popped up in various places with different celebrities.
That included him bonding with Kanye West, hanging out at NBA games, and appearing in a photo in the studio with Ye and other hip-hop artists. In addition, he popped up in a photo alongside not only Ye but musical icon Madonna and other celebs.
Brown recently spoke about how his friendship with Ye came about, his thoughts on the photo he appeared in, and what his “new job” is now that he’s fired.
Antonio Brown on linking up with Kanye West
In an interview with Complex, Antonio Brown touched upon how he and Kanye West first got together, saying they happened to run into each other at the restaurant Craig’s in West Hollywood randomly.
“We got haircuts at Craig’s. It was totally out of the blue, and we just started hanging out in LA. We’ve got a lot of positive things coming. It’s just been an amazing week for me,” Brown said of his meeting up with Kanye.
Brown went on to say they’ve been working on ideas for Kanye’s Donda sports brand, which will offer more fashionable items for athletes.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity here soon, to share what we’ve got with the world. And you guys are hearing it first, we got some exciting things to look forward to this year,” he told Complex.
He also shared that musically, he and Ye have “some stuff coming,” with each preparing to release albums.
When asked about him and Kanye sharing similar mentalities, Brown said they both are true to themselves and stand up for what they believe in, despite others trying to make up things about them.
“We’re all about being our best selves, staying true to ourselves in the midst of whatever’s going on, and being able to take advantage of your narrative,” he said.
The narrative is something Kanye West has been all about lately, including his recent demands to have final edit for the documentary Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy, which arrives at Sundance on Sunday.
Brown in iconic Madonna photo, had convo with Mayweather
A week ago, Antonio Brown appeared in a photo along with Kanye West, Ye’s girlfriend Julia Fox, Madonna, and Floyd Mayweather during a night out in Los Angeles, California.
Rumor has it music legend Madonna was there to chat with Julia Fox about an upcoming biopic but ended up seeing West, Brown, and Mayweather, among others, at the same restaurant. It made for quite a photo featuring the various stars together. Not only did Madonna share it but AB posted it on his official Instagram (below).
“There’s a lot of energy in one room. Kanye, Madonna, Floyd, Rich. It’s just a great environment, being around good people that are living out their dreams. And for me to be around those types of people, I’m beyond grateful. This is an exciting moment for me,” Brown shared.
During that time, he and boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. chatted, and he said Mayweather passed on some words of wisdom to him.
“Yeah, he’s always dropping jewels on me, making sure I understand the purpose of being great and waking up every morning with that intention, understanding that I can’t let my talent go to waste,” Brown said of their talk.
He also mentioned that even though he’s pursuing music now, “there’s still a lot of football to be played,” and people want to see him play.
Brown speaks about life post-Bucs firing, his ‘new job’
Many might ask where Antonio Brown might play football next following his publicized exit from his last team’s game. He said his focus right now is music as he prepares to release an album called Himmothy 2. Brown released a new song called Pit Not the Palace and a music video (below) just weeks ago.
He also spoke a bit about how he’s been doing in the several weeks since getting fired from the Tampa Bay Bucs.
Brown said it’s “not a good feeling” in terms of how things ended for him and that maybe he could have handled some things better in the moment. However, he felt he needed to stand up for himself when being disrespected by the team over his health situation.
“You’re sacrificing your health to play with someone, and they don’t really respect that, so to me that was a smack in the face. But I think we all, as people, have got to learn how to control our emotions in hostile environments, via him, via me, via everyone. So I’m just glad I did what my heart said in the moment. I could have handled it better, but I think you’ve got to stand up for yourself,” Brown shared.
When asked if he’s spoken with former teammate Tom Brady, Brown said, “He’s trying to win the Super Bowl, last time I heard.”
He also revealed that “a couple teams called” since his firing from the Bucs but didn’t share which teams they were. However, Brown shared he’s got a “new job” right now.
“I feel really good,” he says. “I’ve got a new job, it’s called living. That’s our only job in the world, is just to live. It’s not about the things that we take as so serious. Life is a blessing itself,” Brown said.