Kanye West has unveiled a startling new look apparently inspired by a classic Bond villain.
The rapper posted a photo of his new teeth – rumoured to be a titanium grill costing £670,000 – on Instagram followed by a screenshot of a Google search for the character of Jaws who used his trademark metal teeth to terrify viewers of the 007 films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.
The star’s new look was created by a Beverly Hills dentist Dr Thomas Connelly who said the rapper’s “vision for designing unique art transcends the dental progression” and had “created a new look that is epic”.
West, who celebrated his first wedding anniversary to Bianca Censori in December, has got form for changing his teeth – in 2010 he told chatshow host Ellen DeGeneres he had replaced his entire bottom row of teeth.
The rapper, who now refers to himself as Ye, has been no stranger to controversy in the last few years.
His divorce from reality TV star Kim Kardashian made headlines around the world and he ended last year by apologising to the Jewish community for “any pain I may have caused” after making a string of antisemitic remarks. That came after a video was released in which he ranted about Jewish people.
In October 2022 the rapper was criticised for wearing a White Lives Matter T-shirt at his Paris Fashion Week show, and in light of “dangerous” behaviour and antisemitic remarks, German sports brand Adidas ended its years-long partnership with him.
In a statement the company said: “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech.”
The Balenciaga fashion house also cut ties with him.
West praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler while in conversation with US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in December 2022, saying: “I like Hitler.”
Shortly afterwards his account on X, formerly Twitter, was suspended for violating the platform’s policy against inciting violence.
He had posted a series of erratic tweets, one of which appeared to show a symbol combining a swastika and a Jewish star.
After an almost eight-month suspension, West’s account was reinstated on the platform, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
