ASPIRING rapper Mike Manik was just an Arby’s manager making videos after work when he had blown up on TikTok for his raps and likeness to a famous artist. 

Also known as Kanye East, Manik has been getting comparisons to the infamous rapper Kanye West his entire life. 

In an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, the East Coast native revealed he first started getting compared to West, otherwise known as Ye, when he was in high school. 

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 

After some encouragement from friends, Manik embraced the physical likeness and started calling himself Kanye East online. 

He mainly used the moniker as a rapper persona on TikTok and YouTube and has insisted he was never looking to “mimic” Ye. 

“At first, I did the whole, ‘You know it’s your boy Kanye East with rap your comments’ and all of that…it wasn’t like to mimic Kanye because I think that’s what the misconception is now,” Manik said. 

“It was just random words people were putting in, generating in my chat and I was just saying them and just rapping them out on a beat.” 

Manik’s social media presence blew up in 2021 through his “rap your comments” segment, as one song – titled Fortnite Balls – garnered over 1 million streams. 

He drew even more attention after someone uploaded the track to Spotify, where it received over 5 million streams. 

“It’s just something that I never thought…would catch fire,” Manik said. 

While rapping the words Fortnite Balls is part of Manik’s claim to fame, he insists that he can’t take any of the credit. 

The rapper and TikToker told The U.S. Sun that it was all taken from someone’s comment on a video. 

“It was just words that ignited TikTok and for some reason changed my life,” he said. 

“So whoever said Fortnite balls, to you I say thank you. Please let yourself be known so I can give you the credit you deserve.” 

BALANCING PERSONAS 

Acting as Kanye East on social media has not always been easy. 

Last year, Manik took some time away from the character as he wrestled with changes in his personal life. 

During the summer of 2022, the rapper said he lost a lot of friends as well as his girlfriend of six years. 

He also revealed that he was struggling with negative comments on his social media posts, particularly as he wanted fans to see the real Mike, not just the character of Kanye East. 

“I went into a lot of depression,” he explained. 

“I just stopped making videos, and I stopped making music.” 

At the same time, Manik was grappling with homelessness and was forced to live in a tent on his family’s property for some time. 

Manik revealed that he struggled to secure an apartment as he was unable to provide proof of income for rent. 

The rapper had been transitioning from his restaurant managing job to content creating full-time, making it more difficult to provide proof of his taxes and income. 

“I spent a whole year without proof of income, because it took me a year to get my own income tax so that I could prove my income,” he said. 

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This year, Manik has jumped back head first into creating content as Kanye East, uploading regular videos and raps to YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, and more. 

He explained that his relationship with the character is “kind of like a duality,” as he can never fully shelve the persona for good. 

“So many people know me as Kanye East, like I don’t think I could ever just truly give up that moniker,” Manik said. 

“But I think everybody’s realizing, you know, like the duality. Like there’s two people there.” 

For fans of Mike Manik, he’s the guy who plays video games and Dungeons and Dragons. 

Meanwhile, Kanye East fans will find their favorite rapper to be “super confident.” 

By embracing this character, Manik found he has been able to do many things completely unrelated to Kanye West, including using Kanye East as a character in various skits. 

Currently, Manik is working with an editor for his videos which allows him to share the workload and brainstorm ideas. 

CAREER OUT OF KANYE 

While Manik has never been officially mistaken for Ye or received any perks by pretending to be the rapper and fashion designer, he has been able to make a living through the likeness.

Thanks to the comparisons to Kanye and the virality of his rapping videos, Manik has been able to create content on social media full-time. 

He revealed that most of his income is made through Cameo, with which he is a Cameo Gold Partner, as well as TikTok. 

On the video platform, Manik will record paid ads, for which he makes around $415 for every 1,000 views. 

Additionally, he has had companies reach out to him as Kanye East, looking for freestyle and written raps. 

In 2022, Manik said he earned over six figures and is set to earn more in 2023. 

He declined to share the exact number. 

MOVING FORWARD

Manik has no plans to hang up Kanye East anytime soon as he continues to pursue rapping and content creation. 

While he might have had some legal concerns about using a similar name to Ye, Manik ensures he covers his bases at the start of every video. 

“Yo it’s your boy Kanye, not the West man but the East man,” fans will frequently hear. 

Earlier this month, the aspiring rapper told The U.S. Sun that he was in the process of moving from California back to the East Coast, where he has some property in South Carolina. 

There, he plans on purchasing a manufactured home where he can create his content in peace. 

While he has faced ups and downs on his journey to accept Kanye East as part of who he is, Manik has said he has no regrets. 

“I wouldn’t change it, I wouldn’t change it for anything,” he said, explaining how the job has taught him so much about social media and business in general. 

“I would not go back, I’m very grateful. And it’s just getting better.”