Tiësto Reveals That Kanye West Wanted to Collaborate on "Fade"

Oh, what could have been.

Author:: Jason Heffler
Publish date:: Sep 25, 2020

Tiësto and Kanye West almost collaborated on "Fade." Let that sink in for a moment.

In a new interview with GQ, the dance music legend waxed poetic about a number of topics, like his taste in memes, the Ableton-themed design of his new home, and the likelihood of house music's survival if clubs were to permanently shut down due to COVID-19. It was his revelation about the polarizing hip-hop legend West, however, that served as a needle in a haystack.

When asked if he had ever been starstruck by anyone he'd met, Tiësto dropped Kanye's name. "One time he had just done an award show in Vegas and after we went to his dressing room. He sat down and he played some new tracks. He played me the whole [Life of] Pablo album, from start to finish," Tiësto said. "It was extremely loud. We didn't have a conversation. P. Diddy was there and some other people, The Weeknd. We were all dancing on that album and I was just like, wow, this is surreal."

After "Fade" was brought up due to the dance music influences on Kanye's seminal The Life of Pablo LP, Tiësto revealed that he was offered a hand in the production of the song, which went on to become a Platinum-certified hit and one of the rapper's most illustrious tracks. However, he had a hunch that Ye's demo didn't need any more work. "He wanted me to do something on 'Fade,' Tiësto continued. "I was like, 'Well, I think it's good the way it is. I don't think I could add anything. I think you should just leave it like that.'"