Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has become the king of collaborations — and two of his most frequent duet partners have long-standing beef.
During his appearance on The New York Times‘ “Popcast” on Wednesday, March 26, Vernon, 43, was asked about how he “seamlessly” moves between his “isolated” Bon Iver persona and his status as a sought-after collaborator for artists like Taylor Swift and Kanye West.
“You might be one of the very few people who’s worked with both of them,” the interviewer remarked, also citing Vernon’s work with Zach Bryan and Charli XCX.
Vernon opened up about his collab process, revealing, “It all came to me. And I think I’m really lucky and humbled by that, you know, but I never was like, ‘Get me on a song.’ It all came to me. Kanye seeks me out. Taylor seeks me out. … And then there’s all the dozens of collaborations I’ve just done with homies or the people in Minneapolis or Eau Claire [Wisconsin] that I just also do it ’cause it’s good and it’s fun and it’s what I want to do.”
Kanye West and Taylor Swift’s Tumultuous History: A Timeline
Vernon and West’s history dates back to the rapper’s 2010 album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, with songs like “Monster” and “Lost in the World.” They last teamed up on the 2019 song “Take Me to the Light” by Francis and the Lights.
“I learned so much from Kanye,” Vernon said on the podcast, adding that he’s “been deeply saddened” by recent headlines about West, 47. “But I have other people in my life that remind me of him that I’m constantly learning from.”
When it comes to his relationship with Swift, 35, Vernon first appeared on the song “Exile” from her 2020 album Folklore.
“I love the Taylor song a lot,” Vernon said. “And it was also a rare time where, like, they wrote the song — her and Joe [Alwyn] and Aaron [Dessner] wrote the song — and were like, ‘We want you to sing this part.’”
For Vernon, it was “kind of awesome” to be given a specific vision. “I added my little bits here and there,” he recalled. “But it was just so enjoyable. I did it on my own in COVID and I was sort of just looking out the window. Like, a bird was watching me do it.”
He continued to heap praise onto Swift, saying that the song turned out to be “one of my favorite collaborations.”
Vernon worked with Swift again on Folklore‘s sister album, Evermore, also released in 2020. He sings on the title track.
Every Time Taylor Swift and Kanye West Referenced Each Other in Their Music
Apart from their shared connection to Vernon, Swift and West have a history of their own. Their drama began in 2009 when West crashed a then 19-year-old Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video during the MTV Video Music Awards, claiming Beyoncé was the rightful winner. West subsequently apologized, but the duo have been subtly — or sometimes blatantly — referencing each other in their work ever since.
In a candid 2023 interview for her TIME Person of the Year cover story, Swift reflected on what she’s learned from public feuds with people like West.
“My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things. Keep making art,” she explained. “But I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote-unquote defeat your enemies. Trash takes itself out every single time.”
