In the latest issue of "W" Magazine, Kanye West offers insight into his creative process, his relationship with Kim Kardashian, and addresses some of the narcissistic rants (which he says you shouldn't take too seriously). See the highlights inside...
Fans of Kanye West know that he rarely talks to the press (because it usually ends in disaster), but the "I am a god" rapper did open up for a lengthy article in W magazine which unveiled his creative process in Paris and revealed the next phase of his artistry (which will be the rarefied upper reaches of design, architecture, and overall good taste). He brags that the goal is, "To make Kanye West as dope as possible.”
Throughout the piece, we see that Kanye does indeed have one of the biggest egos on the planet, but he's also one of the most talented and creative visionaries of our time. At one point, he yells at the writer, "Yo! Nobody can tell me where I can and can’t go. Man, I’m the No. 1 living and breathing rock star. I am Axl Rose; I am Jim Morrison; I am Jimi Hendrix.” Here are the highlights:
On being rich: “I’m not a billionaire; I’m just a millionaire. But I’m the youngest guy I know who has this much interest in design and the ability to actually get some of it. So that makes me an important cog in the wheel.”
On design:“Furniture is my superobsession now. Furniture and pornography, still. The porn thing has never left since I was in high school.”
On Watch the Throne, his 2011 collaboration with Jay-Z:“It was like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talking at the same time. You know which one of us was Steve.”
On his new album, Yeezus:“This music is made to spark the visionaries to stand up for themselves and help the world. Because the world isfucked.”
On Christianity and Ralph Lauren:“I’m Christian in the same way that people have issues with certain elements of Christianity. It’s like if you go into a Ralph Lauren store, maybe that buyer didn’t do the exact buy that you want, but you still really like that brand.”
On being intimidated by celebrities:“Anyone who meets me for the first time and is not slightly nervous is completely full of shit. Because when I meet people I respect, I’m nervous. When I go have lunch with Tarantino at the Chateau Marmont, I’m nervous. It’s fucking Tarantino!”
On his intellect: “Visiting my mind is like visiting the Hermès factory. Shit is real. You’re not going to find a chink. It’s 100,000 percent Jimi Hendrix.”
On why he wrote "I am a god": "I made that song because I am a god. I don’t think there’s much more explanation. I’m not going to sit here and defend shit. That shit is rock ’n’ roll, man. That shit is rap music. I am a god. Now what?”
On his narcissim: “On one end, I try to scale it back,” he says. “Because I don’t want to close any of the doors needed to create the best product possible. But my ego is my drug. My drug is, ‘I’m better than all you other motherfuckers. Kiss my ass!’ ”
On "his" unreleased sex tape: “For the most part, I’d rather people have one of those home videos than some of the paparazzi photos that get published,” he says. “At least I recorded the shit myself. That tape couldn’t have hurt me in any way if it came out—it could only have helped.” He finally decided against releasing it, but don’t be surprised if he changes his mind. “Now, I just do exactly what I want, whenever I want, how the fuck I want,” West says. “ ‘Fuck you’ is my message.”
On Kim Kardashian as his fashion muse: “Nobody can tell my girl what to do. She just needed to be given some platforms of information to work from. "...one beautiful thing is that as she discovers it, the world discovers it. For her to take that risk in front of the world, it just shows you how much she loves me. And how much she actually loves the opportunity to learn. You got, like, a million companies saying, ‘This is impacting your brand! This is impacting your fans! And blah blah blah.’ But she still sees this light of beauty.”
On his imagination:“I live a pretty interesting life. But the life that I’m living is way less interesting than what I’m thinking.”
On the tattoo on his forearm of Madonna and Baby Jesus:“This is me and my mommy.
On how he's sometimes misunderstood:
“God’s little practical joke on me—as an intellect who doesn’t like to read a lot—is like, I’ll say some superphilosophical shit, but I’ll say it the wrong way,” he says, laughing. “I’ll use the wrong word, so it goes from being really special to completely retarded.”On how seriously to take him:“You should only believe about 90 percent of what I say. As a matter of fact, don’t even believe anything that I’m saying at all. I could be completely fucking with you, and the world, the entire time.”
On his style don’ts:“Even the greatest tattoo artists in the world have a few bad tattoos. And that’s Kanye West. A few of my past outfits—questionable, you know? But I’m testing. I’m discovering who I am.”
On W’s 2010 cover of a nude Kim Kardashian:“I loved the fact that it happened, that it disturbed people. I loved the fact that it put those curves right inside that Hamptons house, that there’s some Hamptons husbands who had to cover that up.”
On his rock-star status:“Instead of using it to date as many supermodels as possible or to be as much of an asshole at a restaurant as possible, I would rather use it to access great minds. To be able to go to Axel Vervoordt’s castle on the first day that I meet him.”
Kanye West's latest album Yeezus is available now. Read the full "W" article here.
Photos via Nick Knight for W
