With Yeezus coming out in less than a week, we’re going to be hearing a lot about Kanye West, which is exactly how Kanye West likes it. Because he’s Kanye West. Right, Kanye West? Right, Kanye West.
This morning, the New York Times published a fascinating, must-read interview between West and Jon Caramanica, who spoke to the rapper/icon/mogul/Cleveland Show guest star about, well, everything. The new album, the Taylor Swift incident, the Jay-Z, the Kardashian — it’s West’s first interview in years, and Caramanica covered as much as he could.
Naturally, West was at his most brilliant, boastful self. Here are but a few of his most narcissist NUGGETS.
1. On basketball…
The next year — I was on the junior team when I was a freshman, that’s how good I was. But I wasn’t on my eighth-grade team, because some coach — some Grammy, some reviewer, some fashion person, some blah blah blah — they’re all the same as that coach.
2. On being like Mike…
You know, if Michael Jordan can scream at the refs, me as Kanye West, as the Michael Jordan of music, can go and say, “This is wrong.”
3. On the Grammys…
[My Beautiful] Dark [Twisted] Fantasy and Watch the Throne: neither was nominated for Album of the Year, and I made both of those in one year. I don’t know if this is statistically right, but I’m assuming I have the most Grammys of anyone my age, but I haven’t won one against a white person.
4. On his cultural impact…
I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things.
5. On being awesome…
It’s only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. It’s only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. That’s all it is.
6. On being a great artist…
I’m going to be cliché for a minute and say that great art comes from pain. But also I’d say a bigger statement than that is: Great art comes from great artists. There’s a bunch of people that are hurt that still couldn’t have made the album that was super-polarizing and redefined the sound of radio.
7. On setting trends…
Yeah, respect my trendsetting abilities. Once that happens, everyone wins. The world wins; fresh kids win; creatives win; the company wins.
8. On Steve Jobs…
I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it’s like when Biggie passed and Jay-Z was allowed to become Jay-Z.
I’ve been connected to the most culturally important albums of the past four years, the most influential artists of the past ten years. You have like, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, Nicolas Ghesquière, Anna Wintour, David Stern.
In other words:
Read the whole thing here, especially the part where Kanye basically craps on Dark Twisted Fantasy.
Wait until Kanye sees what Seth Rogen and James Franco think of his latest video with Kim Kardashian.
