New York Times Interviews Kanye West | Talks Parenthood, Yeezus & Style Choices

Kanye West opens up to New York Times regarding his upcoming controversy album entitled Yeezus, his relationship and parenthood with Kim Kardashian, past, present and future memories all rise in the conversation held with NYT. Read the interview in it’s entirety below.
When your debut album, âThe College Dropoutâ came out, the thing that people began to associate with you besides music was: Hereâs someone whoâs going to argue for his place in history; like, âWhy am I not getting five stars?â
I think you got to make your case. Seventh grade, I wanted to be on the basketball team. I didnât get on the team, so that summer I practiced. I was on the summer league. My team won the championship; I was the point guard. And then when I went for eighth grade, I practiced and I hit every free throw, every layup, and the next day I looked on this chart, and my name wasnât on it. I asked the coach whatâs up, and they were like, âYouâre just not on it.â I was like, âBut I hit every shot.â The next year â I was on the junior team when I was a freshman, thatâs how good I was. But I wasnât on my eighth-grade team, because some coach â some Grammy, some reviewer, some fashion person, some blah blah blah â theyâre all the same as that coach. Where I didnât feel that I had a position in eighth grade to scream and say, âBecause I hit every one of my shots, I deserve to be on this team!â Iâm letting it out on everybody who doesnât want to give me my credit.
And you know you hit your shots.
Yeah â you put me on the team. So Iâm going to use my platform to tell people that theyâre not being fair. Anytime Iâve had a big thing thatâs ever pierced and cut across the Internet, it was a fight for justice. Justice. And when you say justice, it doesnât have to be war. Justice could just be clearing a path for people to dream properly. It could be clearing a path to make it fair within the arena that I play. You know, if Michael Jordan can scream at the refs, me as Kanye West, as the Michael Jordan of music, can go and say, âThis is wrong.â
Youâve won a lot of Grammys.
â[My Beautiful] Dark [Twisted] Fantasyâ and âWatch the Throneâ: neither was nominated for Album of the Year, and I made both of those in one year. I donât know if this is statistically right, but Iâm assuming I have the most Grammys of anyone my age, but I havenât won one against a white person.
But the thing is, I donât care about the Grammys; I just would like for the statistics to be more accurate.
You want the historical record to be right.
Yeah, I donât want them to rewrite history right in front of us. At least, not on my clock. I really appreciate the moments that I was able to win rap album of the year or whatever. But after a while, itâs like: âWait a second; this isnât fair. This is a setup.â I remember when both Gnarls Barkley and Justin [Timberlake] lost for Album of the Year, and I looked at Justin, and I was like: âDo you want me to go onstage for you? You know, do you want me to fightâ â
For you.
For whatâs right. I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things. So when the next little girl that wants to be, you know, a musician and give up her anonymity and her voice to express her talent and bring something special to the world, and itâs time for us to roll out and say, âDid this person have the biggest thing of the year?â â that thing is more fair because I was there.
But has that instinct led you astray? Like the Taylor Swift interruption at the MTV Video Music Awards, things like that.
Itâs only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. Itâs only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. Thatâs all it is.
So no regrets?
I donât have one regret.
Do you believe in the concept of regret?
If anyoneâs reading this waiting for some type of full-on, flat apology for anything, they should just stop reading right now.
But that is something that you apologized for.
Yeah, I think that I have like, faltered, you know, as a human. My message isnât perfectly defined. I have, as a human being, fallen to peer pressure.
So that was a situation in which you gave in to peer pressure to apologize?
Yeah.
So if you had a choice between taking back the original action or taking back the apology, youâd take back the apology?
You know what? I can answer that, but Iâm â Iâm just â not afraid, but I know that would be such a distraction. Itâs such a strong thing, and people have such a strong feeling about it. âDark Fantasyâ was my long, backhanded apology. You know how people give a backhanded compliment? It was a backhanded apology. It was like, all these raps, all these sonic acrobatics. I was like: âLet me show you guys what I can do, and please accept me back. You want to have me on your shelves.â
The Albums
Thatâs fascinating, to look at that record through that lens.
I donât have some type of romantic relationship with the public. Iâm like, the anti-celebrity, and my music comes from a place of being anti. That was the album where I gave people what they wanted. I donât think that at that point, with my relationship with the public and with skeptical buyers, that I couldâve done âBlack Skinheadâ [from âYeezus]
Does that make âDark Fantasyâ a dishonest album in some way?
Itâs always going to be 80 percent, at least, what I want to give, and 20 percent fulfilling a perception. If you walk into an old manâs house, theyâre not giving nothing. Theyâre at 100 percent exactly what they want to do. I would hear stories about Steve Jobs and feel like he was at 100 percent exactly what he wanted to do, but Iâm sure even a Steve Jobs has compromised. Even a Rick Owens has compromised. You know, even a Kanye West has compromised. Sometimes you donât even know when youâre being compromised till after the fact, and thatâs what you regret.
I donât want to come off dissing âDark Fantasy.â Itâs me never being satisfied and then me coming and admitting and saying the truth. As much as I can air things out for other people, to air things out for myself, to say, âI feel like this couldâve been stronger.â
Itâs interesting to think of that album as compromise, when it follows â808s & Heartbreak,â which seemed very clearly to be the moment where youâre like, âO.K., forget everything thatâs been expected of me.â
Yeah, people asked me to change my name for that album.
Like, label people?
Yeah, different people. They said, âDo it under a different name.â And when it came out, people used to be like, âMan, I wish it had more rapping on it.â But I think the fact that I canât sing that well is what makes â808sâ so special.
A fully trained professional singer couldnât have done that record. It just wouldnât have ever come out that way.
Yeah. I love the fact that Iâm bad at [things], you know what Iâm saying? Iâm forever the 35-year-old 5-year-old. Iâm forever the 5-year-old of something.
A lot happened between âGraduationâ and â808s,â obviously: a lot of struggle, a lot of tough things for you. [Mr. Westâs mother died in 2007.]
Creative output, you know, is just pain. Iâm going to be clichĂ© for a minute and say that great art comes from pain. But also Iâd say a bigger statement than that is: Great art comes from great artists. Thereâs a bunch of people that are hurt that still couldnât have made the album that was super-polarizing and redefined the sound of radio.
Do you feel like â808sâ is the album of yours that has had the most impact?
There are people who have figured out the exact, you know, Kanye West formula, the mix between âGraduationâ and â808s,â and were able to become more successful at it. âStrongerâ was the first, like, dance-rap song that resonated to that level, and then â808sâ was the first album of that kind, you know? It was the first, like, black new wave album. I didnât realize I was new wave until this project. Thus my connection with [the graphic designer] Peter Saville, with Raf Simons, with high-end fashion, with minor chords. I hadnât heard new wave! But I am a black new wave artist.
Was singing always something you wanted to do?
I just dove more into rapping because I had a lot that I wanted to express, and I wasnât a really, really good singer.
Even though you had always wanted to be out in front, was there ever a point where you valued your anonymity?
Yeah, I held on to the last moments of it. I knew when I wrote the line âlight-skinned friend look like Michael Jacksonâ [from the song âSlow Jamz”] I was going to be a big star. At the time, they used to have the Virgin music [stores], and I would go there and just go up the escalator and say to myself, âIâm soaking in these last moments of anonymity.â I knew I was going to make it this far; I knew that this was going to happen.
But producting happened for you first, especially after Jay-Z used you so heavily on âThe Blueprint.â
I used to have tracks that sounded like Timbaland; I had tracks that sounded like [DJ Premier]. But Jay-Z was an amazing communicator that made the soul sound extremely popular. And because I could make the soul sound in my sleep, it finally gave me a platform to put the message that my parents put inside of me and that Dead Prez helped to get out of me and Mos Def and [Talib] Kweli, they helped to get out of me: I was able to put it, sloppily rap it, on top of the platform that Jay-Z had created for me.
Before, when I wanted to rap, my raps sounded like a bit like Camâron; they sounded a bit like Mase; they sounded a bit like Jay-Z or whoever. And it wasnât until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write âAll Falls Downâ in 15 minutes.
Is that true?
Yeah, thatâs how I discovered my style. I was just hanging out with them all the time in New York. I would produce for them. You know, I was able to slip past everything with a pink polo, but I am Dead Prez. And now, because I was able to slip past, I have a responsibility at all times.
What were the things that you were trying to do on âLate Registrationâ that you either did not or could not yet do on âDropoutâ?
I was trying to do different things with orchestras. It was just a vibe that I was trying to get at, a sound I was trying to mix with hip-hop to try to see how far I could expand it. I guess that was a Chicago thing, like Quincy Jones.
But you came here, you worked with Jon Brion [the Fiona Apple producer].
I really liked the sound of some projects that Jon Brion had worked on. I was always considered this crazy hothead kid, but I would always just go and just really break bread with someone who I respected. I will completely bow to anybody I respect.
That era also includes what I find probably the most moving thing that youâve ever done, which is calling out President Bush at the Hurricane Katrina telethon. To me, that moment is actually the peak of putting a message in a pop format, even though itâs not a song.
Yeah. I guess itâs a very pop moment of a lifetime or generation. I mean, my dadâs generation is a generation of messaging, you know? But thatâs just a piece of me being the opinionated individual that I am.
Were you conscious that thatâs what you were doing, or was it totally just instinct?
Yeah, it was pretty bugged out. When you think about it, I was wearing like, a Juicy Couture menâs polo shirt. We werenât there, like, ready for war.
I wonder if you see things in a more race-aware way now, later in your career, than you did then. The intensity of the feelings on âWatch the Throneâ is much sharper.
No, itâs just being able to articulate yourself better. âAll Falls Downâ is the same [stuff]. I mean, I am my fatherâs son. Iâm my motherâs child. Thatâs how I was raised. I am in the lineage of Gil Scott-Heron, great activist-type artists. But Iâm also in the lineage of a Miles Davis â you know, that liked nice things also.
On âThrone,â whoâs in a darker mood on that record, you or Jay-Z?
Iâm always the one thatâs in a darker mood. And then also there was still a thing where I didnât feel comfortable, you know, going out on tour, the this, the that â all that by myself, yet. Like, I neededâ
A buffer, kind of.
I needed to connect with Jay.
Part of it was you wanting to have someone standing next to you and say, âHeâs cool. Yeâs cool.â
Yeah, even with the kilt on.
Public Versus Private
You look at Jay or Diddy, and Iâd say like, 90 percent of the time, you think theyâre having a good time. With you, I would say, I donât know, 50-50 maybe? Or 30-70?
Maybe 90 percent of the time it looks like Iâm not having a good time.
But youâre in a very public relationship, a seemingly long and satisfying relationship: youâre about to have a child.
Any woman that youâre in love with or that loves you is going to command a certain amount of, you know, energy. Itâs actually easier to focus, in some ways.
When youâre uncertain about love, it can be such a distraction. It infects all the other areas.
Yeah, thatâs what I mean when I say like, âYo, Iâm going to be super Zenned out like, five years from now.â Iâm the type of rock star that likes to have a girlfriend, you know? Iâm the type of soul that likes to be in love and likes to be able to focus. And that inspires me.
On âKeeping Up With the Kardashians,â thereâs a really affectionate scene where you go and help Kim sort through her clothes.
That was from a place of love. Itâs hard when people read things in a lot of different ways. You know, the amount of backlash I got from it is when I decided to not be on the show anymore. And itâs not that I have an issue with the show; I just have an issue with the amount of backlash that I get. Because I just see like, an amazing person that Iâm in love with that I want to help.
Did you think differently about family after your mother passed?
Yeah, because my mother was â you know, I have family, but I was with my mother 80 percent of the time. My mom was basically â [pause]
Was your family.
Yeah, thatâs all I have to say about that.
What thoughts do you have about parenthood?
That is a really interesting, powerful question. One of the things was just to be protective, that I would do anything to protect my child or my childâs mother. As simple as that.
Have you ever felt as fiercely protective over anything as you are feeling now about those things?
I donât want to explain too much into what my thoughts on, you know, fatherhood are, because Iâve not fully developed those thoughts yet. I donât have a kid yet.
You havenât experienced it yet.
Yeah. Well, I just donât want to talk to America about my family. Like, this is my baby. This isnât Americaâs baby.
Birthing âYeezusâ
One of the things I thought when I heard the new record was, âThis is the anti-‘College Dropout.â â It feels like youâre shedding skin. Back then, you were like: âI want more sounds. I want more complicated raps. I want all the things.â At what point did that change?
Architecture â you know, this one Corbusier lamp was like, my greatest inspiration. I lived in Paris in this loft space and recorded in my living room, and it just had the worst acoustics possible, but also the songs had to be super simple, because if you turned up some complicated sound and a track with too much bass, itâs not going to work in that space. This is earlier this year. I would go to museums and just like, the Louvre would have a furniture exhibit, and I visited it like, five times, even privately. And I would go see actual Corbusier homes in real life and just talk about, you know, why did they design it? They did like, the biggest glass panes that had ever been done. Like I say, Iâm a minimalist in a rapperâs body. Itâs cool to bring all those vibes and then eventually come back to Rick [Rubin], because I would always think about Def Jam.
His records did used to say âreduced by Rick Rubin.â
For him, itâs really just inside of him. Iâm still just a kid learning about minimalism, and heâs a master of it. Itâs just really such a blessing, to be able to work with him. I want to say that after working with Rick, it humbled me to realize why I hadnât â even though I produced âWatch the Throneâ; even though I produced âDark Fantasyâ â why I hadnât won Album of the Year yet.
This album is moments that I havenât done before, like just my voice and drums. What people call a rant â but put it next to just a drumbeat, and it cuts to the level of, like, Run-D.M.C. or KRS-One. The last record I can remember â and Iâm going to name records that youâll think are cheesy â but like, J-Kwon, âTipsy.â People would think thatâs like a lower-quality, less intellectual form of hip-hop, but thatâs always my No. 1. Thereâs no opera sounds on this new album, you know what I mean? Itâs just like, super low-bit. Iâm still, like, slightly a snob, but I completely removed my snob heaven songs; I just removed them altogether.
On this album, the way that it emphasizes bass and texture, youâre privileging the body, and thatâs not snobby.
Yeah, itâs like trap and drill and house. I knew that I wanted to have a deep Chicago influence on this album, and I would listen to like, old Chicago house. I think that even âBlack Skinheadâ could border on house, âOn Sightâ sounds like acid house, and then âI Am a Godâ obviously sounds, like, super house.
Visceral.
Yeah, visceral, tribal. Iâm just trying to cut away all the â you know, itâs even like what we talk about with clothing and fashion, that sometimes all that gets in the way. You even see the way I dress now is so super straight.
Does it take you less time to get dressed now than it did five years ago?
Hell, yeah.
You look at your outfits from five or seven years ago, and itâs like â
Yeah, kill self. Thatâs all I have to say. Kill self.
One of the things that youâve thrived on over the years is sort of a self-conception as an outsider, that youâre fighting your way in. Do you still, in this moment, feel like that?
No, I donât think I feel like that anymore. I feel like I donât want to be inside anymore. Like, I uninvited myself.
What changed?
I think just more actual self-realization and self-belief. The longer your âgevity is, the more confidence you build. The idea of Kanye and vanity are like, synonymous. But Iâve put myself in a lot of places where a vain person wouldnât put themselves in. Like whatâs vanity about wearing a kilt?
But thereâs vanity in fashion. You make clothes, but some people think itâs a vanity project, that you donât take it seriously.
But the passion is for humanity. The passion is for people. The passion is for the 18-year-old version of myself. The passion is for the kids at my shows. I need to do more. I need to be able to give people more of what they want that currently is behind a glass. I donât believe that itâs luxury to go into a store and not be able to afford something. I believe luxury is to be able to go into a store and be able to afford something.
I sat down with a clothing guy that I wonât mention, but hopefully if he reads this article, he knows itâs him and knows that out of respect, I didnât mention his name: this guy, he questioned me before I left his office:, âIf youâve done this, this, and this, why havenât you gone further in fashion?â And I say, âIâm learning.â But ultimately, this guy that was talking to me doesnât make Christmas presents, meaning that nobody was asking for his [stuff] as a Christmas present. If you donât make Christmas presents, meaning making something thatâs so emotionally connected to people, donât talk to me.
But at the same time, this feels like the Grammy conversation, because what I keep thinking is: the people whose hands youâre trying to shake, they may control certain corridors of power, but those arenât even the relevant corridors of power anymore.
Iâm a professional musician because I have the structure of Universal Records. Iâm a professional creative. Since I did the Louis Vuitton sneaker, Iâve never been allowed to be in a continually creative structured place that makes product. Iâve had meetings where a guy actually told me, âWhat weâre trying to figure out is how we can control you.â In the meeting, to me! Why do you want to control me? Like, I want the world to be better! All I want is positive! All I want is dopeness! Why would you want to control that?
Thatâs why I said âI throw these Maybach keysâ [in the new song âNew Slaves”]. I would rather sit in a factory than sit in a Maybach.
I want to tell people, âI can create more for this world, and Iâve hit the glass ceiling.â If I donât scream, if I donât say something, then no oneâs going to say anything, you know? So I come to them and say, âDude, talk to me! Respect me!â
Respect my trendsetting.
Yeah, respect my trendsetting abilities. Once that happens, everyone wins. The world wins; fresh kids win; creatives win; the company wins.
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, itâs like when Biggie passed and Jay-Z was allowed to become Jay-Z.
Iâve 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 GhesquiĂšre, Anna Wintour, David Stern.
I think thatâs a responsibility that I have, to push possibilities, to show people: âThis is the level that things could be at.â So when you get something that has the name Kanye West on it, itâs supposed to be pushing the furthest possibilities. I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollars, because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus.