Kanye West Releases Full Interview With Charlamagne The God
by Karen
After a whirlwind of controversy, suspicion and questionable moments, the full Kanye West and Charlamagne tha God candid sit-down interview has been released via Kanye’s official Youtube. Catch the full chat here.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting his sit-down interview with Charlamagne Tha God to answer some of the many questions they have about his new music. Now, the interview is here. Nearly two hours, the duo discuss everything from his public breakdown in 2016, Jay-Z, the sunken place to his new projects in the works.
Kanye on Taylor Swift, Jay-Z & Saint Pablo Tour Deal
“We’re doing Saint Pablo [tour], and the cultural impact is incredible, but I’m looking for other forms of validation,” he said. “We had ‘Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1’ in the club and on the radio a bit, but to put that same amount of work into a body of work and you’re used to it coming out like Graduation, where everything is everywhere, it’s frustrating.” He reiterated his stance that his relationship with radio has never been the same since his Taylor Swift interruption at the VMAs.
“That concept that he gave me the money, that’s what frustrated me because actually the money he got from Live Nation. Roc Nation was managing me at the time, it’s normal that somebody would give somebody a touring deal,” Kanye said. “The fact that it was worded that it came from him, I’m a very loyal, emotional artist and person. That made me feel that I owed more than just the money itself, that it came from him. It put me under a bit more of controlled situation. I’m only acting out of love, I don’t need to be controlled.”
He did note that Jay had to cosign the deal because of Kanye’s debt. “There was some love in that on Jay’s part, because he did have to cosign for it when the Live Nations and these other companies wouldn’t cosign for me… Jay did something that was positive, but the fact that I didn’t receive the information in the right way.” He also said that they’re both texting each other, although they haven’t met face-to-face since. “I can’t see him, but I can feel him.”
“I was hurt about them not coming to the wedding. I understand they was going through some things, but if its family, you’re not gonna miss a wedding. I’m not using this interview to put out any negative things but then one thing happens and then another. You just start putting things together in your head.” Kanye admits he has yet to talk to Jay about the real reason they skipped his wedding, just continues to speculate only because he feels its something he can’t fix.
On what caused his breakdown
“Fear, stress, being controlled, manipulation….Like being a pawn in a chess piece of life. The concept of competition, and being in competition with so many elements at one time….To put that same amount of work into a piece of work [The Life of Pablo] and you’re expecting it to come out like Graduation where really everything is playing on the radio, it’s frustrating. And really since the Taylor Swift moment, it’s never been the same, that connection with radio. Whatever powers that be, it was much harder after that….the radio element was just one of the factors. There’s like, the situation with my wife in Paris and all the elements of like, you’re feeling helpless.”
On therapy
“Nah, I use the world as my therapist. Anyone I talk to is my therapist. I will pull them into the conversation of what I’m feeling at that point and get their perspective. Sometimes they’ll be like, ‘damn I’m talking to Ye, I’m not expecting to talk about this.’ You know, I’ll talk through things, and I put that as advice to people: use people around you as your therapist, cause they probably know more about you. Like a therapist does a crash course in Ye and then comes and is like, ‘I wanna give you some advice,’ and I’m not saying that therapists are bad, I’m just saying that I like just talking to acquaintances, friends, family, and you know, I keep them on the phone for 45 minutes at a time talking through things, so it’s kind narcissistic, talking about my problems, using their energy, even like, them being a sounding board, and talking through it.”
On being in the hospital
“I hit the glass ceiling, you ever seen a bird fly into a window. They don’t know it’s glass. When I hit the hospital that was a bird flying into a window. I could’ve not made it out of there but I survived.
I’m happy it happened, I’m happy to have gone to the other side and came back. I want to point out the moment you’re in the hospital bed and you’re next to your friend and you tell them don’t leave my side and they put you inside of an elevator and take your friends away from you that was the scariest moment of my life. I thought I was going to get killed.”
On whether he went too far when he talked about JAY-Z’s family
“Depends on how you look at it. If we’re brothers, then it’s my family too. If we’re business associates, then it’s too far. If it’s family, you’re not gonna miss a wedding.”
On 360 deals
“360 deal make me think of Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. It’s still some old slave shit.”
On buying 300 acres in California and starting to develop real estate
“I’m going to build five properties. It’s my first community. I’m getting into development. Anybody who’s ever been to any of my cribs knows I’m into developing homes. It’s the next frontier for me to develop.
We’re standing on my first property. So I’m going to be one of the biggest real estate developers of all time, what Howard Hughes was to airlines, and what Henry Ford was to cars, and just the relationships I have to architects…I’m tired of the McMansions. That shit is wack. It’s trash bruh…Unless it’s Howard Backen.
We’re going to develop cities.”
On loving Trump
“I don’t have all the answers that a celebrity is supposed to have, but I can tell you that when he was running it was like I felt something. The fact that he won, its like it proves something. It proves that anything is possible in America…that Donald Trump is the president of America. I’m not talking about what he’s done in office.
Remember when I said I was going to run for president? I had people close to me, friends of mine, making joke, making memes, talking shit, and now it’s like, oh that was proven that it could happen…When I see an outsider infiltrate, I connect with that. I like that it showed you that anything is possible. Virgil working at Louis Vuitton, Trump in office, it’s time for the unconventional. I’m not a traditional thinker, I’m a nonconformist so that relates to the nonconformist part of me. But I’m a producer. I like to elevate things, chop it up — so what’s the Ye version. Maybe it’s the Trump campaign with Bernie Sanders principles. That would be my mixing stuff, but I think both are needed.”
On why he went to Trump Tower
“I’m not gonna let myself off easy by saying, oh I met with Trump cause I was going through something. I ain’t gonna give the universe that. Nah, Ima face it, and they gonna face me. This is the Ye that wanted to do something, to change something. And I would meet him today, and I would talk about Chicago. First. We could eventually get into a lot of elements. But, we’ll start there.”
On his issues with Obama
“Obama came to me before he ran for office, to me and my mother, to let me know he was going to run for office, because I am his favorite artist, because I am the greatest artist of all time….so Obama is like, Ye, you’re my favorite artist, I want your support, I’m running for office. Then, I went on stage. And it would have been good if this video didn’t get out, but you saw the video [where Obama called him a jackass for rushing Taylor Swift on stage at the MTV Movie Awards]. The same person that sat down with me and my mom I think should have communicated with me directly.
I felt a little way about Obama like, I’m your favorite artist, you play “Touch the Sky” at your inauguration, and now, all a sudden, Kendrick and JAY and all the people you invite to the White House, like, now these your favorite rappers now. I ain’t got no problem with these rappers, but you know I’m your favorite but I’m not safe. But that’s why you love me! So just tell me you love me. And tell the world you love me! Don’t tell the world I’m a jackass…Something about me going on stage is similar to what you was doing. ’Cause I’m fighting to break the simulation, break the setup….And then I also like had a problem that Obama’s from Chicago and Chicago’s the murder capital of the world.”