Kanye talks Taylor Swift, Jay-Z, his new sense of style, the death of his mother and more in this interview with Vanity Fair’s Lisa Robinson who calls his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy upcoming album Runaway. Dumb journalists need teaching. – ICE
Vanity Fair: Looking back on last year’s MTV Awards, when you interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech—you said Beyoncé was robbed, and a lot of us agreed with you. How do you feel about it now?
Kanye West: Well, it was very punk rock and revolutionary and idealistic and very angry in a way. But the timing was in poor taste. And the other two things I’ve learned since then are humility and empathy—to be empathetic to other people’s feelings. To care about how much this must mean to someone else, and not to think that my ideals or my righteousness are more important than someone else’s feelings.
Vanity Fair: You’ve protested during award shows before. Do you just take them too seriously?
Kanye West: These things mean something; you’d like to have some historically accurate representation.
Vanity Fair: What did you want to do with your new album?
Kanye West: I wanted to take it back to the essence, like the soulful people who brought knowledge—like RZA and Q-Tip. At a certain point, you need to find a better way to do it; it’s like people [in basketball] who dunk and hurt their wrist and come down on their knees too hard. Your knee’s gonna give out at a certain point. Some of my social and public-persona knees are starting to give out. I still want to run the games. I’ve just got to not get kicked up quite as hard.
Vanity Fair: You also have an entirely new, elegant look; you told me you thought that the traditional hip-hop look was tired.
Kanye West: Yeah, people always dress like they’re headed to the gym.
Vanity Fair: Why did you have permanent diamonds drilled into your bottom teeth?
Kanye West: I just like diamond teeth and I didn’t feel like having to take them out all the time.
Vanity Fair: What do you think Jay-Z has done for you?
Kanye West: Man, everything—served as a big brother, the blueprint, our reality. Someone to look up to.
Vanity Fair: What do you think you’ve done for him?
Kanye West: Just served as a burst of energy at all times—light and energy. Just a person who’s constantly seeking information that Jay can use.
