Kanye West Talks Marriage, 'Rich People Problems' & Why We Need Him
Rapper waxes poetic in new radio interview.
An interview with Kanye West is always a win because it’s guaranteed to produce quotable morsels that hosts, haters, viewers, readers, and fans can ponder and pore over for days (or years) to come.
And his recent sit-down with Big Boy on Real 92.3 was no different. Fresh off the release of his Cruel Winter single, ‘Ye waxed poetic about his wife, being a winner, and the meaning of life.
On rapping as a married man:
“Being married is not a normal rap topic… I always had this perspective of all these go-to’s I could talk about with this girl, that girl… When you do have parameters to rap in, like Eminem couldn’t say the N-word and it forced him to think of every word possible. Now he’s one of the greatest rappers.”
On being called an asshole by critics:
“It’s just the truth. I’m ‘Ye, man. Ain’t nothing else you can do about it. If I had tried to be somebody else my entire life, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m a champion. I’m a winner. I came to do this. I came to do what I did. I innovated. This is my truth. When I look in the mirror and I think it, this is some Michael Jackson levels. I gotta pinch myself sometimes. Can you believe it? It’s actually me? Here? Think about when Drake and Justin Bieber at the Grammys, they were like, ‘Where’s Kanye when you need him?’ You need someone like me in the game. You need someone who’s not watered down. I’m 38 years old, ladies and gentlemen. They put me in debt. They assassinated my character. I’m not a bad person… People need that. We all controlled by a lack of self-worth. We are taught not to love ourselves… People should love themselves. I love you like I love me.”
On fatherhood:
“The meaning of life is life itself: your kids. Learning, growing, how to connect with your kids, with my daughter and son. I’m just so happy to be a father. I know when I talk about my music I get amped up. I wanna sit and listen. I wanna learn what my daughter has to say. I want to learn what she’s saying and see how I can contribute to her living the best life possible. I’m extremely protective [of my kids]. I’m doing it. When I left Nike for Adidas, I did it for my daughter. There was an opportunity to grow; there was love, respect and admiration at Adidas. There was an opportunity to make a better life for my daughter… I don’t wanna have to be doing ‘Gold Digger’ when I’m 50 years old. I wanna be doing it for fun. Joking around. I don’t wanna be having to do it. I know I got rich people problems; that’ s the only problems I wanna have.”
On whether he considers himself crazy:
“I’m crazy about my kids. I’m crazy about Kim.”
On the legacy he wants to leave:
“When people look back at the body of work, I would’ve hoped to give people joy, a soundtrack to situations of their life. Art is supposed to be a backdrop for life while it’s happening.”