With Jay-Z’s seminal 2001 album The Blueprint, Kanye West exploded onto the Hip-hop scene
and he’s been making waves in the minds, souls, and hearts of fans and detractors alike
ever since.
His patented mix of oldschool soul infused with modern braggadocio struck a chord that
reverberated through the community all the way to the masses at large.
He was instantly hailed a genius and a powerful new force, and with the accolades came opportunities
to have his voice heard.
Whether for good or ill, Kanye immediately began capitalizing on his reach, and one could
argue that he hasn’t stopped talking since his jaw was unbound after his now infamous
2002 car crash.
The Chicago native isn’t just a mouthpiece though, he’s a phenomenon, known for going
from provocative to completely inane, without skipping a beat.
The self-proclaimed Yeezus has come a long way since lurking in the shadows on Foxy Brown’s
Chyna Doll.
And we’ve compiled a list of his most outstanding moments.
Here are the Top 10 Craziest things Kanye West has said.
It cost a million dollars
Back in 2006, Kanye West stormed the stages of MTV’s VMA’s.
The artist had been nominated for a Best Music Video award, but the winner was Justice & Simian’s
– We Are Your Friends.
Kanye grabbed a microphone from his fellow musicians and proclaimed, “AH Helllll nah!
... I agree that we should share the wealth but, come on...
Fuck this!
This video cost a million dollars fam!
I had Pam Anderson!
I’m jumping across canyons and shit!”
Making sure his statement wouldn’t be misinterpreted, he finished with a classic maxim before exiting
the stage.
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I have decided to run for president
In 2015 Kanye West was awarded a Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award (MTV’s version of a
lifetime achievement nod).
The trophy was presented to him by none other than Taylor Swift.
He began his speech with a soft opener, “I am conflicted bro.
I just wanted people to like me more.”
His eight minute speech included memorable moments such as, “Ya’ll might be thinking
right now, I wonder, did he smoke some before he came out here, the answer is: Yes!”
And after going off on the state of kids’ self-esteem and how to properly empower them
for a few moments, his big finish was.
The audience went insane with applause as they gave a standing ovation.
He promptly dropped the mic, and gave handshakes to fans as he hopped off the stage and walked
back to his seat.
The jury is still out as to whether we will see a Trump vs West electoral race in 2020.
I am a God
June 2013 saw Kanye’s sixth studio album in nine years drop.
It was called Yeezus, and the quote that may have made the most waves was, “I am a God”.
While many drew parallels with John Lennon’s “We’re bigger than God” quote and others
associate the statement with a certain pantheistic perspective that reality is divinity and that
all things compose of an all encompassing immanent God, some thought the blasphemous
phrasing and iconoclastic tone of the message had gone too far.
When asked about it in a BBC Radio interview with Zane Lowe, Kanye explained himself, and
he pulled no punches: “Would it have been better if I would’ve had a song that said,
I am a gangsta?
Or if I had a song that said I am a pimp?
All those colors and patinas fit better on a person like me, right?
But to say you are a God?
Especially when you’ve been shipped over (...) and your last name is a slave name.
Some argue that instead of making the case any clearer, he just made the issue worse,
by turning religious blasphemy into a platform for discussing self hate and race relations
in America.
But others were inspired by the bold categorizations, and, no matter where you stood on the issue,
it made for intense watercooler conversations at the time...
I will Never be able to see myself perform live
Some have described Mr. West as the world’s most confident man.
Others have stated that he is an arrogant self-obsessed narcissist.
We’ll let you judge for yourself.
Back in 2009, the then 31 year old rapper told VH1’s Storytellers, “God chose me.
He made a path for me.
I am God’s vessel.
But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.”
And you know, that’s an interesting thought experiment.
Kanye’s New York Times interview
Kanye West’s June 2013 interview with Jon Caramanica of the New York Times is famously
known for its plethora of West moments.
Some might say it is the epitome of everything Kanye detractors are referring to; others
have argued it’s brilliant and nuanced portrayal is only offensive when quotes are taken out
of context.
In the spirit of debate, here are a few quotes from the interview, taken completely out of
context: “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’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...
So when you get something that has the name Kanye West on it, it’s 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.”
Regardless of whether or not you agree with his evaluation of his brand, his fashion sense
or the future of his line, you can’t help but appreciate his stance; in his own mind,
he’s on top of the world.
2004 AMA’s “I got robbed”
In September of 2004 Kanye West was up for a New Breakthrough Artist Award at the American
Music Awards.
He lost to Gretchen Wilson’s Redneck Woman.
Kanye immediately left the show after the announcement, storming off in a show of discontent.
He later told interviewers, "I felt like I was definitely robbed, and I refused to give
any politically correct bullshit ass comment ... I was the best new artist this year."
To many, this was the moment Kanye West revealed himself to the world as a brash, opinionated,
egotistical, yet loveable, controversial artist.
In all fairness, even though his statements might have been out of place at the time,
anyone who’s followed Gretchen Wilson’s career would be hard pressed to argue that
in the decade and a half since the award, she’s made more of a mark on the pop culture
scene, on her particular style of music or as an artist in general.
Not to take anything away from Ms. Wilson, but I believe history has shown that maybe
Kanye was right on this one...
Maybe the most impactful artist to break out in 2004 wasn’t Gretchen Wilson....
Maybe it was Yeezy himself...
I do Love Donald Trump
Late in October of 2016, Kanye West ran into some trouble.
It was a hard year for the rapper who released The Life of Pablo, his seventh studio album.
Amidst controversies involving pop stars (Taylor Swift “I made that bitch famous”, rappers
(a feud with Jay-Z) and mental health issues (Kid Cudi checking himself into a hospital)
Kanye abruptly ended a performance, mid-song, in Queens New York, upon hearing that his
wife, Kim Kardashian, had been gagged, tied up, and robbed at gun point, inside a posh
Paris apartment on rue Tronchet.
The men were dressed as police officers.
West has been known to harbor feelings of paranoia since the beginning, and this incident
may have driven him over the edge.
After a few public exchanges with his former mentor, Jay-Z, Kanye checked himself into
the UCLA Medical Center in late November over concerns for “his own health and safety”.
He was released one week later on November 30th.
Two weeks after his hospitalization, On December 13th, Kanye was seen with bleached blonde
hair, at Trump Tower in New York, doing a photo op with the commander in chief himself.
When asked by journalists at the time if he had anything to say about why he was meeting
with the president elect, Kanye simply said, and Trump followed by saying, “We’ve been
friends a long time.”
His stance and nondescript statement angered fans the world over.
Ebro Darden, a Hot 97 hip-hop radio host, asked Kanye about his thoughts on Trump; Darden
claims that West told him directly, “I do love Donald Trump.”
Conspiracy theorists believe the two incidents are related, some go as far as claiming that
Kanye was the victim of a conspiracy to mentally break him down only to have him reemerge as
a promoter of strange corporate agendas and that everything from Taylor Swift’s statement
at the Grammy’s, to Kim’s run in with armed robbers was part of that effort.
A few go as far as saying brainwashing techniques were applied to Kanye West during his interment
and that his new “loving everybody” methodology seen on TMZ is a result of that.
Others have stated that this was just another example of a black celebrity having entered
“The Sunken Place”.
The Sunken Place is described as that state of mental purgatory defined by an adherence
to a political and social enslavement, to liberal inertia under an unspoken white supremacist
hegemony.
Like O.J.
Simpson, Stacey Dash, or Ben Carson, the sunken place is where black celebrities fall after
having turned their backs on “the cause.”
Jordan Peel describes the sunken place as, “ something that exists not just for black
people, but for women, for our Latino brothers and sisters, for any marginalized group that
gets told not to say what they’re experiencing, It’s the system.
It’s all these cogs in the wheel that sort of keep us where we are ... The Sunken Place
is the silencing.
It’s the taking away of our expression, of our art.
” ... Yeah, maybe you’re thinking that got a little too deep, a little too quickly
but Kanye West has that effect on a conversation.
Beyonce had the greatest video of All Time
On September 13th, 2009, Kanye West took to the stage of the MTV Video Music Awards in
what could be argued as his second most talked about television appearance to this day.
Taylor Swift was accepting the award for Best Female Music Video which she’d won for her
song, “You Belong to Me” over Beyoncé’s “ Single Ladies” , and Kanye wasn’t
having it.
He took the microphone away from the petite blonde who was mid sentence and blurted to
a shocked audience and for all the world to hear.
Slavery was a choice
After lighting fires all over the social media landscape for weeks in preparation for the
release of his new album, Kanye West went on TMZ on May 1st 2018 to further stoke some
flames.
“When you hear about slavery for 400 years - For 400 years?!
That sounds like a choice.”
He quickly continued by saying “It’s like we’re mentally in prison ”As everybody
began raining down fire and brimstone, West attempted to clarify his stance, "We need
to have open discussions and ideas on unsettled pain... to make myself clear.
Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will.
"My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our
side means that we were mentally enslaved," After which he took to Twitter to say, "Kanye
vs the media is modern day Willie Linch theory.”
It goes without saying that despite his explanation, the comment has not gone over well in the
black community or any community save for the alt-right.
George Bush doesn’t like black people
This is the one that started it all.
On September 2nd 2005, during a live television fundraiser on NBC for victims of Hurricane
Katrina, Kanye West went off script to the mortified face of a powerless and bewildered
Mike Myers who was standing next to him.
The Chicago native also blasted the media’s portrayal of Katrina’s black victims.
“I hate the way they portray us in the media, if you see a black family it says their looting,
if you see a white family it says they’re looking for food, and you know it’s been
five days because most of the people are black- …a lot of the people that could help are
at war right now, fighting another way, and they’ve given them permission to go down
and shoot us.”
Meyers finished his scripted section of the presentation before Kanye jumped in to say,
“George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
The showrunners immediately cut to an understandably confused Chris Tucker who, in Hollywood fashion,
attempted to go on with the show.
At the time, the quote stunned the world.
It was reported on in The Washington Post, BBC, Fox News, and the New York Times among
thousands of others and the following week, NPR aired a special on George Bush’s relationship
with the black community.
In a November 9th 2010 interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer, George Bush said of West’s statement
that it was, “ one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency” If we consider
that 9-11, the second war in Iraq, and the stock market crash of 2008 all happened under
Bush’s presidency, one could be left to ponder whether or not George W. Bush, actually
does in fact, care about anybody.
Is Kanye West a cocky know-it-all constantly running off at the mouth?
Or does he have some legitimate points, with possibly a poor method of getting those points
across?
Comment below!
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