Interviews : Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview
Interviews : Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview
In part one of Kanye West's interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, the Chicago rapper talks about the impact of his new album Yeezus.
West describes the sound of the album, which he made as a way to push the boundaries sonically. "I was able to start just making what was exactly on my mind again, and not having to speak with the textures of the time," he says. "Everybody is bound to these, no pun intended, they're bound to 16 bars, eight bars, and the normal radio thing."
West also talks about the different approaches he makes when working with other artists on G.O.O.D. Music. "If I'm working on a John Legend album, I'm going to try to give John Legend the best home for him to stay in, West says. "And I'm going to try to push Pusha T -no pun intended once again, this keeps happening to me - to make the thing that represents what I like about his music the most."
Zane Lowe asks Kanye about the opening track "On Sight," which he says initially wasn't the beginng of Yeezus. "Originally 'Blood on the Leaves' was supposed to be first, which psychologically I know would have changed certain Yeezus naysayers about the album," he says.
Kanye West details his personal frustrations that went into Yeezus, which he says parrallels that of Michael Jackson. "For me, as Kanye West, I would not be Kanye West if it wasn't for Michael Jackson," he says. "Michael Jackson, he had to fight to get his video played because he was black. This is Michael Jackson."
Part 1
In part two of Kanye West's interview with Zane Lowe, he talks about his aspirations for expanding creatively and how he feels classism is a big issue today.
He recalls a conversation he had with talent agent Ari Emanuel, who wanted to constrict Kanye's ability to be creative. "'You are a celebrity. So basically what's going to happen is there's product here, and this is where you end up right here. If you can communicate this product, you can make money off the product,'" Kanye recounts. "Look at [Lady] Gaga. She's the creative director of Polaroid. I like some of the Gaga songs. What the fuck does she know about cameras?"
He also touched on classism, which shows up on his track "I Am a God." "When someone comes up and says, 'I am a God,' everybody says, 'Who does he think he is?' I just told you who I thought I was. A god," he states. "Would it have been better if I had a song that said, 'I'm a Gangster' or if I had a song that said, 'I'm a Pimp,' all those colors fit better on a person like me, right?"
Part 2
In part three of Kanye West's interview with Zane Lowe, he talks about the vision behind his music and why he's become frustrated with critics in the fashion industry.
Ever since releasing his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, Kanye West has continued to release quality music at a consistent rate. His music has also provided a theme for his listeners, which he summed up here. "Go listen to all my music. It's the code to self-esteem," he says. "If you're a Kanye West fan, you're not a fan of me. You're a fan of yourself. You will believe in yourself. I'm just the espresso. I'm just the shot in the morning to get you going to make you believe you can overcome that situation that you're dealing with all the time."
Kanye switches the subject to fashion, which is something that continues to frustrate him despite his successes within the industry. "I am so frustrated. I've got so much I want to give," he says "I got ideas on color palettes, I've got ideas on silhouettes, and I've got a million people telling me why I can't do it. That I'm not a real designer. I'm not a real rapper either. I'm not a real musician either."
"For me to do the Yeezy's and not have a joint venture backing deal with Nike the next day would have been like if I made 'Jesus Walks' and was never allowed to make an album," he continues. "If Drake made his first mixtape and was never allowed to be signed. If 2 Chainz only had one 16 [bar verse], and then people say, 'Why are you mad?' Do you know how many 16's 2 Chainz had in him!"
Part 3
In the fourth and final part of Kanye West's interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, he talks about his work on Yeezus, dealing with the paparazzi and Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse.
Zane Lowe asks Kanye about his decision to collaborate with more producers on his latest album, which Kanye says was necessary at this point in his career. "It's the only way I can do it at this point. I can't do it by myself," he says. "I have no interest in sitting down in the studio by myself and making a track. When I made 'Overnight Celebrity,' which is great, I sat down by myself and made it. And there's people like, 'Yeah, that's the answer, make the music by yourself again 'Ye, we want the old 'Ye.' No, I don't feel like doing that."
Kanye explains his feelings concerning the paparazzi, a group he has dealt with countless times in the past. "Photography used to be a sexy profession. It was like being a ball player or like a rapper or like a venture capitalist," he states. "[The paparazzi] completely changed what photography is supposed to mean. The same as how there's like plenty of musicians that have sold the fuck out and changed the art of music. People don't hold that to the highest level of genius anymore."
"Paparazzi is necessary, not even a necessary evil," Kanye continues. "It just needs to be legalized. Meaning at a certain point, there's cutoff switches."
Kanye also touches on Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse, which he sees as "friendly competition" rather than a diss toward rap peers. He also expresses his excitement to go on the "Yeezus" tour with the Compton rapper, which begins next month in Seattle. "I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to speak to this brother as much as possible. Those conversations is going to be more than everything I ever said right here. He's one of our future messengers, and I'm going to give him them jewels."
Part 4
Contact Kanye West
Website | Twitter | MySpace | IMDb | YouTube | Vevo | Shop
Contact Zane Lowe
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube
Contact Complex Magazine
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Tumblr
Sources : Kanye West Photo | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 1 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 1. Video | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 2 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 2. Video | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 3 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 3. Video | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 4 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 4. Video
In part one of Kanye West's interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, the Chicago rapper talks about the impact of his new album Yeezus.
West describes the sound of the album, which he made as a way to push the boundaries sonically. "I was able to start just making what was exactly on my mind again, and not having to speak with the textures of the time," he says. "Everybody is bound to these, no pun intended, they're bound to 16 bars, eight bars, and the normal radio thing."
West also talks about the different approaches he makes when working with other artists on G.O.O.D. Music. "If I'm working on a John Legend album, I'm going to try to give John Legend the best home for him to stay in, West says. "And I'm going to try to push Pusha T -no pun intended once again, this keeps happening to me - to make the thing that represents what I like about his music the most."
Zane Lowe asks Kanye about the opening track "On Sight," which he says initially wasn't the beginng of Yeezus. "Originally 'Blood on the Leaves' was supposed to be first, which psychologically I know would have changed certain Yeezus naysayers about the album," he says.
Kanye West details his personal frustrations that went into Yeezus, which he says parrallels that of Michael Jackson. "For me, as Kanye West, I would not be Kanye West if it wasn't for Michael Jackson," he says. "Michael Jackson, he had to fight to get his video played because he was black. This is Michael Jackson."
Part 1
In part two of Kanye West's interview with Zane Lowe, he talks about his aspirations for expanding creatively and how he feels classism is a big issue today.
He recalls a conversation he had with talent agent Ari Emanuel, who wanted to constrict Kanye's ability to be creative. "'You are a celebrity. So basically what's going to happen is there's product here, and this is where you end up right here. If you can communicate this product, you can make money off the product,'" Kanye recounts. "Look at [Lady] Gaga. She's the creative director of Polaroid. I like some of the Gaga songs. What the fuck does she know about cameras?"
He also touched on classism, which shows up on his track "I Am a God." "When someone comes up and says, 'I am a God,' everybody says, 'Who does he think he is?' I just told you who I thought I was. A god," he states. "Would it have been better if I had a song that said, 'I'm a Gangster' or if I had a song that said, 'I'm a Pimp,' all those colors fit better on a person like me, right?"
Part 2
In part three of Kanye West's interview with Zane Lowe, he talks about the vision behind his music and why he's become frustrated with critics in the fashion industry.
Ever since releasing his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, Kanye West has continued to release quality music at a consistent rate. His music has also provided a theme for his listeners, which he summed up here. "Go listen to all my music. It's the code to self-esteem," he says. "If you're a Kanye West fan, you're not a fan of me. You're a fan of yourself. You will believe in yourself. I'm just the espresso. I'm just the shot in the morning to get you going to make you believe you can overcome that situation that you're dealing with all the time."
Kanye switches the subject to fashion, which is something that continues to frustrate him despite his successes within the industry. "I am so frustrated. I've got so much I want to give," he says "I got ideas on color palettes, I've got ideas on silhouettes, and I've got a million people telling me why I can't do it. That I'm not a real designer. I'm not a real rapper either. I'm not a real musician either."
"For me to do the Yeezy's and not have a joint venture backing deal with Nike the next day would have been like if I made 'Jesus Walks' and was never allowed to make an album," he continues. "If Drake made his first mixtape and was never allowed to be signed. If 2 Chainz only had one 16 [bar verse], and then people say, 'Why are you mad?' Do you know how many 16's 2 Chainz had in him!"
Part 3
In the fourth and final part of Kanye West's interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, he talks about his work on Yeezus, dealing with the paparazzi and Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse.
Zane Lowe asks Kanye about his decision to collaborate with more producers on his latest album, which Kanye says was necessary at this point in his career. "It's the only way I can do it at this point. I can't do it by myself," he says. "I have no interest in sitting down in the studio by myself and making a track. When I made 'Overnight Celebrity,' which is great, I sat down by myself and made it. And there's people like, 'Yeah, that's the answer, make the music by yourself again 'Ye, we want the old 'Ye.' No, I don't feel like doing that."
Kanye explains his feelings concerning the paparazzi, a group he has dealt with countless times in the past. "Photography used to be a sexy profession. It was like being a ball player or like a rapper or like a venture capitalist," he states. "[The paparazzi] completely changed what photography is supposed to mean. The same as how there's like plenty of musicians that have sold the fuck out and changed the art of music. People don't hold that to the highest level of genius anymore."
"Paparazzi is necessary, not even a necessary evil," Kanye continues. "It just needs to be legalized. Meaning at a certain point, there's cutoff switches."
Kanye also touches on Kendrick Lamar's "Control" verse, which he sees as "friendly competition" rather than a diss toward rap peers. He also expresses his excitement to go on the "Yeezus" tour with the Compton rapper, which begins next month in Seattle. "I'm just looking forward to the opportunity to speak to this brother as much as possible. Those conversations is going to be more than everything I ever said right here. He's one of our future messengers, and I'm going to give him them jewels."
Part 4
Contact Kanye West
Website | Twitter | MySpace | IMDb | YouTube | Vevo | Shop
Contact Zane Lowe
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube
Contact Complex Magazine
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | Tumblr
Sources : Kanye West Photo | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 1 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 1. Video | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 2 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 2. Video | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 3 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 3. Video | Kanye West Zane Lowe Interview Article 4 | Kanye West. Zane Lowe. Part 4. Video
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