Kanye west / charlamagne interview [Full Transcript]*

[FORMATTING IN PROGRESS] Ye, how are you my brother? I'm good Yes sir, I seen a lot of pictures of you lately out and about you know. So my first question is how are you? I'm feeling good The last time I think people heard about you in the news was Kanye West was having a mental breakdown so mentally where are you? I think I'm in a stronger place then I have a that I was after the breakdown I like to say breakthrough What do you what do you think caused the mental breakdown? Fear, stress, control, being controlled manipulation like being a pawn and a chess piece of life stressing things that that create like validation that I didn't need to worry about as much and you know that just this the concept of competition and being in competition with so many you know elements at one time on a race against time your age all yo you're getting o race against popularity on the radio Callie got the songs rate got this song on radius playing to dev st. Pablo ain't playing I could do that man take the whole I could take the whole interview I'm talking about yeah you never you you've been the guy that has always created a flow not gone with the flow. So it seems like you were a little upset that you weren't a part of the flow? It was weird. I was looking at, you know, we're doing Saint Pablo and the cultural impact is incredible, but I'm looking for other forms of validation, when there's other frequencies and other currencies. So just because it's not playing on the radio, of course we had you know "Father Stretches" in the club and and on the radio a bit, like it went to number one but you know, to put that same amount, if not more work, into a piece of work and then you used to it coming out like Graduation where everything is everywhere...you know it's frustrating. And really, ever since the Taylor Swift moment it just had never, had never been the same; the connection with radio. It's liken whatever powers that be it was much harder after that. Then also you know LA leaving Universal like, you know he had that radio locked. So if you an artist and you signed to a major label, you want to be on the radio, specially if you if you popular, if you poppin', you know if you one of the most famous people on the planet and people love your music and all the best artists in the world are coming to your concert and all friends is like, you know Snapchatting themselves at the shows and you selling merch out like that...it seems like "Okay radio should just be intact". It might've been just a piece of information that I was missing, that wasn't being expressed to me, that I didn't understand because at the end of day someone's controlling it and I didn't understand it. But the radio element was just one of the factors. There's like, you know, the situation with my wife in Paris and all of the elements of like you feeling like, you know, helpless. You feeling like what can you? Do a thousand...I went to Paris on that trip to protect her, but not protect her you know physically but to go and just help her with her looks, because she's in Paris. So I'm like let me put my eye on it personally while she's out in Paris and make sure she busts these niggas ass. Just get fly. And one of the things that she said that she heard is that they were coming to rob her and they had to wait until I had left and when I finally, and that the people, would have been strategizing and scheming on that for a long time. So when she probably got to Paris by herself, they're like, "Okay this is our chance". Next thing you know I get off on the flight the next day and they were like, "Oh okay, we gotta like fall back". And then you know, when I left a couple days later, I'm on stage and I hear that, my boy Sky comes up to me and says, "You know, your wife was robbed". And I at that point, I didn't know the whole element, or the whole story of what was happening. Previous to that you know, just one week before that or two weeks before that I had done a fashion show. And I was 45 minutes late. And they LeBronned me bro! Like, remember like when LeBron went to Miami? They just killed him and burned his Jersey and all that. It's like, I had just done MSG! Young Thug on stage, you know and then go and plug in your iPhone with 16,000 people, everybody in the audience, whoever you want to name and shit you, know streaming live, all this like a breakthrough. Soon as I was 45 minutes late, I felt it was the fashion community getting the right to say "nigger" without saying it. To be like, "Yo we know you come through stepping on necks and all that and what you doing when you approaches things and stuff. But if you get out of line boy? We're gonna roast you". And it affected me because I'm an artist, and it affected me like emotionally. It's like all these things were like almost set up to put me on meds. To break me down. The robbery, like I don't you know, I don't know where that you know where that came from. You know, was that a bigger plan a bigger set up? You know also just being on stage four times a night, I mean four times a week you know you get exhausted up there. So you were mentally exhausted, emotionally exhausted physically exhausted, everything yeah, fine yeah Did you go to therapy at all? 'Cuz I feel like this is a lot to unpack. And I'm sure you're the go-to guy for a lot of people so it's like who does the go-to guy go to? So I'm sure you had to go to some therapist or something. 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'd be like "Damn I'm talkin to Ye, I'm not expecting to talk about this user you know I'll talk through things anybody that I Mariah and I put that as advice to people it's like use people around you as your therapist because they probably know more about you like therapist is like does a crash course in yeh and then comes it's like I want to give you you know some advice and I'm not saying that the therapists are bad I'm just saying that I like to just talk into acquaintance friends family and you know minutes at a time talking through things it's like it's kind of narcissistic you know talk about my problems using the energy even like just then being a sounding board and talking through it so you know I guess mental health so to speak you seem to be in a good space mentally so how did how did you get there you just talk to it with people or was it music see returning to Twitter now just getting these thoughts out therapeutically yeah but I'm not even the thoughts that I'm getting out on Twitter right now and that you know I think everything is therapeutic but I'm not doing it as a you know a form of a personal therapy it's just an innate feeling I just I want to express I decided to use this platform to express some breakthroughs that I've had since going to the hospital what if some of those breakthroughs you know you said something about the fashion world I mean minutes late they tried to cut your head off it's kind of the same thing with Taylor Swift when you got onstage and you know interrupted acceptance it's like do you feel like whenever you're in spaces where you're tolerated as opposed to celebrate it they let they remind you of that oh yeah you get reminded all the time but uh the reminders don't mean nothing to me anymore I've broken it you know this is this is a Hermes level existence at this point you know like you look at a Birkin bag the way it's made the more scratches on it the more the more value it has you know so all those things those pieces of the story have created Who I am today and I wouldn't turn down anything like I always would be thinking about you as I was recovering and always thought i'ma go and talk to Charlemagne first and I just wanted to say like there was elements about going to the hospital and having a breakdown or a breakthrough that was fire it was incredible the feeling wasn't quick you know well on the song st. Pablo I said I'm praying an out-of-body experience that happened so people could see my light and know it's not just rapid you had the context of rap here go here go one related I want to talk about rap pickle one related to our saying about the fashion show so if my name pops up in a publication and you know today I don't want to use white black the black man show all too much about I want to modernize but I want to speak about the concept of racism is something that is something we're in is something of the past is something will break in the future so I say this you know if it's a white publication if they use the word rapper they not saying that in a complimentary way they trying to say that to not classify it in a Howard Hughes Picasso's you know I'm just an artist way yeah artists or just person or something just who I am what I say say my name and whatever just say my first name or say half of my first thing just say yeah whatever and whatever someone takes from that then cool and then say what happened I just leave it there don't put no extra sauce on it so when they put the wrapper and then they'll say something I'll say that's like absolutely inspired but if they put it in the something inspired in the wrong context will come off as I don't want to say crazy because I also want to change the stigma of crazy and I want to change the stigma of mental health period and I have not done no extra study on it we at the beginning of it at the beginning a conversation but best believe I'm gonna take stigma off the word crazy but let's just say for now people would take something that's enlightened put it in different contexts and then call it crazy to try to diminish the impact and the value of what I'm actually saying every Friday at like Rafiki and The Lion King remember I think he knew exactly what simply came from you knew exactly whose symbol was or what symbol was about but everybody would say all right freaky is crazy he stay away from him and when they roughly he took that staff and hits them overhead and said no you're crazy because you don't even know who you are look at this Lake and let me show you where you come from I think you might have forgotten that your kanye was yeah cuz so many people was trying to read trying to make you believe that you were lesser than who you truly are oh yeah if you hang around people who act like you are who you are then you'll forget who you are and I got a doper wait I've read I've written it down and I was walked over with yeah yeah tweet you know we should just tweet tweet that right now shit speaking of Twitter yeah you know how does that feel coming back to quit because I would say coming back to Twitter because I would think that the hardest thing for Kanye wasn't to be quiet yeah he was quiet for like a year I didn't have a lot to say I had a lot to learn and you know right now your document where I'm at this is I felt the need to speak at this point you know when you when you look up at five years from now or ten years from now they'll be I'll be even more I have more experience I'll be in a I'll be in a better place than I was today but it's good for you to see yeah you know there'll be mistakes there'll be flaws and the way I communicate today because we're human beings were flawed I'm not media trained I'm not studied in that I'm not trying to say the right thing I'm just saying exactly what I feel out of out of love the last time Kanye West felt like he had something to learn that's an interesting he says you know Kanye the guy who seems to know everything to know what's going on for music fashion like was the last time Kanye felt like he has something to learn every day every day I'm trying to learn something and every day I get you know I get afraid I I'm I'm fearful of things and I just use bravery to overcome but I'm fearful of I mean the quote it was so cool people always say the wise man knows he knows nothing yeah yeah I'm learning and now I'm expressing some things that I felt and if they mean something to you at this time then great if not then you know don't don't use them so you know a lot of you know I think me and Jays issue my issue it just came down to information I'm super hungry for information I'm any information more than I need validation more than I need finance I need like if I learn how to fish then I can feed my family forever so I'm just constantly looking for the information information how do I set up a factory so you feel like Jay was tossing you money as opposed to give you an information you know the hit finish line on four four fours you know I gave blinking gave me that he gave me the money that's what frustrated me because actually the money was he got from Live Nation he rag nation has managed me at the time that's something normal that someone gives someone a touring deal it was a touring deal but the fact that it was worded that it came from him I'm a very loyal emotional like artist person you know that made me feel like I owed more than just the money itself for the fact that it came from him you know it just put me under a bit more of a kind of controlled situation as I can I don't I'm only acting out of love I don't need to be controlled I just need to be inspired and informed and I can be the best yay in that way but if I have the I gave you this on it and I don't have the full information of how it happened now that said I think there was some love in that because on Jays part because he did have to co-sign for it when the Live Nation's and these different companies wouldn't cosign for me and I was in debt J did have to go up and say I'm a cosign for yeh so the thing is this it's one of those ones like have you ever done something where you did something for someone that's positive but it was something about the way you did it they kind of like blew the whole thing up so Jay did something that was positive but the fact that I didn't receive the information in the right way I you know because I always feel like man I'm out here in Hollywood I'm not here like my mom's past I don't know who I can trust I don't trust nobody and Jay was Big Brother Big Brother you know I feel like y'all might have reacted emotionally though meaning that like you reacted emotionally when you was on stage and you ranted and then he replied in a record you know that's not really his his character to do something like that to put out like this is what I did for I mean yeah but he he he did it in a brotherly way you know he could have went all he could released an entire record or something yeah it's just a bar you know they go yeah could have went crazy got every single piece of information and possible all my life and stuff no the finances are you know so even like when I tweeted I was in debt that gave me power that I took my power back because it's like someone trying to say like yo if you say this you're not gonna be cool no more and it's like man my financial situation don't make me yeah I'm in debt now what and I'm still yay yeah what you saying about myself before somebody else can use it against me yeah that's not called living your truth to live your truth so you know you live your truth nobody can use your truth against you yeah you know what you and Jay got now we're good you know we tweeting I mean we texting each other's positive energy have y'all seen each other oh I haven't seen him but I I can feel you know what keeps what keeps brothers like y'all from just you know come to the house man let's have a meal let's sit down and talk face-to-face out of hock and every time I you know see him doing the interview whether they would let him in whoever he's saying that's that's my brother like I love him like so what stops you off and just face-to-face communication go do it sometimes also like when you have like such similar personalities and people are you know creating their own existence in their own world and their own simulation or whatever you know they need to do it on their own you know when we were doing watch the throne I was there you know in service to Jay in service to myself too you know but I was there where any idea the Givenchy artwork on watch throng like the first time you ever saw the Givenchy dog was on ham was on a ham cover you know the ODIs be the producers were working with every piece of information was a open source directly for you know my idol for J and that's where we were at that time and if that's the case then you know yeah he's gonna be around more you know if I you know went off and you know started focusing on clothes and building my company and my you know my factory and my office and just focus on my family all this and you know that's wrap they said you went too far talking about his family do you feel like you go too far whoop ends on how you look at it if we're family if we're brothers and we are family then is my family if we're business associates and this then it was too far you know respectfully you know you know I got a say you know I was hurt about I was heard about them not coming to the wedding I understand they was going through some things but if his family you know you're not gonna miss a wedding you know and I'm not I'm not using this interview to put any negative things but I got a statement brother yeah I got a state my truth like and then that one thing happens and another thing happens another thing happened other things happen you just start come up with all type of crazy ideas in your head and stuff like why and it obviously it's me I'm like wow our personality and stuff I'm like the cousin you can't bring nowhere all this type of stuff obviously but if interested about the wedding did they not come because it you know in the press it was Beyonce has a problem with you know they don't like all the kardashian reality-show type thing about maybe now in hindsight maybe it was cuz they had their own issues that they was trying to work out what do you think of what I'm not sure I'm past it but at the time I was heard about it did you ask them I don't think I have asked them that question directly maybe talking through someone I work with them and that kind of thing but yeah I think you gotta address what bothers you yeah I think that's what might be causing or I'm what causes the breakthroughs you know when you're not asking the things that you want to ask like those are questions you can get answers for like some things you can't get answers for but that way you can get an answer for I don't think the answer fixes it true true I want to go back to something you said speaking about fixing something like how did you as a man forgive yourself for you know you said you feel like you let your wife down cuz you hide the security how did you get over that cuz that's not your fault that's chance I mean she wasn't here I would never forgive myself you know it's just bugged out when you're super a high profile and this celebrity the concept of celebrity you're like as famous as the president but you don't have national national guard with you you gotta hire your own you got to make your own like you know community guard this is a constant thing basically the idea of security and the rave relates to Fame and this not all that it's like yeah especially with you know social media and all these different things and like oh that's like my wife doesn't even wear big diamonds anymore we don't keep no jury no money in the house no you know named high art none of that we don't keep any of that any place you know where our kids day you know I wanted to think I talked to my therapist about though because it's it's a very vulnerable feeling being a father and a husband because our job is to protect and provide but shall we not school right now like anything can happen you know you're not with your wife all the times on anything can happen so it's kind of like a very vulnerable feeling like you almost gotta let go and let God so to speak mm-hmm you know you think um you think it's easy to be fearless when it's just you that you have to worry about but you know now being a husband and a parent does it make you more afraid to take more chances yeah but you got to stay brave you have to follow your gut feeling you know I have everyone has a position in the universe and you know I've been made and had the experiences I've had for a reason to be expressive to to to go through going to the hospital to go through the dynamics of you know family brother working relationships you know I got to follow my gut when I had that fear I still have to be you know brave you know I think is a interesting in this world it's like looking for sound bites like we talked about the J thing it's like you know what I do love J and I don't have all the answers for every issue I've ever had I don't have a soundbite for everything that's why yeah you said sometimes a language is overrated form of communication like words don't always do it do it justice I saw something you tweeted and it was to the effect of us some things can't be explained something just need to be experienced mm-hm what'swhat's that respond I met a little bit when you want to express yourself a lot of times words can get in the way just this innate feeling that we have you know what someone's talking to you trying to talk you into something with something like that and you just like look this just don't feel right you know oftentimes people playing ball doing karate whatever it is they and people that they don't miss your karate since you see a little karate films like but it always be you know get out of your head go from your gut go from your Chi do what you feel and that's what I'm big on stop strategizing so much stop setting so many plays stop doing things only based in fear like the universe will assist you when you are acting in love all right we did this thing I said when you're acting in love you're like a drop of water and you have the ocean as your army when you act in fear it's just you and your money now you could take your money and put in a Bitcoin put a credit form put in a cash or all your cashed and then and then stand up to the ocean and who's gonna win I'm understanding I think your mind stayed a little bit more like when you was on stage and you'd be going into the ranch hmm it was out of fear you were afraid at that time I think those rents I think to do the rents though were brave I think we're in a place now where bravery is more important than perfection feeling is more important than thought people get so they put so much thought into it what's gonna happen so I actually think that the rants came from a place of bravery and I had enough of the politics you know and that's the world that we're in right now like people are speaking that truth you know people are expressing their selves and you know I've been waiting for this I've been waiting for this moment because it's always been such a you know just a political ear and you know society and mentality that everyone's been in and stuff like don't do that you need to do this you need to you'll need to hang out with them you need to hang out with them you know all this and like trying to please people and all that stuff and I don't feel like right now like people are trying to please people the same way they trying to please themselves that could be a bad thing right because I feel like we're all public servants at the end of the day we're here to serve the needs of the public we're all greater than ourselves well we definitely touch on the word back and the idea of good and bad things just are it depends on what side you are and if something is good or bad it depends on what your agenda is but of course we can speak in terms of that you know we we haven't got our language hasn't evolved to what either of us are feeling at this point so both of us that's when this is dropping so do you always think the plaintiff played in the future yeah I guess we don't I guess we could be in the future people got to catch up yeah you talked about the politics you know you said on stage I was saying that with the word bad top students bad as a consequence people are people people are so raised on the idea of home team away-team positive negative good bad like I think negative gets too much of a negative rap you know you it's life is a balance I don't believe in any good or bad experiences I feel like everything's just a part of the process of life yeah you know you think about bad experiences that have happened to you do you still look at them as just bad or did you learn something from them there's no bad and there's no enemies even people want to kill you I'm not your enemy that's something I was gonna tweet and I was like I feel this but I don't know if people would take it in a certain way I've got a lot of ideas that a Ford and you know I'm just gonna keep building like a mountain the mountain of like a snowball snowball our ideas and just keep getting more and more more more expressive as I go oh but you know I don't even know if it's a book it's like stream it's all about streams everything is straight that's why that's an amazing work that's an amazing modern and futuristic word streams streams of consciousness streaming music everything is just a stream Lakes the water you know it's like exactly you know where we will be we will be ultra light being ultra light stream we will be all just a stream I feel like Kanye with the brand well Kanye was the man in rebelling against Kanye was the brain you know my email is not act on us you are retired from whatever that meant to be Kanye West I think the spirit my spirit my attitude is a representation of fighting for your own truth will live like if I die tomorrow they would live past me the yeah it's like a hawk thing it's a that's your name there's like Kanye West yeah and it means the only one you know one of the incredible things I thought about when I went to the hospital is on Kendricks album there's the skit what my opinion mm-hmm you know one of the things that was incredible when I you know got out of the hospital was I had lost my confidence Kanye was with no confidence I was like Michael Jordan with no jumping yeah like and you could see it that's what I was saying sunken place all this stuff you know it's like and Wow I never had the empathy for people who lacked confidence I had so much of it I didn't know what it was like to be without it you mean zero confidence you just was less confident in usual it just wasn't Black Panther Superman level confidence it was you know it was placed into the simulation and shit I was like completely could be like molded and controlled and everything if that was the case if I was you know when I wouldn't speak up you know I you know I'm speak up and so I like where I was and I got in the hospital it's even when I did the next fashion show you know it it got all these good reviews yeah cuz I was less confident because it's like they're there boy that's exactly what we wanted I didn't trade it I just didn't have I didn't have me I didn't have my confidence so that's superpower could never like if I was like homeless any situation you could take everything you could black mirror me you could put shit on the media and say yay fuck to go no doubt at all this type of shit and you will not take my confidence away what did the acne decision what took Kanye's confidence that's like that's literally like somebody bringin kryptonite to Superman that's what I don't know exactly what it was it had something to do I mean maybe a doctor could give an explanation but I had to do or something with coming through the breakthrough I like to call it the breakthrough and at the breakdown uh coming through the breakthrough that you know but also I think isn't it was incredible because it was a forced amount it was forced humility tonight positive and negative I like a humility it just is what it is but previously I would have looked at humility is more of a negative thing and even if you read certain definitions it's it's kind of got a negative vibe but as we said before no positive or negative but also that humility gave me time to to grow and everyone just backed off a lot to a lot of people depend on me they asked for a lot of things they're like Superman do this for me and you know one of the things that the the irony because people always heard about the sunken place and yeah that I never saw the mean but I could I could I get the picture of it the funny thing about that is that my wife like she's like I'm responsible you like yeas mom has passed away I'm responsible to take care of this superhero and my mom might have had these things where she made sure I never took my Superman cape off you know I got this wrap that say parents are the strippers strip kids that he confidence teach white dominance question your common sense I've been Washington tradition the armrest hopped off the Amistad and made I'm a god now when I said it I liked it for this interview when I said it on a song I don't like the frequency of it because it felt dated because it touched on race too much so it's not that not that race them we definitely are dealing with racism but I want to push future concepts you know now I'm doing I'm giving you two streams of constants in one I want to talk about my wife I also want to talk about Harriet fucking he said I'm good that was the moment that I wanted to use bill why it's like when you just see like on the slave movies it's like why you got to keep reminding us about slavery why don't you show us but Michael Jordan or with a slave who rebelled oh I heard that turn in a different frequency though they kind of were like you when you say you didn't feel like being controlled yeah you know what it's funny like my boy Tremaine tweet it you know picture of me and Virgil and he said Malcolm X Martin Luther King and all these people got mad like how can you compare them to that man I know this is gonna cause an uproar but certain certain icons it's just too far in the past and not relatable and that's what makes them safe like they'll let you go on the Grammys and talk about slavery and all that and racism because it's not talking about buying stock it's not talking about buying property yeah economic empowerment yeah it's not talking about economic town you can complain as hard as you want on that platform and but it's not scary well that's what ultimately got Martin King jr. killed like it wasn't when he was fighting for civil rights since when he started talking about economic empowerment he was planting things like the the poor people's March which will be the largest march on Washington with people of all colors that would just point us in franchise that's when he took Martin uh Harry how the comparison with birds Universal was saying that he his he's more Martin I'm more Malcolm but there is a civil rights element to the ability to create your own industry because even when we did wrap everything we got basketball and rap are both someone else's industry so you're always a player it took Michael Jordan a long time to become an owner with that say because you mentioned Virgil like he's not a creative director for Louboutin I feel like he went from being a owner with off-white to not being a player how do you how do you feel about that some people have to do things just to prove that they can be done and whether they become the billionaire that other dial on the other side of it you know Obama went into that office as a public servant in a service position and it didn't matter the amount of money it didn't matter the amount of ownership the world the world needed to see that this was a possibility so for Virgil it's like the world just needs to see things you know I was afraid to speak the way I speak now I was afraid to show you you know my my office in Calabasas I was afraid to show purchased that I'm building my first community on my first five properties on because you know I felt like it would be shut down but it's not about me even if I got killed tomorrow and they shut everything down the fact that I put the idea out is the Black Panther shit that is a kid watching this in high school and a kid in college because at a certain point you know pop at a certain point he just had some message and hand the baton he's like I might not be here I mean I changed the world I mean fuck yes the seed and somebody else that may change yeah and that's the thing the problem is obviously self-preservation is the first law of nature but people won't hand over coats completely to the next generation out of just protecting themselves like some of the stuff we touching on is very scary and I'm having to be brave to talk to you about it there's so many elements in our life that create an icon that you're supposed to look you're supposed to feel like you not as good as the icon mmm I have an issue with that I'm just going to say backlash whatever I have an issue with ideas that are presented that make you feel less for your entire life look at human beings is more than men or more than women yeah and then we need to do something that's human yeah like oh we've let let us down oh yeah bro when I was in the hospital especially the black people that worked at the hospital and I was on that hospital bed and I felt like they were like my family members and I looked at him and there in their eyes and I don't know it was like the tribe or something like as much as I want to say we're one race one humanity one living organism you know there is an element of the black celebrity in America and when I was laid out on a hospital bed looking through the window and a black UCLA employee I felt like I had left them down I felt like they was looking at me like just shaking it that just sad it's like oh that's Jane hey in the hospital bitch that's our gay bro like that's that's I da juice like he can't like they can't they can't break him is your tribe though I think I think you know one of the one of the big moments was when you met with Donald Trump and I think that led a lot of people down you know the funny thing is I always think about that Dave Chappelle skit of the was Benjamin Big C yeah like they created you know some of the blonde reasons right yeah the client races and stuff like Clayton Bigsby right it's like I felt like when I came out and express what I said and when I felt that was almost like a Clayton Bigsby moment when everybody's head exploded like my yay George Bush don't care about black people connect in any way this dude has to like dis Trump at all point at all costs everything about and it was some dynamics to this so many people around me said don't express your feelings why your brand you're this you're that you're that you said you would have voted for that's the feeling you talk about right yeah that feeling yeah because people first thing they say is racism they say well what makes George Bush more any more racist than trouble there's a question what my friend asked me my response is well racism isn't the deal-breaker for me if that was the case I wouldn't live in America that's original oh no as a rich yeah I do racism I do it just basically in this gated community above all accepted I do it so oh I got love for Obama I got love for everybody every human being that ever existed but I felt like Obama was perfect he was almost like Nike or is where if you saw or Nike when I was at Nike that Nike that like when I was that if you so in the good with everything and you got your whole thing planned on a strategize if you have like a rogue character like me that comes in and says we need to do this for Chicago we need to do this to the dead you got to take it with a grain of salt you're gonna be cordial you're gonna be all you know all that but you're like you're not really gonna change anything you know night when I was at Nike they weren't willing to change anything they feel Knight who have the most respect for I have respect Parker you know I just got to speak out as a parent you know and apologize to this man forever speaking ill on his name and his company because he gave me that shot when we did the original easy at Nike and he was there with me I was on a plane with him I was sketching and he said look at this schedule because this guy a chance and he put me next to Tinker Hatfield and it's me and Don C making the first easy but Tinker Hatfield in mark Parker that was the squad that made the original Nike easy so I just want always wanted to express that as a father and you know and when my karma comes you know I'll accept it in real time you know like Kill Bill you know when that karma comes to get you people I got a frustration sometimes yeah but I got some karma waiting on me so but I just wanted to express that because we're putting into the universe only good energy and every moment was a great moment because if Mark Parker hadn't given me that moment well then he helped turbocharged me and the combination Louis Vuitton doing Vuitton sneaker and Nike sneakers come out the same time so they helped turbocharged me and I had a conversation with my friend and Chris's house down the street and you talk about some rich legacy I'll tell you some just a regular man shit that every man deals with my girlfriend has a child we have a baby you make decisions in your life based on providing for your family I'd love thank you I loved a Nike I have to put the IDI on it for the stockholders so but when I was you know young I used to sketch the swoosh everything you know so it was heartbreaking for me to have to leave Nike but they refused to allow me to get royalty on my shoe and I knew I had the hottest shoe in the world I knew Yeezy was the hottest brand in the world if I couldn't get royalties they just said shoes and we'll give some of the proceeds to your favorite charity but it was nothing to build no now we building factories they wouldn't let me build anything they trying to create a generational well yeah and just put out more amazing ideas to the world both things generational wealth more ideas my friend was that Chris's house and expressed to me that he had received a royalty because he was a store and I'm easy and they wouldn't give me a royalty that was like the final straw I was talking to Puma and talking adidas the dude that didn't Puma definitely needs to lose his job and so like I'm not gonna say his name but he imagined so because you know with that infrastructure and these ideas and this connection I have it wasn't no way it wasn't gonna be a unicorn you know Easy's a unicorn billion-dollar company we were at fifteen million two years ago gonna hit a billion this year it's never ever been heard of so that make you anxious they give you okay it's what it's supposed to be you know if I really had some percentage that related to my actual influence I'd be like a multi trillionaire so that's fine no so I made the decision and I left and I went with someone that would allow me to build something you know I can call the CEO of Adidas directly I have a cell phone Mark Parker wouldn't get on the phone with me really I don't even think you should be apologizing to him if you can't even give you a courtesy call yeah you know they'd say things like I don't know why people like the easy and you know Ferriss so and the funny thing is look at Naik now literally all the people that ever work with me are like the hottest people at Nike now like they gave them the deals because we left and rip their heads off how did that make you feel when they leave you to go back to a place that stifle job basically who you saying they even talk about like the opportunity they got families bro you know these corporations they provide an opportunity these are my friends they have families if I'm not gonna provide on the same opportunity I'm not gonna stand in their way either but you are providing them the same opportunity it's just more of you fella building something as opposed to something that already exists now a lot of times people like the room the space you know when you get such a big corporation you could build up your own brand next to it if you're really you know close to me it's just gonna be my brand so people you don't want to build their own brand actually need to be as far away from me as possible to just to get out of the shadow kind of way because you know you'd be a Kanye West the heat that you bring heats them up just enough like I wouldn't know a Virgil he hadn't been Kanye was his creative director creative collaborator whatever you wanted to call it yeah it's interesting how all unfolds and you feel different ways there's a lotta there's mixed emotions there like all this is my crew my crew was working for Nike killing it you know I want my crew next to me because like when I get on the phone with Virgil that's my you know that's my team he's mine he's like the strategist I'm the emote ER I'm like Tesla I'm thinking of all the ideas like Nikola Tesla that I got the car and I'm thinking of all these ideas and Virg was able to take all of those ideas and then architect them because he is an architect like you had school for architecture but also this is great training you know people got a like I heard Nike does stuff like sends people to business school but they're still like a Nike mm-hmm like best believe Don Matt Virgil Jerry still Donda at the end of the day Louis Vuitton is still Don done at the end of the day so I know we go we're going to head back to the presidential thing so yeah I want to go back to merge the two let's go back to the president thing I'm still trying to figure out what it relates the truck see Obama came to me before he ran for office and he met with me and my mother to let me know he was gonna run for office because I am his favorite artist of all time because I am the greatest artists of all time you know it makes its you got a good taste yeah you got his confidence back no I'm just saying that it's a flat statement up to this point you know after after me there will be greater you know but this is this is yay like this is like past anything that's happened up to this point this is the best even the Michael Jackson Prince Stevie Wonder whoever else want to throw out there cuz I throw out there I throw Howard Hughes in there though Henry Ford or Walt Disney I know Steve Jobs gotcha in there also so you can't say it's a lock or something like that is a matter of opinion yeah and then a barbershop debate there right it's not even a debate it's just the truth this yeah it's man when you when you when you the greatest is funny man you know I mean like Ali lived a great life you got to know who you are absolutely you got to know who you are so Obama looks like yeas like my favorite artists I want you to support the runner for office Michael this is dope you know they'll get black president Stew's Mac who's from you know Chicago then when I went on stage and it would be good if this video didn't get out but you saw the video we called you jack oh yeah you know he never called me to apologize just that the same person that sat down with me and my mom I think should have communicated to me directly and then like yo yay yo you know what he said I'm in the wrong this is a joke you know what why he said that though let me at that time some words from Obama probably could have helped ease the situation not a little bit I mean as opposed to calling you a jack I haven't pour more fuel on the fight you know no nobody's perfect I love Obama I'm sure yeah I'm sure we'll hang out go to Richard Branson's island or whatever you know me it'll be cool I just think that we were in a period where you know yeah it's so much stuff to do what he couldn't deal with a you know wild car like me I think that's too unpredictable someone that wasn't being controlled by strategy and thoughts with someone who's acting or feelings we knew that already up to that point though I mean if anything when you said George Bush talked about black people on stage in front of millions live people should have realized that that woman we can't control that guy yeah you think you think people would have realized that wouldn't ya guess they didn't so in our counter I felt away a little bit about Obama that I'm your favorite artist you play touch the sky at your inauguration and now all of a sudden Kendrick and J and all these all the people you invited to the White House like now these yo favor rappers now and I I got a problem with these rappers but you know I'm your favorite but I'm not safe hmm but that's why you love me so just tell me you love me that's all and tell the world you love me don't tell the world I'm a jackass I'm fighting hard enough something about me going onstage was similar to what you was doing cuz I'm fighting to break the simulation break the setup that didn't make no sense it's not that I'm particularly fighting for Beyonce's video it was every time a word show has ever done that just fucking with artists we are HSP highly sensitive people artists that's what you love about us so you're gonna line up a whole bunch of artists and put us at some bum ago and lined up trying to wait for a gold statue and you gonna make us feel like shit you know it's five of us that you and four of us got to go to the restaurant what our friends about hey we're nothing fuck yeah fuck that I remember you said that you was upset cos Beyonce said she would refuse to perform at the VMAs unless she won the award I was one of their I think other Sacramento you went on there right now you know what I don't know if that's true I don't I don't I honestly don't know if that's the true thing I was like an alternative fact now fake news you put up there know if someone told me that oh okay but I haven't heard that from her and it's not confirmed there's not an obvious truth so that showed you like people put thoughts in your head to separate you know it's people who play both sides people also my switching sides there's people who will literally talk to you that I get a piece of information drop a negative piece of talk to other side get some of his meat or drop- piece of information on both sides and then I show up like what's up you know so I don't know so I could talk to I could talk to them directly it's neither here nor there to me but at that point when I was on my way to the hospital that was that affected me because I'm pure mm-hmm it's like you don't appreciate pure it's like if you don't appreciate pure this is like more nobama thing like you know I appreciate purity you know you don't understand them amount of bravery that it takes to America and famous like the amount of great like Richard Pryor has this piece where he talks about that he says like there's no such thing as someone making it and remaining pure like I'm talking years old got a family I'm famous I got a billion-dollar business and I'm speaking to you in a stream yeah that that bothered me but I'm not saying I have a problem with that I just want to put this out to the universe just to just to kind of give some people something to think about no it's interesting it's like a it's a very Gemini thing you know you see the traits you see the in you and in the pockets like what's wrong with expressing how you fail and I mean you get to this point where you're Kanye West's tuple start a brand and it's like they want you to be everything but human beings got emotions no one should be everything but you but you yeah but were you gonna say no this interview if you feel the way about you know something you heard that Beyonce didn't you feel away about Obama calling you a jackass you should be able to express that oh yeah and then I also like had a problem you know that Obama's from Chicago in Chicago is the murder capital of the world you know I had a number of things that made me say just like how there's races Trump supporters and there's things where I'm like well maybe this could make a difference you felt like President Obama could have like waved the magic wand and just got Chicago right it's not a magic wand you know what it's not his fault man you see my gray hair on that man you don't know what that man was doing I mean you could only imagine but just it took everything from everything in that man's spirit and sold and that's a mention racism every sentence this man was a Jackie Robinson of politics you know he's the first person to do it so you know we want to be supportive and be aligned also but this isn't like a an absolute soundbite this is an opposite this is an absolute opinion on either one it's complex it's cocked this is complex because these are voices I might be President one day you know so I might be in that situation where it's harder for me to explain to the masses why something isn't happening that they feel that the concept of a president should be able to fix so to Obama I will say that I understand bro like I understand I understand like JD that coming to the wedding they just had an altercation I understand but I have my feelings also all right so it's complex when I can't even spoke to Obama was that the last time when he met you in your mom we did a fundraiser a for midterm for them in San Francisco and we did a performance for them and right before I went on stage someone let me know that he had left didn't even get to see him that day I saw beforehand for okay yeah he left right before you performed yeah that made you feel the way I felt way brother just told reach out to the brother I'm sure just let him know like I feel away history this interview all right talk yeah I felt do it I'll be filling away feeling I got feelings bro he feeling away bro I'll be feeling love you hey I'd be feeling a way because these are people that you've assisted and helped him maybe possibly get to the point that they act and then when they get there they don't give you that same love and return a support and return when you need it nobody owes me anything but I'm still gonna feel what I feel all right and I understand that's the thing where sometimes a conversation can help show respect for a situation you know look I couldn't do this because of these reasons you know how it is see my gray hair it's crazy I hear I'm the leader of the free world yeah sorry for calling a jackass I appreciate your honesty I appreciate your Gemini your to Pacus I appreciate that somebody's gonna do it because I'm friends I can't do it but I appreciate that somebody it's still willing to do it that's why I got the interview with you and I'm saying you go off truth you know as you risk your life for your truth you know in the in the feeling what was the feeling that made you say you know what I want to go meet with Donald Trump and what yeah are we talking about when that happened when that the yang with no confidence we got the yeah who was kind of figured things out what yeh was that yeah but I'm not going back down at that I'm gonna I'm not gonna let myself off easy mm-hmm by saying are met with Trump just cuz I was going through something I am gonna give the universe that mm-hmm no I'm a face it and they gonna face me this was the yeh that wanted to do something to change something and I would meet with him today and I would talk about Chicago first talk about some more things we could eventually get into a lot of you know elements but we start there you think he cares about black people what do you think nominated what hit you with a question to your question I hate when people do that are you that's fire cuz you use the George Bush quote against me about black people come on honey all when you met with him he hadn't even really been you know acting president now he's got a yearand dog belt nothing good has come of Donald Trump being in the White House other than people starting to build their own like he talked about when you left Nike because Nike wouldn't allow you to build your own but I think Donald Trump is forcing us to build a home it's a difference bro I'm doing my landscaping the back of my crib rich nigga shit right the before we could put all the trees and add the beauty you got to break some things if you keep on getting just the beauty just the perfect thing just the Obama walk through the hard way it just see you don't even why his feet don't even touch the floor he just floating you're very a handshake and all that you know man you get all of these images this is what it is this is what I wanted to talk about the idea of black perfection like a black person can't be imperfect in the public eye that's a form of control I'm here to show you imperfection the beauty is in the imperfection that this is possible but I'm sitting there at the award show and I'm like man this is the Staple Singers they play ball here y'all gonna sit through this and put this lit this my manipulation tell you that you know someone I you know I'm gonna put no energy we're keeping a father it is you like that that's what they used to say about Morocco Morocco had to be perfect because if he wasn't perfect and you probably would never get another one you know that's like the virtual situation right you know I feel like I feel like Barack's brother a little bit you remember when Barack's brother was talking a little bit before if I shut up you know it's like because it's complex with Louis Vuitton you know as me and Virgil went and infiltrated fashion which is what we did he started to learn about it he started I got this thing I'm a tweet later into the road on my retreat that was you know you look at this mountain top and at the top of the mountain it's all these tools for life so you proceed you say I need these tools in order to win it life so you proceeded to climb up the mountain but you you need tools in order to get up the mountain to climb look you collecting tools and stuff by the time you get to the top of the mountain you got more tools than ones at the top and that's what I figured out about fashion you know I talked to Virgil for an hour you know I realized that the concept of luxury and all this is what did I love about Gucci what did I love about louisvil Tom I love Tom Ford I love the artist and Gucci created a platform for the artist I love Marc Jacobs and Louie Vuitton created a platform for the artists it's a battle the child won't know about Francois Pino Bernard Arnault Francois Pinot is Balenciaga and Gucci okay okay Bernardo is the richest person in fashion this is the head of the LVMH group like I've been to his house before I've shaken hands to do a deal before with this man and he's one of my idols just like jay-z he's cold you know is he made culture before culture there was culture because he set the platform before there was an Internet to hire John Galliano from st. Martin's one of Louie soo it Wilson students hire Marc Jacobs he had the vision this man is a visionary you know he is one of my idols I love Bernard I feel as he loves me also so this is how it works they have two main main main schools that have raised the fashion icons Parsons in New York and st. Martin's in London Bernard I know and Pinot that's there recruiting you know can't they go there and now the breakthrough Virgil is now we have someone who's come from Donda it's comfortable school to Kanye West and I hear people talk about all he and go to school oh we went to school all right head to school we was doing JPEGs and Japan and we we were we were making Photoshop so much and not making clothes that we we started just joking about the JPEGs like did you shrink my JPEG did you did you did you dye my JPEG and shit we because we couldn't figure out how to actually make the clothes so we just do it in Photoshop and Virgil became the fastest Photoshop artist that I've ever met in my life we'd be sitting in a you know you know right before we went to Fendi you know just photoshopping things in definitely win if we endure a Fendi but we ain't do shit bro we could do nothing man I was just happy to have a key card you know it upset you can you said you have mixed emotions when Virgil got the job did it upset you because that's something that you wanted like you was verbal about wanting in on one of these fashion houses and being able to create for Louie Vuitton or Gucci what's the thing we said about you know the the tools at the top of the mountain you know in the process you gain all the tools it's the journey and that journey you gain everything you need now we got factories we it's you know there is some talk about validation need or not need for validation there's some validation and the fact that someone that I came up with is now the head of Louis Vuitton you know and I said you know honestly you know that's that was a slight I shouldn't have worried it like that Virgil is the head of menswear Nicholas Gasca is the head of women's wear Bernardo is - hey so I just want a word it straight straight up because every time we say head it's like a little bit of a slight - Nicholas and you know Nicholas is the god like maybe the best top top number one designer in the world the original call before you took the job because that was something that you wanted to he call you like you let me at least consult would yeah oh asking if this time I should do how do you hear about it on the internet like the rest of us now he made the call two minutes before he hit dinner but you didn't know about the meetings or the stuff that was happening beforehand no no well we I was in the I was in Berlin with rocky and he told me he's like you know we're looking at I'm looking at Louboutin I'm looking at Versace like he you know you know like yeah I'm wow you know me so it's all like the fact he had my reputation is kind of like Devil Wears Prada or something like that so people are mindful in the way that they gave me information too so he didn't he didn't he was like I'm going to lose like Versace got this I got to kind of laid it out then I showed him the season six campaign I showed of Paris Hilton and this laughs like we got to drop this and we just doing music or rocky but he knew he's going to baton at that time cuz he did system magazine system magazine is an LVMH magazine and whenever they're about to prep up you know a new town that they put them on system magazine just to kind of put it in the ethos yeah you know this is who we gonna you know we gonna put here um as far as getting the job or taking the job or is it cool yeah bro like it's a cool job to have they got that platform they got thousands of stores they got you know resources you know I have met with her meds you know maybe a year and a half prior to that I met with Bernardo know we had a deal you know on the table that we shook on I did some performances that they museum and then three months later the deal got dropped at the board and that that that set me back in apparel a bit when that happened because in order for me to even negotiate the deal just after I did season one with adidas I had to go to Adidas and say okay I know we had the best fashion show all this but Louis Vuitton is back you know easy in the kanye west company and these guys are masters of clothes so I need you to dim the father parallel I got paperwork for it and adidas say like all right okay cool we cool would you do two shoes so if you notice ever since then there's never been a d dis easy clothing so when I did so this happened right after the fashion show in February I met with Bernardo no in February we shook our hands on the deal and then you know his son called me and they said you know it's dropped at the board we don't think it's going to be profitable before we run out of money they only wanted to you you're making a new brand I know that was a study talking but people need to get higher ceilings the shit we got to talk but this soon this is Diddy talk you know me or no this is what Kylie be talk about this is that you know so when they pullin on the deal is I went into season two we didn't have any production partner and the collection never went to market the first collection when adidas had line ups and there was nothing to fall back off on the second collection mmm-hmm due to that negotiation so the hurtful part of it was that's why okay that makes it that's why you notice you know clover yeah so the hurtful part was they agreed to support my clothing and guess who was one of my designers murder Virgil then they didn't do the deal and we're gonna have anything to do would you say so Virgil didn't have anything to do technically yeah I mean he was doing all fight mm-hmm but you know at that time we had our designers for Virgil da Jerry fear God dem nah dem lose a head of Lanciano dem Noah's in the apartment it's me Virgil jerry in this apartment one by one making season one I wore this big sweatshirt that my sweatshirt I remember you know some people say better men right and then you know shortly after it's not cuz I what sweatshirt either but Troy after Timna went to Balenciaga and now Virgil's you know at Louie Vuitton so transitions in life you know as a as a business owner these things are hurtful you know when you have like you're working with a talent like dem nah you're working with a talent like Virgil and you know somebody comes through and says BAM I'm gonna take Virgil I'm gonna take culture explain to me this out a number of fashion yeah so why would Virgil leave a brand that seems to be successful off-white it seems to be growing yeah you know I mean why would you leave that brand to go work for a Louis Vuitton a brand that's already established like why wouldn't you pool your resources and try to make off light that next high-end it's like taking the job as a president mhm you know oh you know Trump you see Trump's name on all type of buildings but he still took the job as president you have like you know this conversations about a creative director role for me at adidas it's like okay I got my brand is this billion-dollar brand this unicorn company is growing but to be able to go it'd be able to direct adidas at all those stores is a you know it's an another conversation I'd be you know I'd be open to the conversation of taking a job like that how did that help Chicago though cuz I you said you become president so now you on this one that have all white growth Amy hello yeah okay price off wait went up soon as he went to Louie Vuitton Oh yeah not the price with the value of it the validation of it because Louboutin Louboutin is the you know our man is really the top luxury house where they call luxury houses like anybody knows about luxury anybody Bernard will say Pervez it's the top luxury house family-owned all that why do we always need validation from white people rich people because our Cape got taken away when he's three years old we've broken we in a simulation we want our BMW we want our house that we want to pay all our money for the house we want to buy this dress for our wife we want to do this one get our kids in school we want we want this you know just championship trophy we want this jewelry war all these different things like people we not monks we in the simulation we in it you know said I can't talk nobody out of wearing Gucci and you know this is me I had to come out the other side of the hospital and you know half like a Russell sweatshirt on something like that that's me like people be calling me like homeless all the time but like this is my confidence where I don't wear branding like that but worse than that I but like I saw me a to so I can but everyone like they have to have that confidence like what I see when I see branding I see insecurity you know I see and I see people buying you know buying security you know buying get bac