In the midst of swirling controversy over comments he made while performing in California, Kanye West revealed a softer side in an interview with art magazine Surface. In the one-on-one interview, West spoke about solving problems collectively, Donda’s influence on art and fashion and the future of race and celebrity.
Check out some of the clips from the video, as well as some of the highlights below:
On people claiming to work with West: “You haven’t worked with Kanye West unless you’ve had to redo a project 100 times, or had to word something in a specific, perfect way, to communicate it in the exact.”
On emotional versus social IQ: “I don’t want to be a jerk, but there are certain people who are geniuses. Their emotional and social IQ is super high and they can get stuff done. Often, people who get really amazing stuff done have to cut off their emotional IQ.”
On negotiation versus collaboration: “And I refuse to negotiate. I do not negotiate. I can collaborate. But I’m an artist, so as soon as you negotiate, you’re being compromised.”
On individuals and companies coming together to solve problems: “I don’t want to pinpoint whom, but there is a collective that can figure out the killings in Chicago, for example, if that was their goal. I think it’s extremely difficult to figure it out through politics.”
On the power of the Internet: “There is currently a lack of people in power who are motivated by the idea of helping people, but thanks to the internet, there are people who would never have made it through a corporate system who are able to jump into positions of power in their twenties. They can collectively work on ideas for the new world.”
On genius: “People say geniuses are kids with good parents. How do you nurture the things that people will call weird into something that could be considered exceptional?”
On what happens when he mentions brands: “Jeanneret chairs are my favorite dining-room chair. Me saying it out loud, there it goes. I’ll now never get a real Jeanneret again for under a certain amount—first-world problem.”
On fashion critics: “It’s like an editor completely trying to annihilate my credibility because we didn’t have water and the show started late [for the Adidas Yeezy Season Four runway presentation at Four Freedoms Park in New York]. I care about people’s time; it wasn’t on purpose.”
Donda’s impact: “Because of what we’ve done at Donda, collectively, 20 years from now, people are gonna go, “We need a black guy to creative direct something.”
On fear: “I’ve said the successful man is the one who can afford to make the most mistakes.”
On balance: “It’s about finding a balance between being the person who knows the most and the person who’s the most naïve.”
