Kanye West has remained as mysterious as possible during the release of his upcoming sixth studio album, Yeezus. No formal single has been released, a video for the single doesn’t exist (projections on a building doesn’t count, right?), artwork for the project was never done and he even cut off pre-orders for the album leading up to the release. All we’ve seen of Kanye West is run-ins with paparazzi, an aggressive performance on Saturday Night Live and Twitter commentary from media at the Yeezus listening party.
But now, thanks to Jon Caramanica of the New York Times, we dive deep into Kanye’s thoughts going into the album, after he spent three days in Malibu watching the process.
There’se no doubt whether the interview was handled in the correct way, with Jon being able to trigger West with his use of key words and attention to specific detail. The public has always had a particular image of the Def Jam general in mind, but 2013 witnesses the birth of a new Kanye, combining plenty of his past influences with a fresh insight on the world as it is now. From becoming a black new wave artist to having no regrets, there’s definitely a lot to learn from the man himself.
Find out 15 things we learned from Kanye West’s NY Times interview after the jump.
OS REWIND: Kanye West Speaks On “Yeezus” At NYC Listening Session
01. Kanye West demands credit, where credit is due.
02. “I am so credible and so influential and so relevant that I will change things.”
03. Yeezus can be described as trap and drill house with a deep Chicago influence.
04. Kanye believes great art comes from pain, but that great art also comes from great artists.
05. “90 percent of the time it looks like I’m not having a good time.”
06. He will completely bow down to anyone he respects.
07. He’s a minimalist in a rapper’s body.
08. Live with regrets? Not Kanye West.
09. “You know, if Michael Jordan can scream at the refs, me as Kanye West, as the Michael Jordan of music, can go and say, “this is wrong.”
10. You may never see Kanye West in another episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians again.
11. J-Kwon’s “Tipsy” is his favorite song.
12. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy scores an 80/100 from Kanye West himself.
13. Kanye believes he is a black new wave artist.
14. “I knew when I wrote the line “light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson” [from the song “Slow Jamz”] I was going to be a big star.”
15. Until he has a child, he cannot speak on fatherhood.