Kanye West says modern celebrities are treated like blacks in the 1960s
When GQ debuted their new cover with Kanye West, but didn’t offer up anything from the interview, many of us figured it was because they were waiting for an opportune moment to present the treasure trove of Kanye-esque philosophy on the masses… And it seems that time is upon us.
On TMZ and other tabloids tracking his every move: It’s difficult… I don’t have fangs. I’m a porcupine. I’m a blowfish. Like, I’m a — what’s the fish that blows up? I’m a blowfish. I’m not a shark, I’m a blowfish… People have me pinned as a shark or a predator in some way, and in no way am I that. I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone. I want to defend people. I want to help people.
On reports he gave a 45-minute toast to himself at his wedding: What I talked about in it was the idea of celebrity, and celebrities being treated like blacks were in the ’60s, having no rights, and the fact that people can slander your name. I said that in the toast. And I had to say this in a position where I, from the art world, am marrying Kim. And how we’re going to fight to raise the respect level for celebrities so that my daughter can live a more normal life. She didn’t choose to be a celebrity. But she is. So I’m going to fight to make sure she has a better life.
On fighting for the “re-education” of celebrity: My feelings don’t matter anymore… I’m here to fight. I’m here to fight for the re-education of what celebrity is. To say, “Yes, we are celebrities, but yes, we’re also innovators, we’re also inventors, we’re also thoughtful.”
On Jay-Z and Beyonce skipping the wedding: All that, I wouldn’t even speak on. It doesn’t even matter to me whatsoever, who would show up. Because the most important person to show up there, to me, was Kim. And that’s all that matters to me. I had to fight for that for seven years.
On the concept of Kimye: There’s no photo that I would have put up by myself, or next to one of my smarty friends, that would have got that amount of likes (as the wedding picture)… The concept of Kimye has more cultural significance than what Page Six could write.
On inspiring people by getting married: Saying “Hey, I like Kim” isn’t as inspiring to people as us getting married. And anyone that’s in a relationship knows that in order to get to the point to get married and then to be married and to then carry on, it needs that work put into it. Right now, people look at it and it’s like, “Wow, that’s inspiring.”
On religion: Love is infectious. You know, God is infectious — God flowing through us and us being little-baby creators and shit. But His energy and His love and what He wants us to have as people and the way He wants us to love each other, that is infectious. Like they said in Step Brothers: Never lose your dinosaur.
On needing Kim K skills: One of the reasons why I think that me and Kim are very powerful together isn’t just the concept of celebrity or this mega rap star and this mega-beautiful pop star. It’s something I explain to my girl: She is who she is. I am who I am… There’s a lot of Kim K skills that were added. In order to win at life, you need some Kim K skills, period.
On the coolest things in his life: I don’t like walking around with people thinking I’m doing uncool shit, because there’s nothing I’m doing that’s uncool. It’s all innovative. You just might not understand it yet. But it’s cool. Family is super cool. Going home to one girl every night is super cool. Just going home and getting on the floor and playing with your child is super cool. Not wearing a red leather jacket, and just looking like a dad and shit, is like super cool. Having someone that I can call Mom again. That shit is super cool.
I’ve gotta admit those last two lines struck me as super sweet and likable… Which is an uncommon reaction for me to have to a Kanye quote. Goes to show there are times when Kanye reveals himself to be a pretty relatable dude.
