How Kanye West Won

A perfectly civil and thoughtful conversation with Kanye

He took on 50 Cent. He took on MTV for not giving him main stage benefits at the VMAs. He took on VMA-opener Britney for not having a hit in “like, five years.” But most importantly, Kanye West took on himself, manipulating Can and Daft Punk samples to take third solo full-length Graduation to a new level.

What kind of goal do you have when you set out to make an album?

West: My s*it was I wanted to make an album with no fast-forward material… ’cause how often can you say, “I like every song on the album.” So that’s me up there, setting goals for myself. I wanted the s*it to be this wide and this undeniable. For fans of music, this is the next level. It’s like the next generation. It’s uncriticizable.

How has making albums changed from when you did The College Dropout?

West: I was so defensive with the first one. I knew God helped me so much that I didn’t know if it was in his plans for me to have another good album. So it was one of those things where you pray—like, “God, only with your help…” you know? He gives me inspiration and places people in my life. He also taps me on the shoulder sometimes and says, “Yo, I want you to talk about this…”

So now that you’re “graduating,” how do you view your course of study?

West: Y’know, so many people have flipped on me over the years: “Ah, he’s so arrogant!” But do you know how much I worked on this? When I came to the game, people looked at me like I would never be able to rap; “You’re not gonna be a rapper.” Now I’m mentioned in the same breath as Jay-Z.

You were already headed towards a successful career writing and producing. What led you to want to be a performer?

West: I said, “Yo, I think I could make more money as a rapper than a producer.” A lot of people said to me, “You never will… make more money.” Well, I don’t know about that, man. I would be like, “What about Eminem? Does Eminem have more money than me? Yeah. Does Jay-Z have more money than me? Yeah.” I named about five rappers that was killing me financially. So if you’re saying that I will never be that, what you’re saying is, “Dog, you’re no Eminem. You’re no Jay-Z. You’ll never be like that.” You box me into a corner, man, and I’m gonna fight my way out of it.

You still do a lot of production work. Any beats out there that you gave to someone else that you wish you’d kept for yourself?

West: Nah, not really. When I come up with something, it’s ’cause I want them to have it. Every beat I have out… I wanted Slum Village to have that. I wanted Common to have that. I wanted Jay-Z to have “Lucifer.” Most of the time I’m talking them into this s*it; “I want you to have it. Really. Take it, man…”

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