Kanye West: A Genius In Praise of Himself

It was a wake-up call. And instead of publicly defending himself, West chilled out and hunkered down, immersing himself in the music. Graduation is another stellar accomplishment. His thoughts are focused, his stories are vivid, and his rhymes can be both bizarre and breathtaking. "Drunk and Hot Girls" is a dead-honest portrayal of chasing ladies, inspired by a hook from the 1972 Can cut "Sing Swan Song." (Listening to the original track, West heard the line "drunk and hot girls," while the actual lyrics appear to be "drunky hot bowls.") "Champion" samples Steely Dan's gem "Kid Charlemagne." Coldplay's Chris Martin adds gospel-flavored piano on "Homecoming." And "Big Brother" is a tear-jerking ode to his mentor and label boss, Jay-Z.

As a performer, West seems to operate entirely on impulses. During the three shows I witness in the London area, there is no set list, and if a song failed to ignite an audience, it was aborted on West's command. In conversation, over the course of many hours in his hotel room and while traveling through England, he is impulsive as well. He frequently veers off-subject, breaks into song, thinks up new lyrics and cracks jokes. Sometimes he can only tide his loquacity and end a rant with a sentence so random that there is nowhere to go with it ("Hey, I just looked down and realized how dope my shirt is"). Nevertheless, it is fascinating to watch his mouth try to keep pace with his brain. Over Diet Cokes and fistfuls of popcorn and chocolate M&M's, the inquisitive Mr. West begins with a question of his own: "What's your favorite song?"

That would be "Drunk and Hot Girls."
That's my life-defining song. Jay-Z said that that's the anthem, a stadium-killer. I'm going to tell you, on some real shit, out of all the songs I've done — "Touch the Sky," "Jesus Walks" — that song represents me the most.

How so?
At the end of the day, everything relates back to trying to do something for a girl. [Sings] "We go through too much bullshit just to mess with these drunk and hot girls." It's my entire life, from being a five-year-old trying to reach for that porno magazine all the way to the thirty-year-old getting into an argument with his girlfriend. It sums up my whole fuckin' life. Guys will go through a lot to chase women. A guy will get on a plane and go to the other side of the world to hit it for the first time, and won't cross the street to hit it the second time. But as a man, your whole life is to provide for that girl in that white dress, that missing picture in your wedding photo. That was poetically put, if I do say so myself.

If you will, tell me about your fiancée.
Even though I will tell you mad shit about porn, I don't go into depth about me and my fiancée's relationship. "Fuck you, this is my life." I dedicate a lot of my time to make music and provide something for the fans that they'll enjoy, but my relationship isn't for the fans to like and enjoy. It's for me to like and enjoy.