Kanye West has said some lofty things about his contribution to music in his interviews and in his latest, just before the release of Yeezus, he considers himself the Michael Jordan of music.
West gave The New York Times a surprisingly in-depth and personal interview, going over his past albums and key moments in his career. But the part that’s already created headlines is his explanation on how he his platform - music - to say what he has to say. He says he has the right, as music’s version of the greatest basketball player to play the game, to express what he believes is wrong.
“...I’m going to use my platform to tell people that they’re not being fair. Anytime I’ve had a big thing that’s ever pierced and cut across the Internet, it was a fight for justice. Justice. And when you say justice, it doesn’t have to be war,” he explained to the Times. “Justice could just be clearing a path for people to dream properly. It could be clearing a path to make it fair within the arena that I play. 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.’”
West also discusses the importance of awards, noting that he’s always interested in seeing the right musicians win a Grammy, even if that person isn’t him. Later, he discusses the new album, which is set for release on June 18. According to Billboard, it’s expected to include contributions from Daft Punk, Chief Keef and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon.
“This album is moments that I haven’t done before, like just my voice and drums. What people call a rant — but put it next to just a drumbeat, and it cuts to the level of, like, Run-D.M.C. or KRS-One,” he said about Yeezus.
He added, “There’s no opera sounds on this new album, you know what I mean? It’s just like, super low-bit. I’m still, like, slightly a snob, but I completely removed my snob heaven songs; I just removed them altogether.”
image: NBC