Kanye West: “I think Kanye West is going to mean something similar to what Steve Jobs means”

In one of the most entertaining rants interviews we’ve read in quite some times, Kanye West has opened up to New York Times writer Jon Caramanica ahead of the release of the Rick Rubin-produced Yeezus, his fifth album.

The interview is filled with the usual hyperbole and myth-making – it’s classic Kanye, basically. You can read the whole thing here but here are ten choice gems we’ve cherry-picked that just about sum it up what we learned:

10. He’s as self-aware as ever

“I think just more actual self-realization and self-belief. The longer your ‘gevity is, the more confidence you build. The idea of Kanye and vanity are like, synonymous. But I’ve put myself in a lot of places where a vain person wouldn’t put themselves in. Like what’s vanity about wearing a kilt?”

9. ‘Yeezus’ will appeal to the common man

“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.”

8. Rick Rubin got game

“I’m still just a kid learning about minimalism, and he’s a master of it.”

7. It’s all about furniture

“I would go to museums and just like, the Louvre would have a furniture exhibit, and I visited it like, five times, even privately. And I would go see actual Corbusier homes in real life and just talk about, you know, why did they design it? They did like, the biggest glass panes that had ever been done.”

6. Dead Prez was the key to his success as a rapper

“Before, when I wanted to rap, my raps sounded like a bit like Cam’ron; they sounded a bit like Mase; they sounded a bit like Jay-Z or whoever. And it wasn’t until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write “All Falls Down” in 15 minutes.”

5. 808s and Heartbreak has a defined place in the musical canon

“It was the first, like, black new wave album. I didn’t realize I was new wave until this project. Thus my connection with Peter Saville, with Raf Simons, with high-end fashion, with minor chords. I hadn’t heard new wave! But I am a black new wave artist.”

4. He’s still not happy with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

“I feel like could’ve been stronger.”

3. He compared himself to Michael Jordan

“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.””

2. He also compared himself to Steve Jobs

“I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of Internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it’s like when Biggie passed and Jay-Z was allowed to become Jay-Z.”

1. Then he compared himself to, erm, everyone else

“I’ve been connected to the most culturally important albums of the past four years, the most influential artists of the past ten years. You have like, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, Nicolas Ghesquière, Anna Wintour, David Stern.”

Yeezus is released on 18 June.