Sponsored message
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts & Entertainment

Kanye West Calls Himself The #1 Rock Star On The Planet

kanye_west_shutterstock.jpg
Kanye West (s_bukley / Shutterstock.com)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Kanye West had a field day on a recent radio appearance, busting out the old Yeezy we so know and love by calling himself the "number one rock star on the planet," according to Us Weekly.

West made the comments during an interview with the BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe. He also commented that rap is taking over another genre, reports Slate:

Rap the new rock and roll. We culture. Rap is the new rock and roll. We the rock stars...It’s been like that now for a minute, Hedi Slimane! It’s been like that now for a minute. We the rock stars, and I’m the biggest of all of them.

West also waxed poetic about how he makes music that reaches outside the typical boundaries of what everyone else is doing:

I was able to start just making what was exactly on my mind again, and not having to speak with the textures of the time...Everybody is bound to these, no pun intended, they're bound to 16 bars, eight bars, and the normal radio thing.

Kanye has been in the news recently for what might be some egregious offenses. He was charged with battery and grand theft after lashing out at a photographer at LAX, and he was roundly panned for performing at the wedding of a Kazakh dictator's grandson's wedding.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right