Top 161 Kanye Quotes

My take, after spending some time with him, is that Kanye West is not a conservative. He’s not a Republican, but he is a free thinker, and he’s an independent thinker.

I think that my biggest influences are electronic acts. Daft Punk is probably my number 1, then Kanye West would be number 2 after that.

The first time I really listened to an album and thought, ‘This album is mine,’ was Kanye’s ‘Late Registration.’

As an artist, you can’t expect a producer to just bring you a record. If you walk in and say, ‘I want Kanye West’s ‘Power,’ it just doesn’t work that way.

I love classical. I have a lot of, like, Bach and Mozart and stuff. Then you flip on over, and I’ve got, like, Kanye West and, you know, just a bunch of – I am very eclectic. I love every sort of music.

I’ve always been able to defend Kanye.

Me and Kanye work awesome together. He’s a creative man, I’m a creative man, we put our ideas together, it’s like the perfect formula.

As a hip-hop artist who likes fashion, who can’t help but notice people like Kanye West, Tiger, Big Sean and definitely T.I.P. These guys really understand how to be progressive and fashion forward.

Like, I always knew I wanted a Kanye West feature and a Jay-Z feature. I knew that starting in the game when it wasn’t even realistic to happen. I already knew who I wanted to do records with.

People like rumors. They’re going to say things like, ‘You was at the club with Lil’ Kim, and you and Kanye West got into a fist fight.’ You can’t get upset. You’ve got to keep hope alive.

Kanye didn’t sign me to hold my hand and walk me through my career. He signed me because he believed in me as an artist and gave me a co-sign. I didn’t see that at first. I saw it as him about to hold my hand, and I’m about to be the biggest artist because he’s the biggest artist, you know?

Kanye West, I love you. You might not have known, but I have said in other interviews that you’re my hero.

I’m super cool with Kanye.

I think, in a lot of ways, Kanye’s superpower is his weakness – if you tell him he can’t do something, he’s going to go hard at it.

I’d love to be the female Kanye. I think he’s so cool and effortless.

The word we have in Korea for K-Pop is ‘Gaio.’ And I guess it’s a huge umbrella term. Basically it’s like saying Coldplay and Kanye West, or Eminem and Celine Dion, are the same genre.

My pops put me on to Jay-Z and Kanye, and my discoveries would be like Future and Kendrick Lamar. I turned my pops on to Kendrick, Young Thug. I feel my mom made me play the Isley Brothers and real, real old music.

When Kanye gets to a point where he can actually put a couple of notes together either vocally or two bars of valid music playing an instrument, then he might have a right to criticize somebody else.

Prodigal sons like Barack Obama, Kanye West, and Michael Jordan only come back to Chicago to sell their homes.

I was in Iceland with Kim and Kanye, he started calling me ‘Food God.’ So I knew when I came back, I was like, ‘I am Food God. It was like, the power of Food God. He christened it.’

I’m proud of Jay Z’s success and Kanye’s success. Inside, I feel like I had something to do with their success… I don’t have anything but positive things to say.

Chicago, we always had it. People just shied away because it’s nothing businesswise from the industry. Everybody from Chi will go to N.Y.C. or L.A. – R. Kelly to Kanye to even Twista. Everybody is great from there, but it’s nothing downtown.

Adele’s amazing, I think the world of her and her music and I think Tinie Tempah is cool. To work with someone like Kanye West would be awesome.

I’m just the biggest Kanye fan. I think he’s a genius.

My favorite Kanye album is ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.’

I am the biggest Kanye and Jay Z fan.

I really want to work with Rufus Wainwright. Michael Stipe from R.E.M. I would love to work with Kanye West.

I like Kanye West… he makes good music.

Kanye is one of my favorite producers and artists.

What Joanna and Solange and Kanye all had in common was a mental image of what the sound is supposed to be. As a collaborator, my goal has to be to help them get toward that mental image. That was cool.

Kanye and T.I. both engage with what I’m doing.

His belief in the power of music to convey ideas – not just entertain – has filtered down to musicians in every field, from alt-rock to hip-hop, from Bruce Springsteen and U2 to Arcade Fire and Kanye West. Popular music is different because of Johnny Cash.

I think Kanye West is brilliant at what he does: he’s got a different live show, different merch for every tour, different vibes, and he just puts out great records.

I always heard 50 Cent, Da Brat, Lil’ Kim, all that in the house. My mom’s playing them – 50 Cent, Kanye West.

Kanye inspires me through his work ethic and his approach.

The work ethic behind everything Kanye does is crazy. It’s greatness. He told me, ‘We’re not just rappers, we’re artists.’

G.O.O.D. Music is just real tastemakers, man. Kanye’s a real tastemaker. One thing that I feel is tight about G.O.O.D. is that a lot of people have their own style, and you can see that. My style is different than Pusha’s, it’s different than Cudi’s. But it’s also slightly similar ’cause we have some similar tastes.

I think Kanye West is a hilarious writer.

I think it would be different to work with a guy like Kanye West or Jay-Z, those guys are so phenomenal, but just to work with a rapper, I don’t think is really my thing. I really like songs, like true songs. Like indie songs.

I am the Kanye West of food.

When I say I don’t have to write pop songs anymore, there’s no way I’m going to get on the radio at 60 years of age unless I’m doing a duet with Gaga or I was on ‘All of the Lights,’ which was a Kanye West record that managed to get on the radio.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Kanye.

I’d love to get in a room with Kanye at some point, have a conversation, and see if something cooks up.

I’m personally looking for artists that are along the lines of today’s pop stars. Whether it be a Rihanna or a Justin Bieber or a Kanye West or a Beyonce or a Lady Gaga, I’m looking for talent that’s like that, that’s what I love.

I want to write just as much as Kanye may have for whomever Kanye has written for.

Kanye is producing in the true sense of the word. ‘Real Friends’ was an idea started by me and Boi-1da. We passed it off to Kanye, and Kanye kind of stripped it down and had Havoc add some drums to it. Kanye had the vision. That’s really true-school production.

Do something active that’s fun. On tour with Kanye and Common, we would have basketball games on a court in every city we went to. With Alicia Keys, we would mountain-bike across Vancouver Island. With Lady Gaga, we would explore all the cool neighborhoods.

I listened to a lot of Jay-Z and Kanye coming up, which would be unexpected for a boy bander like me. But I’d listen to a lot of that, and a lot of Ed Sheeran, actually.

Whether you like Kanye or not, there has been a character assassination against this guy. You don’t have to agree with everything he says, but you do have to defend his right to say it.

We don’t need Kanye to spit on grime instrumentals to show grime is great.

It could be interesting doing something with Kanye.

I’m a Kanye fan.

I love Kanye West. I think he’s a visionary. He’s one of those people for whom I separate his personality from his artistry.

I met Kim Kardashian in a nightclub once, and she was really nice. Kanye was with her, but he didn’t speak. He just looked at me.

You come to my studio, it says ‘No photography on premises.’ I picked that up from Kanye. We don’t need all that. In the old days in the Wu, we didn’t allow anybody in the studio, not even women. We didn’t start allowing women until five years after our debut. ODB used to get mad.

My favorite rappers are a lot of other people’s favorite rappers. I love Jay Z, Kanye, 2Pac, Biggie, old Mos Def.

You know, if Kanye knows who you are, I think you’re pretty much here. You’ve arrived.

Look at someone like Kanye West – ego is the death of a lot of art. To believe in yourself that much is to stop being an artist.

Kanye has been a good friend for ten years. He flew back from London to Los Angeles for 24 hours just to go to my wedding.

Kanye is the best. I’m obsessed with him to the nine. There’s nobody smarter, cooler. I sit for hours talking to him sometimes. There’s nobody more amazing, brilliant, innovative. He talks to me and I leave him and I’m like How am I going to talk to regular people now?

Kanye looks for the best in everything.

On the radio there’s only a certain amount of artists: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Kanye, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, T.I., Mary J Blige, Alicia Keys. Other artists are achieving things that are really special, they have a hard time getting people’s attention. Music has been just a little bit lacklustre.

I don’t think I ever wanted to be like Kanye in personality. I think I definitely want to, have always wanted to, have his boldness or assurance in myself.

I got a lot of influences. I got relevant influences today. I got influences that you wouldn’t even think of. I’m very influenced by Marilyn Manson. His style is ridiculous. Like, honestly, if you want me to keep it 100, Marilyn Manson has as much style as Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

Kanye West is my favorite artist.

Whatever Kanye tells me, I just try to put it in my little machine and make the perfect solution for it. That’s always our collab formula, and that’s just how ‘Gorgeous’ came about.

There’s a lot of demand to hear the new Kanye West album before it hits the streets. There’s much less demand to read the new Phillip Roth novel.

The Kardashians are walking clickbait – but let’s look closer. Do Kim and Kanye affect how society feels about interracial relationships and blended families?

I would say almost 60 percent of working with Kanye – let’s say 53 percent of working with Kanye – is speeches.

I am behind Kanye West for American President 100 per cent.

I’m a young dude from Chicago who grew up with Kanye as my image of hip-hop. Finding your voice in a room where you have to challenge Kanye is scary – but it’s also life-affirming.

Just look at the name of Kanye’s label: G.O.O.D. Music. That’s what it’s all about, creating good music.

Where he tells you exactly how he views the world – just very straight Kanye, honesty that definitely gets your creativity and strong opinions out on the floor. I think it helped me find myself.

People pay attention to artists and celebrities, so they have the opportunity to do something great with this limelight. I, for one, have no problem with Kanye running for president, because if it’s something that he truly believes in and it can lead to greater good, why not? I’m all for that.

It’s great to watch people come up and help mold their careers. I really took it literal when Kanye said, ‘Listen to the kids, bruh.’ That really means something.

Michael Jackson was a Gemini. Kanye, Lauryn Hill, a lot of people that are amazing artists are Geminis.

I have a soft spot for him because he’s such a free spirit, and people just beat him up, and he’s just trying to be him, so I do have a little soft spot for Kanye.

In DC, it’s really edgy to listen to Kanye West or Jay-Z, and it’s a thing to know who Azzedine Alaia is – you know what I mean? But I do care about issues, and I was really political in high school, always marching.

‘Gorgeous’ was one of those records that, as soon as I heard the beat, I was like, ‘Man, this is the one. This is that ‘This Can’t Be Life’ Kanye beat.’

Here’s Kanye, the great musical genius of his generation in hip hop, but, like, society really can’t even deal with him because he’s always saying something that people go, ‘Oh, I can’t believe Kanye said that. I can’t believe he did that.’

I can’t front: I like Kanye.

Someone did a graphic of me in my jersey, and Jordan, they dubbed him guarding me, and Kanye’s face was on both of us. That’s my favorite meme of all time – or so far to-date. I’m gonna have to get that blown up on my wall or something.

Me and Kanye have a relationship – not as close as him and Trump, but we have a relationship.

I met Kim Kardashian the other week, and she knew who I was! I walked in the room, and she was like, ‘I should text Kanye saying you’re here; he showed me your music.’ It’s really hard to digest. Also, I don’t think you should digest stuff like that.

Being an artist doesn’t just mean you have a song. That doesn’t make you an artist. The word ‘artist’ means so many different things, and I feel like to be a real one, you really have to do it all. The people that I think of as artists – Tyler the Creator, Childish Gambino, Kanye West – are doing the most.

My favorite artists are Kanye West, Jay Z, the Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Destiny’s Child.

I think whenever you’re around Kanye, you gotta take notes. The advice is taking notes, because everything he does and everything he says is very detailed and very up front. He’s always one hundred what he says.

So basically, Travis Scott took files from Tommy Brown and took them to Kanye and said he produced them and it was on video. He took a song I had written a hook to and took it to Teyana Taylor for her to do and change a little bit.

I knew Kanye way before he was signed.

Pop is everything from Kanye West to Taylor Swift, it’s all pop to me.

I said ‘no’ nine times when Kanye asked me to work with him because I liked being friends with him. Then he put me in a position where I couldn’t say no: He just told everyone I was his manager.

Kanye West is a brilliant poet and artist. He and I work in a very similar way. We feel the vibration, the power of something, and it inspires us to create, whether it is music or design. It is the same process. Working with Kanye is a joy and great privilege. In 2012, we did collaboration together.

I don’t know. I respect Kanye, but when it comes to Trump, I’m not into that, man.

As a crew, G.O.O.D. Music is taking it to levels that really haven’t been done collectively. Kanye is someone who knows how to make classic albums, a true thinker. He got me in the mindset of being a true thinker and always planning out every move you got going.

Justin Vernon is one of the collaborators Kanye will always go to. He doesn’t fit in with any genres – you never know if he’s gonna sing, like, the Bee Gees or some crazy, distorted thing. And you don’t know what he’s saying half the time. He’s kind of like Michael McDonald, like he’s got marbles in his mouth.

Kanye is going to have to decide early whether or not he’s a Baby Bjorn guy, because the minute you put on that Baby Bjorn, there’s no turning back. It’s like buying a minivan. You lose a little piece of yourself when you get that Baby Bjorn.

We don’t sign an artist to fill a void, ever. I’ll never find a Taylor Swift. You can’t find a new Madonna, you cannot find a Prince, a Bob Marley, a John Lennon. You won’t find another Kanye West. We simply deal with people as they walk in, and we say we either love them or we don’t.

I’ve seen Jay-Z and Kanye West. I’ve seen actors like Tom Hanks and Nicholas Cage.

Sunken-place entrants include Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson, Tiger Woods, O.J. Simpson, sometimes Kanye West, and any black person with something nice to say about President Trump. It’s more generous than ‘sellout’ and less punitive than ‘Uncle Tom,’ a dis and a road to redemption.

I don’t know if he remembers, but the first time I ever met Cudi was the first time I met Kanye. I’ve never told anyone this, but it was the same day. That was the first time I was around G.O.O.D. Music at all. I was sitting like, ‘Man, I’m in the presence of ‘Ye and Cudi. This is the art level where I want to be.’

I’m a big Rick Ross fan, and I think everybody knows I’m a big Kanye fan.

If you look at things historically, Kanye West has really represented the battering ram against political correctness.

I just respect Kanye as an artist.

I feel like I’m the Kanye of the NFL.

I got to meet Kanye West because we were shopping my artist deal, and I was interested in his label. When I met him, I played him all the records I had. He introduced me to Rihanna, and she recorded and cut some of those records.

I listened to Kanye West and also dove deep into bands like Radiohead, Portishead, and Bon Iver.

I’d love to work with Kanye West. He’s gone through a lot of stuff in the public eye, but his music is genius. He always takes risks.

I mean, Kim used to be a leper in the fashion community, and now they embrace her and she’s on the cover of Vogue, and that’s all thanks to Kanye. And her being associated with him was good not just for her, but for her entire family.

We honestly shouldn’t be paying attention to nothing Kanye West says until he actually goes out there and gets the help we all think he needs. That’s what keeps these stigmas about mental health and everything going – we act like it’s a joke.

Kanye’s the best. He really, really is. He’s cool. And why we’ve always gotten along is because we can just sit down and talk about art.

I remember going backstage on a random night and Kanye goes, ‘Ayo Premier, I’m about to drop an album called ‘College Dropout’ and I’m rapping on the whole thing. And as I soon it drop it’s gonna go double platinum.’ I looked at him like, ‘That’s a bold statement to make if you never rapped before.’

You won’t find me at parties or the openings of movies and I don’t hang around with David Beckham and Kanye West. So the paparazzi leave me alone, which means that I can do my shows, write music and then live a normal life.

I listen to unhealthy amount of Kanye. The Fugees. Also, ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.’

Kanye on the track and LeBron. That’s fire.

Kanye took me from a kid who listened to music to a kid who lived music.

What I love about Kanye is that he doesn’t fit the mould either. He does what he feels.

If Kanye was not in the equation, I literally wouldn’t even be here. His music pushed hip-hop – the man is a master at taking a complex idea and presenting it in a way that is accessible for everyone.

He’s so sophisticated… Kanye is like ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ he’s interesting, so you want to be around him.

Every time I get dressed, I try to channel a little bit of Kanye West and a little bit of Sailor Moon.

It’s incredibly cool that R & B artists like Kanye and the Weekend, who from a completely different genre to us have tapped into ‘The Hurting.’

I love Kanye for that. Being a producer, making beats, and being a rapper. He does it all.

Meeting Kanye West was a blessing.

I have Kanye’s ego to some extent.

It was probably in third grade – I had a super-fake gold herringbone chain. Yeah man, it was, like, super fake. I don’t remember if it was my mom’s or how I got it, but ever since then, I’ve loved chains. The first real chain I got was from Kanye. It was a Jacob the Jeweler Kanye West Jesus piece.

You know when people say, ‘How do you go from Kanye to Wiz Khalifa – that’s a downgrade.’ But the only question I can ask them is: ‘Have you ever dated Kanye? Because I have, and believe me, I did not downgrade at all. Not in any aspect, at all.’

I’ve always been a fan of Nigerian artist D’banj. He’s now signed to Kanye West’s Good Music label.

Kanye is a student of art. He’s an art-school-dropout type of kid that will talk about art till the cows come home.

It just makes you a better artist when you’re with people who are great artists themselves. Being around Kanye, soaking up all the knowledge, all the stuff he got.

All I really want is a beat from Kanye West. I’ve met him, and I think he’s real cool with us. If I get that beat, I’m going to rap the best verse I ever dropped – even if it’s his worst beat.

Kanye West deceives many and will lead many people astray.

People have compared me to Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Eminem, and J. Cole. They bring substance and largely are all good storytellers, and those are two of my biggest strengths. It’s dope to be compared to people who have longevity in the game because that’s the most important thing for me: I want my name to live forever.

I’ve got a variety of things I like to listen to. I like R&B. I like Chris Brown. I like Nas. I like Jay Z. Rick Ross. Kanye West. I try to mix it up.

Anytime you see Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West. Anytime a young black person’s doing good, that’s motivation for everybody else. Anytime, anytime, it’s motivation. Use that fuel to push you forward. That’s what I did.

When I was younger I was influenced by Kanye, his story of coming up and how he kept producing and producing and saying, ‘I’m more than just a producer. I’m more than just a writer. I’m more than just a guy in the studio here to give you ideas. I have a story.’

Kanye is so much fun. He’s a wonderful person. What I love about Kim and Kanye is that I think they save their happy moments and their smiles for themselves rather than sharing everything with the public. And listen, when a camera is shoved in your face trying to take a selfie, you do not want to smile.

For my style influences you’ve got to look at Kanye first. Pharrell when I was growing up, too.

I love Kanye. He’s literally the only person that challenges me. He has an overwhelming love for music also, and that’s why he’s misunderstood. The boy is a genius. You can be mad all you want, but he loves what you listen to more than you love it. When he lost his mom I cried.

I’m heavily influenced by a lot of people like Dre, Pharrell, and Kanye. They’re all big-time tastemakers and trendsetters, just for culture, period. So I strive to do that as well.

I love ‘Watch the Throne,’ because Kanye was acting so ratchet.

Kanye is the weirdest… He is the weirdest person I know other than me. I’ve told him that before.

What Autotune allows is for people like myself and Kanye West not to depend on the singer. Back in the Fifties, the songwriter was rendered invisible. Now the songwriter is there in the forefront.

That’s why the Kanye Wests and the Drakes are just in a different league, because they have the ability to be vulnerable and open.

My sound comes from my inspiration, which is people like Aretha and Jay Z and Kanye, as well as everyone from the Whitneys and Mariahs to Destiny’s Child and Usher. They all inspired me growing up.

Kanye’s the best listener I’ve ever worked with. If I interrupt Kanye, every single time, he’ll wait for me to finish before speaking. It’s a running joke – sometimes I interrupt him just to see. And he always goes, ‘No, no, finish. I want to hear what you have to say.’

Obviously, Kanye and I are very different in the way we express ourselves publicly. He’s so passionate… about art, about culture, about creativity. And he’s really good at it. And that honesty manifests itself in ways that are not politically correct, not socially acceptable sometimes.

I signed with Kanye back in 2003, and at that time, ‘The College Dropout’ hadn’t even come out, so he was still relatively unknown compared to where he is now. He wasn’t a household name; people were still calling him ‘Kane.’

Kanye and Pharrell are in fashion. Why not J Balvin?

I like Kanye and Kendrick Lamar.

Kanye and I spoke of working together and started an idea that we didn’t get to finish.

I always make fun of Kanye West.

I started singing backgrounds for Mary Mary and Usher during ‘Confessions.’ Then I jumped to working with Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott; jumped again to Kanye West, The Killers. I kept saying, ‘OK, this is the last time; then I get to do my music.’

I will tell you, I feel very, very bad for Kanye West. He’s not well, and that is the very foundation of everything he says.

From Jay-Z to Nas to Kanye to whoever, I’m just not the type to say, ‘Hey, let me get on your album.’ If they want me, they’re going to reach out and say, ‘I need a joint from you.’

I love Kanye, I love what he does musically, I love his ability to push the envelope.

Can you ever imagine yourself in a situation like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie or Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, where the world feels like they have a stake in your private life? I would never want it.

Kanye is the leading eagle: he’s like the president who stands up for kids like us who have ideas.

I only think one person is really cool, and that’s Kanye.

Who wouldn’t want a baby girl? They’re the best! And I know that’s what Kanye has always wanted; he wanted a little girl.

I used to call Kanye, Kanye pick up on the first ring, now Kanye don’t even got no phone, that’s how much times have changed.

I like Rick Ross as a person. I like Jay-Z and Kanye West as people. But I hate the companies that they record for.

I don’t know if there’s anything Kanye West can do that can erase his influence on me, because it’s here. It’s already there. He can’t even reverse that himself, because it’s just so ingrained in me.