Kanye West Talks Mental State, Obama, Jay-Z, Trump and More in Charlamagne Interview

After weeks of speculation, controversy and backlash, a new interview has been released, detailing the mind of the creative behind the recent social media drama: Kanye West. Although  the interview took place before West’s Twitter tirade, it still covered a slew of topics from family, friendship, politics, controversy and more.

To start the highly anticipated sit down, “The Breakfast Club” host Charlamagne Tha God opened with a simple question about West’s current mental state, to which he said, “I think I’m in a stronger place than I ever was, after the breakdown – or I like to say, the breakthrough.” As the two continued, West elaborated on the possible causes or triggers for his public breakdown, “Fear, stress, control, being controlled, manipulation, like being a pawn in a chess piece of life. Stressing things that create, like, validation that I didn’t need to worry about as much.”

West then went on to discuss the specific events that contributed to his mental well-being, or lack thereof, from Kim Kardashian’s Paris incident to his new material being shunned by radio. However, as the conversation continued, West discussed information, self-expression, and validation, which transitioned into his now-rocky relationship with Jay-Z.

“That concept that you gave me,” Ye said, referencing Charlamagne’s mention of Jay-Z’s line in “444,” where he claimed he gave ‘Ye $20 million and received a 20-minute on-stage rant in exchange. Although the money was from Live Nation through a touring deal, Jay-Z had to co-sign the payment for ‘Ye. But, at the time, he had no idea how the deal came about, which led to the confusion on ‘Ye’s part.

But, the two were already on the outs over Jay and Beyoncé’s decision to skip the wedding, and as it stands, ‘Ye never discussed the incident with the two.

At one point in the interview, the two discussed ‘Ye’s relationship (or lack thereof) with President Barack Obama, who he recently called out for not doing anything for Chicago.

“I just think that we were in a period where he had so much stuff to deal with, he couldn’t deal with a wild card like me,” he said of Obama, as he discussed him calling him a “jackass.” “I think that’s too unpredictable. Someone that wasn’t being controlled by strategy and thoughts, but someone who’s acting on feelings.”

He then went on to discuss his meeting with Trump, adding that he would still meet with him again today, first to discuss Chicago. But, when asked if he cares about Black people, ‘Ye was slow to respond. However, he continued with a metaphor about landscaping to talk imperfection and mind manipulation.

As the episode moved toward its close, ‘Ye said he believes he can change things through his art.

“I love real change, I love challenging the norm,” he said, as Charlamagne tried to convince him that he is ‘Ye and doesn’t need to align himself with Trump. “I love the people that don’t love him. I love that they speaking up and everybody just giving their opinions and expressing themselves.”

“As a servant to the world, I have to be me,” he said.

Check out the full interview below: