Kanye West Talks Supporting Donald Trump, Battling Bipolar Disorder And Launching His Fashion Career

Kanye West’s episode of “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” has dropped on Netflix. In the show, hosted by longtime journalist David Letterman, West opens up about his relationship with Jay-Z, his memories of his mother, fashion and living with bipolar disorder.

The nearly hour-long conversation kicked off simply with what the hip hop star ate for breakfast that day, to which he replied “fried eggs and a smoothie.” The discussion quickly moved onto West, describing why he jumped in the fashion business. “I think I use art as a superpower to protect myself in a capitalistic world, and then I give it to other people,” the Chicago native explains. “This is the Hermes of sportswear,” West said, explaining his fashion line Yeezy.

West then moved on to his talents as a musician. He mentioned how he initially made beats for several artists including Jay, and noted he’d secretly saved popular beats – like “Jesus Walks” – for himself. He also hinted at his former beef with fellow rapper #Drake. “An artist which I will not mention because I’m not allowed to mention him or any of his family members has a line, well, we had a little beef last year,” Kanye says in reference to Drake, before repeating a line from Take Care’s “Crew Love.” “He has this line that I love that says, ‘I told my story and made history,’ like ‘made his story’ and ‘made history.'”

When it comes to his support for Trump, West says that will never change. “This is my thing with Trump: We don’t have to feel the same way, but we have the right to feel what we feel, and we have the right to have a conversation. A dialogue, not a diatribe, about it.” The 41-year-old then opened up about the decision to take medication for his disorder. “There’s people who can’t function without medication,” he said. “I’m not advocating. I’m telling you my specific story.”

“I feel a heightened connection with the universe when I’m ramping up. It is a health issue that has a strong stigma on it, and people are allowed to say anything about it and discriminate in any way. This is like a sprained brain; it’s like having a sprained ankle,” Kanye explained. “If someone has a sprained ankle, you’re not going to push on him more. With us, once our brain gets on the point of spraining, people do everything to make it worse. They do everything to make it worse.” If he chose to take medication, West says it would limit his creativity in music. “Yeah, that’s just the reality. If you guys want these crazy ideas, crazy stages, crazy music, and this crazy way of thinking, there’s a chance it might come from a crazy person,” he said.

Ye’s full episode is now on Netflix. Other guests the show will feature this season include Ellen DeGeneres, Tiffany Haddish, Melinda Gates and more.