Last night, a brave young lord went where all Kanye West stans dream to go: on stage, with Yeezus himself. To be precise, Kanye was already in the crowd, performing an encore at TIME's 100 gala, when a fan close to the front's energy was so high it compelled him to share the spotlight. Out of that once-in-a-lifetime experience, an instantly infamous, breathless, three-word plea, "Let's do 'Wolves,'" was born and took over Rap Twitter.
We hopped on the phone with Martin Christopher Torres, and this is what he had to say about his moment with royalty.
Frazier Tharpe is a staff writer at Complex. Follow him @The_SummerMan.
Tell me about yourself. Why were you at the gala in the first place?
I'm an upcoming graphic designer and photographer. Yesterday, I had the lucky experience of meeting Kanye West because I actually work in the building, therefore, he was just walking around the building to which I also had access. While he was in the atrium room, which is one of our lounges, I got to speak to him before the show, tell him how I felt about him, and I asked him if we could talk after the show. He said, "Absolutely." He was very polite. They're great, wonderful people. The media paints a wrong image of them.
When he came up to the top he heard me rapping throughout his whole performance—I was rapping on top of every lyric, and he noticed that. That's why he grabbed me and let me rap with him, because he noticed that I was just enjoying the show so much. Money can't buy that experience. It was ridiculous.
So he actually grabbed you into his performance?
That's correct.
1.
Take me through your night, step by step.
When they first entered the atrium, which was the pre-show to the gala, Kim, Kanye, and Pasquale entered around 7:30ish. They came upstairs and took a few photos with paparazzi. After that he grabbed a cocktail at the bar and I saw that as my opportunity to go speak to him. So I went up to him, no one else was around us, and I said "Hey Kanye, can I tell you something?" He said, "Yeah sure, what's up?" I said, "I'm so glad to be a part of this generation so I can listen to your music. I'm really blessed. You're my cup of espresso every single morning." He started laughing, and I said, "You're the best." Then he said, "Nah, man. You are the best." I didn't know how to react after that. Paparazzi took a picture of us and gave me a business card so I could get the photo, then we parted ways as the event began. After his performance, he came upstairs to do two extra songs, and that's when I got involved and he gave me the mic.
What was it like rapping "Gold Digger" alongside Kanye West? Did you feel like you were a part of GOOD Music?
The first thing in my head was, because I've never held a mic in my hand before, when I heard the first two words come out of my mouth I couldn't hear myself speak. I was trying to make sure that I hit every lyric, and Kanye was just there making eye contact with me, vibing out with me. Then the crowd started feeling it, and I was just like "Oh shit.... This is really happening." The energy was all on me at one point, and it felt like it was just me and Kanye there, and he was OK with me filming and rapping. I have a video of him actually grabbing me into the performance, which was phenomenal.
Are you aware that your videos have gone viral? "Let's do 'Wolves'" is a full-on phrase now.
I really want to go forward with this "Let's do 'Wolves'" moment into a real movement. That was more so the adrenaline rush. The day before the performance I was watching the sound check, which unfortunately didn't involve Kanye himself because he was still at Coachella. They did a run of all the songs and the instrumental of "Wolves" was playing, so I was under the assumption Kanye was going to perform it. After "Gold Digger," I said "Let's do 'Wolves'" because I was so excited to have a new song from the new album be performed, and that's one of my favorite songs currently. I was just trying to grasp onto the opportunity, like, "We're here, right now, let's do it." I feel like he didn't move forward with it because of the energy of the crowd. We finished off with "Touch the Sky" and then "Gold Digger." "Wolves" would've dimmed that energy down, so I totally understand why he wouldn't want to perform that.
2.
Is that your favorite song that he's dropped this year, so far?
It's definitely my favorite song from his works of art in 2015. Definitely looking forward to So Help Me God.
Did you ask him to drop the "Wolves" CDQ after?
I did not, unfortunately. I was at a loss for words. After the show I did get to walk with him backstage with his managers and security and say, "Thank you for everything. You made my dream come true." He and his team were hyped and happy off the performance, then we parted ways after he went into his dressing room. But we definitely made a memory. If I ever saw him in the near future, he'll definitely remember me.
What was the rest of the night like?
I was already satisfied with my night. There was an after-party scheduled, but I just took off home. I was starstruck, listening to the Yeezus album. I can't ask for anything more than that.
What did you think of his stage design and the body-painted models?
It was an homage to an African tribal thing I think. I did some research on it after.
3.
Do you consider yourself king of the Kanye fans this week?
I have some fans now, my Instagram is blowing up, a lot of people have been contacting me. I'm looking forward to making my next move, to keep the people happy. I'm very familiar with TeamKanyeDaily. I stayed in contact with them the majority of the night last night, giving them updates.
Are you going to cop any Yeezy gear that drops in the future?
I definitely said to him, what are the chances of me getting a 6.5 size pair of Yeezys, and he said the lows are dropping very soon. That's something to look out for.
Was that the greatest moment of your life?
In all reality, I don't know how to really explain it. I'm still trying to digest and relive the moment. I never expected that. After the performance he attempted to sign my blazer with my metallic silver sharpie, but unfortunately that marker doesn't write on fabric so I couldn't get a thorough autograph. But we definitely made a memory.
