Kanye Talks Running for President, Drake, 6ix9ine in New Power 92 Chicago Interview

Kanye West continues his tour around Chicago, stopping by the station Power 92​​​​​​​ to discuss everything from running for president to his relationships with Drake.

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Kanye West continues his publicity tour around Chicago, stopping by the station Power 92 Chicago to discuss everything from running for president to his relationships with JAY-Z and Drake.

This hour-long interview comes right after Kanye sat down with Chicago’s 107.5 Morning Show to talk about Trump and apologize for his slavery comments. He talks about that conversation with Power 92, and expands more on where he thinks the original slavery comments came from. “I think in that moment, I believe a spirit was speaking through me, to me, because I even [been] in situations where I choose to be enslaved,” he said around the 9-minute mark. “I choose to wade in the water as certain Negro spirituals would basically tell us, to stay in this place and it be okay. ... I ain’t wading. I’m not wading at all. I don't wait, wade, whatever version of it."

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Ye continues on to have a conversation about mental health that lasts throughout the interview. He gets candid about his bipolar disorder, and explains how he went on TMZ while manic. "I apologize for the way it made people feel, and also coming off the MAGA hat into that, it was just too much for anyone to take," he reinforced. "And I’m not blaming mental health but I’m explaining mental health, by saying that I definitely was ramped up and I definitely was a bit manic. ...Y’all got to experience someone that you actually love in the middle of TMZ going manic and saying things that they felt.”

He also gave an update on how he's doing mentally these days. "I have to step ahead of the whole crazy thing, and let me tell you, I’ve been diagnosed with bipolarity and I haven’t taken medication in five months and I’m talking to you super calm," he said. "I get my sleep. I don’t drink a lot of alcohol. I drink a lot of water, and I work on my diet, and work on my mind. And I talk and be around people who love me.”

That conversation transitions into talk about Trump and about Ye's own go at the presidency. "I like Bernie, I like Hillary, I like Obama, I love everybody. I’m actually riding with everybody. ...We don’t think to need in divisions. ...We’re actually one race, one people. All civilization," he said. “People are like, 'man, Trump’s racist.' If racism was a deal breaker we need to get out of America, period. He just shows you what it is. It’s like the grass is cut low now...Now we woke for real.”

When asked if he's considering running for president, Ye confirms. "Yes. It 100 percent could happen. 2024,” he said at the 34-minute mark. "If I decide to do it, it will be done. I’m not gonna try.”

He jokingly says he'll run under the "birthday party," and claims running a business has helped prepare him to run a country. "You should not be president unless you've ran a multi-billion dollar business,” he said. 

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At one point, Kanye talks about trying to create a dialogue between police and the people of Chicago. He compares it to his relationship with Drake, who recently took shots at him on IG. “It’s always like, 'fuck the police,' 'fuck Trump,’ 'fuck the mayor,' 'fuck everybody,' and I swear I feel you...I be wanting to be like, 'Fuck Drake, why he come at me like that I’m dealing with mental health...why he fucking with me like this?'" he said. "But right when I think that thought, I think, 'No, it’s not fuck him, it’s we have to love him.' We don't know what this man is dealing with, what he’s going through, why he’s lashing out. This might be a cry for love that he’s having.”

Toward the end of the interview, Ye is asked about which artists he’s loving right now. Aside from mentioning the usual suspects like Quavo and Travis Scott, Kanye shouted out Lil Pump and 6ix9ine. “I love his energy,” he said of 6ix9ine, brushing off questions about 6ix9ine’s controversial comments about Chicago.

West is apparently in town to work on Chance’s new album, referenced again in this interview, but he’s also thinking about buying a new house in the city. “I’ve done a lot, but I need to do more,” he said. “It’s time to get a place in Chicago. It’s time to come home.”

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