1.
I saw this in a record store for $3.99. A vinyl edition of the now defunct Emixshow DJ Magazine. The feature story on DJ Kay Slay made it worth the purchase, but the smaller “Kanye West, Raps On Tracks” headline really caught my attention. The record was sealed so I wasn’t sure what the piece would entail, but a mixtape with new Memphis Bleek was also included, so I knew this record was must-cop.
Inside, a 25-year-old Kanye West discuses his upcoming debut album, The College Dropout, and shares his views on rapping, making beats, and fashion. The interview was done by Noah Rubin, who is now the Editor-in-Chief at Mass Appeal. It’s an interesting look at the star’s goals and ambitions before he was one of the biggest names in entertainment.
On The College Dropout:
What’s up with your album?
It’s called College Dropout, and it’s supposed to come out this summer; it’s been moved up because people at Def Jam are really liking it. I don’t want no hip-hoppers to miss out on it. Not doin’ shit that is supposed to be for the culture is what I do for the culture. Anything you try and say, I’m gonna flip and get sarcastic. If I was on Rawkus, I would say I’m a gangsta rapper. If I was on Roc-A-Fella, I would say I’m a backpacker. But I’m all of them. I’m not even one person.
Are you doing all the production and all the rhymes on the album?
Yeah, but because I do really good beats people think the rhymes are not going to be adequate. The combination of the phenomenal beats I have with the subject matter that I talk about, it’s a perfect blend. I feel like I’m gonna give my greatest gift to the hip-hop world by rapping on my own beats.
On producing:
Do you prefer rapping to producing?
No, I prefer making beats. I prefer having something to play in my car, I’m not gonna play a cappella stuff. Watch, maybe this time next year I’ll be a wack producer, but for right now I don’t really need to listen to beats in the car. I’m very proficient at it.
Do you seek out your own sounds or do you rely on pre-made sound disks?
Basically, people come out with albums, and I jack their drums. I hardly ever use drums from an actual record like “real hip-hop producers” do. This is a new form of music: broke hip-hop. I can’t spend $40 on some drums, I’m trying to get some new gym shoes. I’m not really into equipment. I just spend all my money on clothes.
5.
On fashion:
Can you tell me about your car accident?
Yeah, if I had died that would have been real hectic. One conclusion I came to from everything while I was sittin’ there [in the hospital] seeing rappers and how they look on TV is that I am gonna be the best-dressed rapper.
Really?
Yeah, you know, before the accident, I liked clothes, and after the accident, I really started liking clothes ’cause you never know when you gonna be gone.
On the music industry:
What brought you to music?
Being that I have a short attention span, because I’m a Gemini I guess, I had to pick something exciting, and rap is exciting because it’s all type of experiences. You can say whatever you want. You can tell everybody that you got a big dick in your rap and it’s not a problem. If you do that shit in an office, it’s like Clarence Thomas. I like taking things a little too far, but, hey, what’s too far?
Nothing.
Exactly, that’s like the people I respect the most, like Mariah Carey or Fiona Apple, anybody that wilds out and really says the truth. Like, fuck the industry, man, fuck all this. They’re so corporate, they make it try to seem so free, but there’s all these politics you gotta deal with. That’s why you gotta be the type of artist where they have to deal with you, like a Lauryn Hill or a Mariah, where the public wants you so bad and you crazy, but you making them so much money that they got to put up with you.
9.
