We've reached a day and age when a new Kanye West interview is an event in and of itself. Thanks in part to his iconic "George Bush hates black people" quip in 2005 and a pair of headline-worthy outbursts two years ago, Mr. West now commands millions of peoples' attention every time he makes an appearance on a talk show, even when the discussion centers on something as inconsequential as a sneaker launch.
Tomorrow, West will make a repeat performance on Zane Lowe's BBC 1 program, returning to the studio that housed one of his most infamous interviews of all time. We're expecting another full round of quotable quips, brash displays of ego and descriptions of seemingly-useless clothing items (remember leather jogging pants?). But before we get to experience a brand new Kanye interview, let's look back at the most noteworthy interviews of his career, from his heartfelt apologies to his berating of hosts. The Katrina video, which might be his most infamous, isn't included, as it wasn't technically an interview.
kimmel
Jimmy Kimmel Live, 2013
Following Kanye's first Zane Lowe interview in September 2013, Jimmy Kimmel spoofed the rapper's impassioned appearance with a skit on his show, attracting ire from Ye on Twitter afterwards. Less than a month later, he agreed to appear on Kimmel's show, and what we got was another great Kanye rant. It wasn't explicitly directed at Kimmel, but the host keeps his distance and lets Mr. West go off.
The Best Quote:
"Michael Jackson had to fight to get his videos on MTV because he was considered to be urban. This was Michael Jackson. So for me, when I’m in Paris, and I’m sitting at fashion week for nine years, and 'South Park' makes fun of our outfits, and people don’t understand why we are there….I still can’t break that wall down. At a certain point, it’s like Michael Jackson trying to get his videos on. Who do you know that’s known more for clothes than me?"
ellen
The Ellen Show, 2010
After Kanye's "Yo Taylor I'ma let you finish..." incident at the 2009 VMAs, he decamped to Rome for a while before heading to Hawaii to work on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, all the while staying out of the public eye for the most part. It wasn't until October of 2010 (over a year later) that he first spoke about the Taylor Swift incident, choosing The Ellen Show as the venue for the announcement.
The Best Quote:
"I feel like in some ways I'm a soldier of culture. And I realize that no one wants that to be my job, and I'll never go onstage, I'll never sit in an award show again. But will I feel convicted about things that really meant stuff to culture that constantly get denied for years and years and years? I'm sorry, I will."
lauer
The Today Show, 2010
In the same press run as the previous Ellen appearance, Kanye got the chance to apologize not only to Taylor Swift, but also to George W. Bush for the remark he made around Hurricane Katrina. Matt Lauer, host of The Today Show, had interviewed Bush just weeks prior, and it was clear that the former president still resented what West had said about him. Although he would later criticize the show, saying that he doesn't "mess" with Lauer and NBC in a series of tweets, Ye had some truly heartfelt, thought-provoking things to say about his previous comments.
The Best Quote:
"I came here to say that I made mistakes, that I've grown as a person, and that it's not as easy as boxing someone into a villain role or race role. I did not have the information, enough information in that situation, to call him a racist. That might have been the emotion that I felt, but me being a rational, well thought out, empathetic human being and thinking about it after the fact, I would have chosen different words."
lowe
Zane Lowe, 2013
It's telling that when you type "Zane Lowe" in Google, "Zane Lowe Kanye West" is the second suggested search. Although the BBC DJ has had an illustrious career, stateside he's best known in recent years for the meme-generating, instantly-quotable interview he hosted with Kanye West in 2013. Speaking to the host for over an hour, West covered everything from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to the Yeezys to civil rights, making for one of the most entertaining interviews of his career.
The Best Quote:
“Me and Virgil brought the leather jogging pants six years ago to Fendi and they said 'no.' So when I see Hedi Slimane and it’s all like, OK, this is my take on the world. Yeah, he got some $5,000 jeans in there, there’s some good shit here and there. But we culture. Rap is the new Rock N Roll. We the rockstars. IT’S BEEN LIKE THAT FOR A MINUTE HEDI SLIMANE, IT’S BEEN LIKE THAT FOR A MINUTE. We the new rock stars and I’m the biggest of all of them. I’m the number one rock star on the planet."
sway
Sway In The Morning, 2013
Yes, this is the third 'Ye interview from Fall 2013, but for a few months there, he was dropping some of the most newsworthy interviews of the decade. This is the one, though, that's the icing on the cake. Featuring some of Kanye's most outlandish claims to date (that he was going to put a picture of Nike's CEO "all on that Summer Jam screen," that he's "Shakespeare in the flesh," etc.), the interview went from 0-100 REAL QUICK when Sway told 'Ye to "take a few steps back." The rest, as they say, is history.
The Best Quote (with Sway's words in parentheses):
"You ain't got the answers, Sway! (Kanye) I been doing this more than you! (Doing what more than me?) You ain't got- (C'mon, chill out, bro!) You ain't got the answers! (Kanye, relax!) You ain't got the answers! (Bro, rela- I'm asking you a question!) You ain't been doing the education. (Bro!) You ain't been doing the education! (Kanye, calm down!) You don't have the answers though. (Calm down!) Because you trying to give me advice about something- (No! No no no no, listen) You ain't- You ain't got the answers! You ain't spend 13 million dollars of your own money trying to empower yourself!"