Malik Yusef is a Chicago-bred artist and producer who has worked with Kanye West throughout his career. In a new interview for Drea O's YouTube channel, Yusef claims that he "wrote and produced every song" on The Life of Pablo, which he refers to as "the number one album in the world." Also in the interview, he speaks on Kanye's mental state, revealing that Ye might be diagnosed with bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia. Whatever he has been diagnosed with, Malik admits that Kanye does not take his prescribed medication.
"He doesn't take his medication because he chooses not to, and I applaud him for that," said Yusef. After Drea asks Yusef what medication he's referring to, he responds, "Whatever they prescribe you for like bipolar or schizophrenia or whatever they diagnosed him as."
Yusef then makes sure to imply that he doesn't necessarily attach much credence to traditional diagnoses. "That doesn't mean anything," he said with regard to Kanye's possible mental disorder, "You know, they can diagnose you as all kind of stuff. That doesn't mean you have to adhere to those principles."
"You ain't never seen nothing crazier than / This n*gga when he off his Lexapro," rapped Kanye on the Pablo track "FML." Lexapro is an antidepressant most commonly used to treat depression or anxiety. If Kanye is indeed bipolar or schizophrenic, Lexapro likely wouldn't be the drug he'd be prescribed with, though as the lyric does sound true-to-life, so perhaps he is dealing with multiple disorders and/or mental illnesses at once.
While there is no outright confirmation on what Kanye has been diagnosed with, Yusef's revelations provide insight into some of his more erratic behavior -- and to his genius as well.