Kanye Visits Kimmel

Kanye West recently visited Jimmy Kimmel on The Late Night Show, and talked about a host of things: Music, Production, Fashion, Kim, Kids and Trump.

Kanye entered the set in his standard solemn mood and Kimmel immediately jumped into topic.

Kimmel mentioned that the last time Kanye visited him; he gave him a pair of shoes. Kimmel wore the shoes around and had so many people approach him to comment on the shoes that he “had to take them off.” Kanye nonchalantly shrugs this off and the crowd applauds.

This leads directly into Kimmel asking, “What’s more rewarding for you, fashion or music?” Kanye answers, “both,” a clear and expected answer.

Kanye then begins to elaborate on his answer and says that his entire life, “creative journey,” he has been told “no,” all the way back to when he was producing beats for Jay. He was told, “no.”

Eventually, Kanye did make an album and his peer’s dubbed him as “a producer rapper,” a common term in the industry that is cruel and often looked down upon by the greats and, in-effect, looked down upon by consumer.

Kanye did succeed and overcome his “producer rapper” label and went on to record many more albums, most recently, “Ye.”

Kimmel then asks about Kim and how she visited the white house recently to pardon a civilian facing life in jail for a first-time drug-offence, Kim spoke to the president personally.

Kimmel asked if Kanye was nervous for Kim to meet with Trump and Kanye responded, “he is a player.” The crowd laughed and so did Kanye, and Kimmel. Shortly thereafter, Kanye spells off on his answer once more and leads Kimmel into asking Kanye about his relationship with Trump.

Kanye answers that there are two major – motivating – forces in this world and we have heard it before, Fear and Love. He says that fear motivates so many people and in the wrong way. That pride and all of its evil can often be considered fear, too.

Kanye said that so many people had told him whom he had to support – politically. He admits that he is not a political person but the fact that so many people, publicist in particular, told him whom to support that it turned him off. They told him whom to support in order to retain his following and his image, otherwise – fear of something lost. He said that his support of Trump was him overcoming fear in the face of the public.

Kanye then goes into a rant about teaching children fear, that when a child is running about at a family function and a family member tells that child to stop running or to not do this or that, that the family member is teaching the child fear. And eventually, all these barriers of fear build up and you are left with nothing but fear itself.

Kimmel responds, “maybe the adults are just looking out for the child, they don’t want the child to get hurt.”

This conversation eventually gets into the album and some songs. Kimmel asks, after going into discussion about Kanye mentioning his children, and the oppression they might face from men someday. Kimmel asked, “If having a children has changed the way he views women,” Kanye answers this question within the song, if you would have listened Jimmy, but that’s neither here, nor there. Kanye answers (contrary to the album) that “no” they haven’t changed his stance on women, he “still watches porn-hub.” The crowed laughed and so did Kimmel, and Kanye.

They then get into the opening track, “I thought about killing you” which was – of course – put there on purpose. Kanye had a tweet before the album came out “I thought about killing you pt. 1.”

Kanye says that the media tears celebrities and public figures apart. They (media) may take a bad picture of a celebrity and release it to the public, as a sort of shame or slam. The media forgets that these celebrities are people too, and that a bad picture of a celebrity carries much more weight than a bad picture of anybody else. A bad picture can completely ruin a person and the explanation of, “I thought about killing you pt.1” is that you shouldn’t “be around people who want to make you kill yourself,” the crowed laughed and Kanye smirked and Kimmel smirked but the host and the guest remained stoic.

Their faces were hard and serious and they admit to the magnitude of that statement; the truth of that statement and they think on it. Kimmel breaks the silence with “its not funny,” but its true.

They end the dialog with a discussion about Kanye and his production process and how he managed to produce so many albums in such short time. Kimmel asks if Kanye “ever sleeps?” Kanye laughed and said that “yeah” he sleeps all the time actually. He gives his assistants a project to work on for an hour or so and takes a nap while they work. He wakes up and evaluates their work.

The discussion ends on a happy note and all is well. It was a good interview and you see many sides of Kanye. Kanye is notorious for being serious and angry. Its funny watching the interview because you will see Kanye laugh – natural – for a moment or too, look toward the monitor and wipe the smile off his face.

The discussion is also good because you see Kanye up front and being who he is.  After his breakdown (breakthrough he calls it) about a year ago, he has been very open about his lack of confidence. We have seen him do some remarkably odd things throughout this past year and things you could easily consider abnormal.  It is hard to watch a celebrity who is in a hypersensitive state.  It is good to see Kanye actively trying to break out of this “slump” or whatever you may call it. The interview with Kimmel is a step in the right direction for Kanye and for his legacy.  Kanye is getting older and older now and it may not be long before he is off the map.  Perhaps we are seeing all of these publicity stunts in preparation for the closing chapter.