Nightlife / Music

Kanye speaks (but not to us)

By Kevin W. Smith, Arizona Daily Star | Friday, July 04, 2008 | () comments

Kanye West is obviously a busy guy. The platinum-plus rapper must have been too swamped or cool for an interview, as his reps didn’t get back to us.

West is currently on the road with his Glow In The Dark Tour, a show so secretive, he’s said to not allow photography of any kind during concerts and YouTube.com videos of performances have been quickly taken down.

All we wanted to do was talk about his show. But that won’t stop us from imagining what a conversation with West would be like.

With help from his blog and other sources he’s taken the time to speak with, here’s how we think our conversation with West would have gone down:

Q: What up ’Ye? How you been, fool?

“I’m doin’ good.”

— djbooth.net, 2007

Q: Nice. Let’s start off with the hard stuff. How did the death of your mom last year change your life?

“If there’s anything my mom taught me, it is to enjoy life. I just recorded my first verse in the last six months two days ago at Bape’s Studio in Japan. It felt good and I was inspired. I absolutely lost my mind (in a good way) on the new Glow In The Dark Tour.

“The constant hours of creating helped me to keep from losing my mind in a bad way. (Video director) Chris Milk told me tragedy can produce great art and this is definitely true. I am a total mad man now, up till 3 a.m. every night, trying to fight pain, boredom and uncertainty with creativity. All that said, life is good.”

— kanyeuniversecity.com/blog, April 2008

Q: What might be the biggest misconception about Kanye West?

“I think the press always goes for the cliché joke. You know? Like comment about, ‘he’s so arrogant,’ so even when I do interviews they try to sway it one way or the other. Because I’m going to say, in this conversation I’ve said maybe three things that you could take and make them arrogant and make them like the headline. But then I’ve also said at least three or four things that could be inspirational to people. Like that line right there, could be taken as an arrogant line.”

— concreteloop.com, 2007

Q: It could be an arrogant line and most would probably say it is. But seriously, why stop now? You’re like the most arrogant musician on the planet.

“With the press I get, there is no way I should have sold that amount of records, because with the press I get nobody should like me. I think the press has an agenda to try to make people not like me, because they realize what my voice can do.”

— concreteloop.com, 2007

Q: Yeah, totally! Like Rolling Stone giving your last album, “Graduation,” a four-and-a-half-star review instead of five. Totally wreaks of media conspiracy.

What can we expect for your Glow In The Dark Tour stage show?

“An entirely new designed set!!! Robot designed by acclaimed artist Christian Colon, creatures by legendary Jim Henson’s creature shop ... I have spent a month and a half re-orchestrating every track to follow a narrative. We’ve learned to survive off of one hour of sleep a day!”

— kanyeuniversecity.com/blog, 2008

IF YOU GO

What: Glow in the Dark Tour, with Kanye West, Rihanna, N.E.R.D. and Lupe Fiasco

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: i wireless Center, Moline

How much: $82.50, $62.50 and $42.50

Information: (309) 764-2001 or iwirelesscenter.com on the Web

Also on the Web: KanyeUniverseCity.com

The opening acts

Rihanna: Barbados-born singer whose hits include “Umbrella” and the current “Take a Bow.”

Lupe Fiasco: Geeky Chicago rapper, like West, known for spitting verses about skateboarding and gangsters who come back from the dead.

N.E.R.D.: Mixing hip-hop, funk and rock, the band is fronted by the multitalented Pharrell Williams.

The Arizona Daily Star is a Lee Enterprises newspaper.