Kanye West Insists Business Needs to Be Stupider: "Just Talk to Me Like a 4-Year-Old"

In the past week or so, Kanye West has announced his support for Trump, told people of color to get over racism, shaded Jay Z for not returning his phone calls, and abruptly canceled the remaining dates on his Saint Pablo tour. So it's hardly a surprise that his latest interview with Surface Magazine is slightly out there—by which we mean he has a lot of thoughts and feelings. Let's parse through them, shall we?

On Business

"I think business has to be stupider. I want to do really straightforward, stupid business—just talk to me like a 4-year-old. And I refuse to negotiate. I do not negotiate. I can collaborate. But I'm an artist, so as soon as you negotiate, you're being compromised."

On Being an Artist

"I didn't mention that I view myself that way. I just am. I never worded it like that. That's really offensive. Why did you say I view myself like that? Do you not view me as an artist?"

On the Future of Communication

"I don't think people are going to talk in the future. They're going to communicate through eye contact, body language, emojis, signs. Imagine that. If everyone was forced to learn sign language...Yeah, sign language, eye contact. Or thank God for emojis. So often one emoji goes a long way and lets me get on with my whole day."

On His Controversial Yeezy Show

"It's like an editor completely trying to annihilate my credibility because we didn't have water and the show started late. I care about people's time; it wasn't on purpose. The fact that they can outright Lebron-James-went-to-the-Heat-level burn my jersey after all I'd contributed to art, fashion, and culture just in 2016 alone...They said, 'Ye's a genius. But in fashion, he doesn't innovate.' Not having a bunch of colors was an innovation! They undermined a color palette that I worked on and studied. There's a picture I painted in 1995, and it was basically a Pantone chart before I knew what Pantones were."

On Small Talk

"I can't stand this whole 'How was your day?' thing that agents always say. I'm like, 'You don't care about my day. Why'd you ask me about my day? Did we get done what we were supposed to get done?'"

Watch/read more at Surface Magazine.

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