And Yeezus wept. Kanye West broke down during a revealing new interview with BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe on Thursday, Feb. 26, where the two discussed his latest creative pursuits and recent headline-making antics.
“When you go to work, it’s a challenge,” West, 37, explained. “You’ve got to work hard. You’ve got to completely, tirelessly remind people of your vision no matter what. That’s the way I’m gonna word it.” West then spoke affectionately about the late Louise Wilson, a beloved fashion design professor at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, who passed away last year.
“The last time I saw her we had dinner at Hakkasan, my favorite restaurant in London,” West recalled. “I think she knew she was gonna pass, and she just wanted to give me some words of advice to move forward. She was asking me about my daughter. She was asking me about my wife.”
He paused before he recalled her final words of wisdom to him. “She said: ‘So many students, they don’t give it their all,'” he shared. “‘As soon as they do something good at 2 years old, 3 years old, their parents clap.’ That’s what she said. She just looked at me and said, ‘Kanye, don’t clap.'”
“I didn’t know we were gonna lose her,” he continued. “She told me, she said, ‘Thank you for the times you came to performances. This has really meant a lot to me.'” West then was overcome with emotion (at about 26 minutes into his interview) as he held his hands in front of his face. After composing himself, the rapper noted: “That’s never happened to me in an interview before.”
The fashion-adoring rapper also brought up his Adidas collaboration with Lowe. “I want to apologize to everyone right now because I believe Season 1 might still be in that upper price point,” he noted. “And there’s still the word exclusivity being thrown around. Exclusivity is the new N-word. Nothing should be exclusive. Everyone should have the opportunity to drink from the same fountain.”
Straying from the topic of fashion, West also shared with Lowe that he and Kim Kardashian have been actively trying for their second child.
“Oh, I’m practicing really hard. I try as many times a day I can,” West said, giving a shout-out to his 20-month-old daughter. “Nori, this one is for you. You need a sibling.”
During his interview, West also revisited his now-infamous incident involving Beck at the 2015 Grammys. “Yeah, I misconstrued that, and I think everybody has a right to an opinion,” he noted. “Everybody has a right to be wrong.” The actor said, however, that the Grammys are typically wrong.
“Let’s be level for a second. The Grammys sell commercial time,” West reasoned. “It’s a ridiculous proposition what they try to get away with every year. Every now and then an Arcade Fire or a Daft Punk wins, but every broken clock is right twice a day… It’s our Super Bowl. And I hadn’t been in six years. The Grammys are just like an ex-girlfriend. As soon as you get in the car with them, you’re gonna drive right back home.”
Watch West’s latest chat above!
