Quite the powerful pair! Madonna recruited Kanye West for three songs on her upcoming Rebel Heart album, and told the New York Daily News in a new interview that she sees some of herself in the controversy-courting, genre-defying rapper.
"Kanye is the new Madonna," the pop legend, 56, asserted. "Kanye is the black Madonna."
The "Ghosttown" performer drew parallels between herself and West, 37, highlighting their mutual penchant for pushing boundaries in everything they do.
"We know, and recognize, that we have that in common," Madonna told the Daily News of the duo's shared risky qualities. "We're comrades in the envelope-pushing genre."
Madonna's so-called comrade is included on her latest album, featured particularly as a producer on a talked-about track called "Illuminati." Rebel Heart also includes cameos from Nicki Minaj, Mike Tyson, and Chance The Rapper, as well as more emotional songs with references to the iconic singer's past.
"There's a lot of reminiscing on this album," she told the newspaper. "I've been doing what I've been doing for over three decades, so in many ways I feel like a survivor. I see that many of my peers, and friends, and people I collaborated with are no longer with us. That gave me pause. I said, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I made it this far.’ That was a catalyst for me."
The record came at an interesting time for Madonna, who said she started writing the songs after she had "just broken up with somebody." The star's last serious relationship was with Brahim Zaibat, a dancer 30 years her junior.
"Most men my age are married with children. They’re not datable," Madonna said in her interview with The New York Daily News, offering up an explanation for her habit of dating younger men. Between her 2008 divorce from Guy Ritchie and her 2010 relationship with Zaibat, the singer had a rumored fling with Alex Rodriguez, now 39, and dated Jesus Luz, now 28. "I’m a very adventurous person and I also have a crazy life. I’m a single mother. I have four children. I mean, you have to be pretty open-minded and adventurous to want to step into my world. People who are older, and more set in their ways, are probably not as adventurous as someone younger."
"People have always judged me, and given me s–t about one thing or another," added the famously controversial star. "Now they’re giving me s–t about age."
