“I will fucking laser you with alien fucking eyes and explode your fucking head.”
Kanye West is many things: rapper, visual artist, fashion designer. He is also a man who is incredibly tired of snobby fashion circles
that don’t take him seriously. In a new interview with W, the artist decided to share some choice words with his highbrow critics.
“Very few people even knew that I have a fucking Ph.D. in art, you know? And not that that would even make the difference, but me
saying that makes the difference to the exact people I’m talking to it’s, like, shut the fuck up,” he says. “I will fucking laser you with
alien fucking eyes and explode your fucking head. Shut the fuck up—try to write a rap. O.K. then. I made this fucking T-shirt, now shut
up. And it cost me everything I had and I gave everything I had.”
Later, he added that he “wouldn’t say that anyone in fashion is on my side. I don’t think there’s anyone on my side.” West recently
released his latest collection, Yeezy Season 4. Fashion critics weren’t particularly kind to the show, which started late and was plagued by hot weather.
The rapper, who’s currently in the midst of his extremely Instagrammable Saint Pablo tour, also dropped a number of references to
movies like Despicable Me, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Wreck-It Ralph as comparisons to his struggles with the fashion world.
Here’s West comparing himself to Buddy in Elf: “He wants to make the toys. Why? Not just so he could play with them, but he wants
to bring joy to the world. I am a creator and it’s my responsibility.”
When asked whom he looks up to, he also ran through a number of familiar names he’s dropped before: “I’m inspired by Walt Disney.
I’m inspired by Howard Hughes. I’m inspired by Henry Ford. I’m inspired by Steve Jobs. I mean, I’m inspired by James Perse. I’m
inspired by Calvin [Klein], I’m inspired by Ralph [Lauren], I’m inspired by Bernard Arnault. He’s like one of my absolute favorites.”
He also took a moment to slam an anonymous fashion head he took a meeting with who asked West if he’d ever designed something
that “didn’t have your name on it.”
“I take it as a dis that you say that obviously none of my designs are good and they wouldn’t sell without my name,” West started.
“And I also take it as a—you fuck, it’s called a brand. That’s why it fucking works.”
W interview aside, West also riled up audiences Wednesday night on the latest stop of his Saint Pablo tour, pausing to air out rapper
Kid Cudi. The longtime collaborator went on a Twitter spree on Wednesday, lashing out at numerous rappers, including Drake and
West, for vague reasons. And West isn’t too happy about it.
“I’m so hurt!” West began. “I feel so disrespected! Kid Cudi, we’re two black men in a racist world! I wore the skinny jeans first. . . . I’m
out here fighting for y’all—creatives, artists, independent thinkers. Don’t never mention my name in a bad manner.”