Kanye West has had a tumultuous career and, since the mid-2010s, has been shrouded in controversy. From his comments about slavery to his anti-semitism and highly toxic divorce, the producer and emcee has been at the centre of various media firestorms.
However, despite the above, the Chicago musician has recently revealed he’s in a positive mind space due to not being tied to a major label or corporate companies. To the surprise of many, his financial difficulties and tarnished image aren’t an issue for him, and it appears he is relatively unscathed by the smears he has been subject to.
The College Dropout creator recently had an interview with Hypebeast magazine, during which he spoke about the people surrounding him and the freedom he has felt since being let go by the music and fashion industries.
Speaking about his love of independence, West explained, “This is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life!” He continued, “I’m with my wife, with Aus Taylor, my visual director at YZY, with Dov Charney. All year, I’ve been with loved ones, doing it independently ourselves.”
West has been surprisingly resilient and, unlike his former friend and collaborator Jay-Z, even when he became a billionaire with enough money and material to retire, the Chicago native continued to release music.
Explaining his determination to continue releasing music against the tide, West detailed, “The thing is, wind can blow a house down, but a bird still needs wind to fly. So without the wind, there’s no flying.”
He continued, “And there are times where you are flying against the wind. There are times when you’re flying with the wind. My current single, ‘Carnival’, is the number-one song in the world right now. That gives me drive.”
Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed against West by employees of the Donda Academy who claimed that he racially abused staff. One of the academy’s security guards told the court that “Kanye frequently screamed at and berated Black employees”.
It was also alleged that the rapper abused Jewish members of staff and goaded them by repeatedly speaking about Adolf Hitler and perpetuating stereotypes by calling them “greedy”.
You can see the Kanye Hypebeast magazine interview below.