Kanye West: 'I'm the number one rock star on the planet'

theGRIO REPORT - Kanye has been leery of the media, so when 'Yeezus' does take the time for a sit-down, it becomes must see TV..

Kyle Harvey

Sep 24, 2013

Kanye West interviews on camera are very rare these days. Ever since his controversial 2010 Today Show interview conducted by Matt Lauer, Kanye has been leery of the media, so when “Yeezus” does take the time for a sit-down, it becomes must-see TV.

In a four-part interview airing throughout the week, the rap icon sat down with BBC and radio personality Zane Lowe.

The video teasers of the 1-hour conversations already appear full of quintessential Kanye one-liners.

“I’ve reached a point in my life where my Truman Show boat has hit the painting. And I’ve got to a point that Michael Jackson did not break down. I have reached the glass ceiling. As a creative person, as a celebrity. When I say that, it means, I want to do product, I am a product person,” he said.

“Not just clothing, but water bottle design, architecture, everything, you know, that you could think about. And I’ve been at it for 10 years, and I look around, and I say, ‘wait a second, there’s no one in this space that looks like me, and if they are, they’re quiet as f**k.’ So that means wait a second, now we’re seriously, like, in a civil rights movement,” he added.

Kanye doesn’t hold back in the interview. He claims the hip-hop genre has replaced rock n’ roll’s influence and therefore he is the most popular artist in the world.

“We the new rock stars, and I’m the biggest of all of them. I’m the number one rock star on the planet,” said Kanye.

Watch part one of the BBC’s Kanye West interview and let us know what you think in the comments below.

You can check out Kyle’s musical and tech coverage on theGrio’s music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter@HarveyWins