Kanye West walked with his wife, Kim Kardashian-West, down the plush white carpet as they arrived at the 2016 MTV VMAs in New York City earlier today.
Shortly after that, he got up on stage, and was allowed 4 minutes to ‘do whatever he wanted’. We’re not sure why MTV would take a risk like that, but hey – that’s on them.
On stage, West talked about a range of different topics – the ‘Famous’ video, the Taylor Swift beef, murder rates in Chicago, and who his idols were – finishing, of course, with himself.
“Now, later tonight, ‘Famous’ might lose to Beyoncé but I can’t be mad. I’m always wishing for Beyoncé to win so… for people to understand just how blessed we are, [‘Famous’] was an expression of our now, our fame right now, us on the inside of the TV. You know, just to put… the audacity to put Anna Wintour right next to Donald Trump. I mean, I put Ray J in there bro! This is fame, bro! Like, I see you Amber… my wife is a G…We came over in the same boat, now we’re all in the same bed. Well, maybe different boats, but… If you think about last week, there was 22 people murdered in Chicago. You know, like, people come up to me like, ‘Man, that’s right… Take Taylor? I love all y’all. That’s why I called her!So I was speaking at the Art Institute last year and one kid came up to me and said three of my friends died and i don’t know if I’m going to be next. You have to think, when you’re a senior, and you don’t feel like doing any more work. If you’re seeing people dying next to you you might think, what’s the point? Life can start to feel worthless in a way. I know times for me, I sit down and talk to older, like, like, rich people, you know? A.K.A. White. And, uh, they tell me don’t compare yourself to Steve Jobs. Don’t compare yourself to Walt Disney. And my friend [J. Sakiya Sandifer], tells me, don’t compare yourself to these people. My friend [J. Sakiya Sandifer] told me there’s three keys to keeping people impoverished: taking away their esteem, their resources, and their role models. My role models are artists, merchants. There’s less than 10 I can name in history: Truman, Ford, Hughes, Disney, Jobs, West.Tonight, we’re here to have fun. I’m standing in front of my idol Puff Daddy. I’m standing in front of my wife Kim Kardashian West. I’m standing in front of the future, Chance the Rapper. 2 Chainz. Jaden Smith. Bro. We are undeniably the influence, the thought leaders.I’m gonna play y’all a piece of my art. And I just hope you all have a good time.”
HECTIC. This is Kanye at his most Kanye, people:
“I came here to present my new video, but before I do that, Imma talk.” – @kanyewest #VMAs https://t.co/ukVtlkcIsD
— MTV (@MTV) August 29, 2016
He’s doing his Kanye best and leaving behind the Kanye rest.
Source: MTV.
Photo: Theo Wargo / Getty.
