Photo: Wenn
In this month’s issue of Paper Magazine, Kanye West discussed Tidal, the Illuminati and Madonna, as well as the “American Dream”.
Appearing on the cover of this month’s Paper Magazine, Kanye West wrote his own cover story, in which he opened up about his involvement with streaming service Tidal, and the response it has been receiving.
“I heard a comment -- a joke -- about the Tidal press conference being an Illuminati moment,” he said. “If there was actually an Illuminati, it would be more like the energy companies. Not celebrities that gave their life to music and who are pinpointed as decoys for people who really run the world.”
“I'm tired of people pinpointing musicians as the Illuminati,” he continued. “That's ridiculous. We don't run anything; we're celebrities. We're the face of brands. We have to compromise what we say in lyrics so we don't lose money on a contract. Madonna is in her 50s and gave everything she had to go up on an award show and get choked by her cape. She's judged for who she adopts. Fuck all of this sensationalism. We gave you our lives. We gave you our hearts. We gave you our opinions!”
West also discussed what his American Dream is, calling it a “world dream”. “It's a world in which everyone's main goal would be to help each other,” he shared. “The first thing I told my team on New Year's Day was, ‘You know, people say bad news travels fast, but this year let's make good news travel faster.’ You get back what you put out, and the more positive energy you put out, the more positive energy you'll get back.”
In his essay, West also touched upon fashion and working at the Gap at the age of 15, his perception of “beauty”, the time he spent living in China at the age of 10 and his views regarding the meaning of life.
He wrote: "One time I was at the dentist's office and I was given nitrous gas and I was vibing out -- I guess that's my version of Steve Jobs and his LSD trip -- when I had this first thought: What is the meaning of life? And then I thought, To give. What's the key to happiness? Happiness. What do you want in life? When you give someone something, should they give you something in return? No. We don't have to expect to be compensated by the person we give to. Just give. I'm a Christian so I'll speak in Christian terms: God will give you tenfold. Then I said in my mind -- I'm still under the gas and getting my teeth cleaned -- But I just want to be remembered. And I immediately corrected myself. I said, It doesn't even matter if I'm remembered. I came out of the gas and had a completely new attitude on everything."
