On Tuesday, in an interview live-streamed from London, Kanye West answered questions from “friends, celebrities and fans worldwide.” The rapper-cum-designer talked about everything from his fashion line, to why music isn’t as exciting anymore, to his take on racism (we’ll all be black in 1,000 years, or something).
The stripped-down chat, via Fact, lasted two hours and was hosted by Lou Stoppard. Pulling from pages of submitted questions, she asked West a number of things, which he usually somehow brought back to how the fashion world is giving him a hard time. Here are the best quotes on race, music, fashion and feminism edited for brevity and clarity:
On all humanity eventually becoming black, or whatever:
People couldn’t say they’re going to have the opportunity to run for Queen. [The class systems of the U.K.] circumcises your dreams from day one. In America, you can work your way up the class system but to get the house in suburbia, it’s a lot of mixed kids away from that… but the world is mixing. In 1,000 years we might be completely known as what we know as black currently. But it would just be known as a new race, except for those people whose main goal would be to keep the purity of separatism.
On the future of race:
I see the future as people being mixed. I think other races have always been attracted to each other because I believe that we’re meant to… but I was taught to never bring a white girl home when I was eight years old. I liked white girls, and I also liked black girls, but I liked white girls too. Like I said in the Tyler song, “I know they told their white daughters don’t bring home Jerome.” I’ll tell you from my single days that white women do like black guys… there’s something about what mixing the cultures brings to the table.
On how black people should be more like Jewish people:
My best friends are Jewish, I know people say that, but they are! I do have a lot of Jewish friends! That culture is one that shares information—that doesn’t happen in the black community!
On not being accepted into the fashion world:
Working in fashion, I’m sitting here in the trees, trying to chop down wood, screaming at the top of my lungs, “Can somebody just throw me some water” and everyone’s laughing at me. That’s the fashion world, the fashion critics. Me… trying my absolute hardest and everyone laughing at me.
Then… people say ‘Oh, he’s working with Nick Knight,’ then ‘Oh, he’s working with Pat [McGrath].’ […] Then ‘Oh, Riccardo [Tisci] the hottest designer likes Kim’ and then the fashion world is like ‘Hm, maybe it’s OK. Can we capitalize off of this in some way?’
But they’re fucking definitely not letting me in the shows and trying to keep the joke going. But there were a lot of tsunamis and earthquakes that hit while people were laughing on the beach, so keep joking on the beach.
On the fashion world’s backhanded acceptance of Kim Kardashian West:
It’s better now than it was and I feel happy about that.
On homophobia in music:
It’s funny how the culture of different art forms is so different. I got discriminated against in fashion for not being gay where in music, you get discriminated against if you are gay. It takes some amazing talents to break down that barrier. People don’t have a problem with white rappers now because Eminem is the greatest artist. Everybody thought that when Frank Ocean’s album dropped that [him sharing his sexuality] would be bad for his career but he’s one of the greatest writers of all time. People don’t give a fuck, they love his music. The people who break the stereotypes make history. With the fashion and music worlds culturally, it’s reverse discrimination.
On Caitlyn Jenner’s transition:
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