Kanye West, a man known for both his raps and onstage rants, isn’t really a fan of words.
In a recent interview with Surface magazine, the polarizing rapper spoke about his preferred method of communication: sign language and emojis.
“I don’t think people are going to talk in the future,” he said. “They’re going to communicate through eye contact, body language, emojis, signs. Imagine that. If everyone was forced to learn sign language.”
Kanye continued, “When I was a kid, I’d see people who only spoke sign language and think, ‘Wow, that’s gotta be difficult.’ I was really happy I could speak. Now, I would prefer to [pantomimes someone signing] ― do that without having to use words.”
And yes, he know’s it’s ironic, given his profession.
“It’s funny because I’ve made a living off of words, but words get in the way of what you really want to say,” he said, before expressing his love for emojis.
“Thank God for emojis,” he said. “So often one emoji goes a long way and lets me get on with my whole day.”
The rapper-artist-designer went on to explain his distaste for small talk, but, in typical Kanye fashion, he made his point in a roundabout way:
I don’t want to be a jerk, but there are certain people who are geniuses. Their emotional and social IQ is super high and they can get stuff done. Often, people who get really amazing stuff done have to cut off their emotional IQ. I can’t stand this whole “How was your day?” thing that agents always say. I’m like, “You don’t care about my day. Why’d you ask me about my day? Did we get done what we were supposed to get done?” But I do want to know how my daughter’s day was. I do want to get an explanation of what she learned in school. I sincerely care about that.
In place of small talk, Kanye said he’d prefer business to be “stupider” and more “straightforward.”
“Just talk to me like a 4-year-old,” he said.
If you want to talk to him about negotiating on his work, though, don’t even bother ― he flat-out won’t do it.
“I’m an artist, so as soon as you negotiate, you’re being compromised,” he said.
That includes labels. As interviewer Spencer Bailey found out for himself, the idea that Yeezus is, in fact, an “artist” is not up for debate.
When Bailey began a question by saying, “You mentioned that you view yourself as an artist,” Ye quickly interrupted him to clarify.
“I didn’t mention that I view myself that way. I just am. I never worded it like that,” he said. “That’s really offensive. Why did you say I view myself like that? Do you not view me as an artist?”
Bailey agreed, saying, “I totally view you as an artist.” And the artist responded, “Okay, cool.”
To read the full interview, head over to Surface.
Before You Go
