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Like him or not, Kanye West boasts a penchant for self-aggrandizing hyperbole that is already the stuff of legend. Beyond his music, Kanye's flair for flamboyant statements has made him one of the most compelling characters currently on the celebrity scene.
His most recent interview with GQ is no exception to the rule. In the cover story, Kanye characterizes his celebrated spouse, Kim Kardashian, as cooler than a "fighter jet or a dinosaur," and assures readers that "there's nothing I'm doing that's uncool."
Though he'll doubtlessly keep them coming, here are a few of our favorite outrageous Kanye comments from the past:
On his creative genius: "I feel like I’m too busy writing history to read it." "I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade. I will be the loudest voice."
"I am standing up and I'm telling you. I. Am. Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation, in the flesh. I am Shakespeare, Walt Disney. Nike. Google." "I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump." "I think I do myself a disservice by comparing myself to Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and human beings that we've seen before. It should be more like Willy Wonka... and welcome to my chocolate factory."
On Kim's cultural influence: "No one is looking at what [Barack Obama] is wearing. Michelle Obama cannot Instagram a [bikini] pic like what my girl Instagrammed the other day." "Kim is the type of girl that, her entire life, if you were in school with her, most people would be studying and up late nights, but for some reason she would have the skill set to go and grab the one book, turn to the exact page, and just magically say, 'That's the exact answer.' Or she could wink at the person who had done all the work and get it done anyway. And the point of life is getting stuff done and being happy." On his love for Kim:"Y'all are acting like this ain't the most beautiful woman of all time. Wait a second, wait a second — I'm talking about arguably of human existence. The top 10 of human existence..."
"You mean to tell me that this girl with this body and this face is also into style, and she's a nice person, and she has her own money and is family-oriented? That's just as cool as a fighter jet or dinosaur! And just as rarely seen...""I just knew I wanted her to be my girl for a long time. I remember I saw a picture of her and Paris Hilton, and I remember telling my boy, 'Have you seen that girl Kim Kar-dijon?'" On Jay Z:
“He’s the poster child of winning.”
On family life: "Family is super cool. Going home to one girl every night is super cool. Just going home and getting on the floor and playing with your child is super cool. Not wearing a red leather jacket, and just looking like a dad, is like super cool. Having someone that I can call mom again. That is super cool.” "I hang out with my girl and my daughter every day. No place I'd rather be. Not even when I'm thinking about things I'm creating in business, my biggest goal is to get home to family. I want to figure out a way to do my work and be my daughter's soccer coach. I'm going to be a soccer coach and redesign their uniforms. I'll redesign the mini van." On listening to rap music:"I don't even listen to rap. My apartment is too nice to listen to rap in."On his 45-minute wedding speech: "What I talked about in it was the idea of celebrity, and celebrities being treated like blacks were in the '60s, having no rights, and the fact that people can slander your name. I said that in the toast." On their wedding photo:"We sat there and worked on that photo for four days — because the flowers were off-color and stuff like that. Can you imagine telling someone who wants to just Instagram a photo, who's the number one person on Instagram, 'We need to work on the color of the flower wall'."
On his tendency to exaggerate: "You should only believe about 90 percent of what I say. As a matter of fact, don’t even believe anything that I’m saying at all. I could be completely [messing] with you, and the world, the entire time."