The 5 Most Intriguing Quotes From Kanye West’s Rare Interview With The NY Times Posted by Danielle Harling on 06/12/13 | Filed under Kanye West

Coming across a Kanye West interview is a lot like coming across a pot of gold you were led to thanks to the Lucky Charms leprechaun or discovering a unicorn in your backyard. Quite frankly, that sh*t ain't happening. Remarkably though, Kanye did link up with New York Times writer Jon Caramanica (apparently their only Hip-Hop writer) for an uber-rare interview. As expected, the interview is absolutely littered with gems. Do yourself a favor and read the full interview over at NYTimes.com, but in the meantime check out a handful of the rapper's most intriguing quotes.

"It’s only led me to complete awesomeness at all times. It’s only led me to awesome truth and awesomeness. Beauty, truth, awesomeness. That’s all it is." - So, the Taylor Swift incident led Kanye to "complete awesomeness?" That's kinda epic.

"At the time, they used to have the Virgin music [stores], and I would go there and just go up the escalator and say to myself, 'I’m soaking in these last moments of anonymity.' I knew I was going to make it this far; I knew that this was going to happen." - It's pretty interesting that West had that much confidence in becoming a star.

"Before, when I wanted to rap, my raps sounded like a bit like Cam’ron; they sounded a bit like Mase; they sounded a bit like Jay-Z or whoever. And it wasn’t until I hung out with Dead Prez and understood how to make, you know, raps with a message sound cool that I was able to just write 'All Falls Down' in 15 minutes." - Who would have know that before the help of Dead Prez, Kanye was a Cam'ron-Mase-Jay-Z hybrid lyrically?

"Architecture — you know, this one Corbusier lamp was like, my greatest inspiration...I would go to museums and just like, the Louvre would have a furniture exhibit, and I visited it like, five times, even privately. And I would go see actual Corbusier homes in real life and just talk about, you know, why did they design it?" - Of course "Yeezus" would partially be inspired by a lamp.

"The last record I can remember — and I’m going to name records that you’ll think are cheesy — but like, J-Kwon, 'Tipsy.' People would think that’s like a lower-quality, less intellectual form of hip-hop, but that’s always my No. 1." - "Tipsy," among Kanye's favorites? I don't think anyone could have called that one.

Nathan Update: This seems like an appropriate time to also mention that the official tracklist (probably) to "Yeezus" is out:

01. On Site
02. Black Skinhead
03. I Am A God (Feat. God)
04. New Slaves (Feat. Frank Ocean)
05. Hold My Liquor (Feat. Chief Keef & Justin Vernon)
06. I’m In It
07. Blood On The Leaves
08. Guilt Trip (Feat. Travi$ Scott)
09. Send It Up (Feat. King L)
10. Bound (Feat. Charlie Wilson)

See Also:  Kanye West’s “Yeezus” Cover Plus “Bound” Snippet, Simplistic Or Genius?
See Also:  Illmind Made These Beats for Kanye West, What Would You Do With Them?