Kanye West (currently officially known as Ye) sits down to chat about his album "808s & Heartbreak", the criticism he received for it, hip-hop, politics and more with a German TV crew. Interview from "Love Lockdown" era (2008). President in 2020?

Scroll down for a timecoded transcript.

A name synonymous with the dizzy heights of fame nowadays, West has not always basked in the controversial limelight he now enjoys. Here, he sits down and talks past, upbringing, heritage and factors shaping his musical taste,

Subscribe for more interviews with stars: https://goo.gl/3UuTqN

4:14 Chicago's dance music scene - the home of Acid House
6:20 Radiohead; Portishead; Red Hot Chili Peppers: everyone needs a break from rap.
5:48 How the production of 808s and Heartbreak helped Kanye analyse himself better
8:55 Family/work balance
10:33 Freestyle as building blocks for final cuts
11:20 From lowly producer to superstar rapper, Jay-Z, Rocafella and more
14:14 “I am not political at all”
14:23 Politics as a difficult topic to approach
15:20 Obama is a popstar

Kanye focuses particularly on what he perceived to be limitations on taste, style and self-expression due to his background, something he sought to change with the release of his then-latest album, 808s & Heartbreak. Though receiving initial critical backlash due to Kanye's change of direction, 808s arguably wove in many more genres than modern rap had previously dared to, and the charts agreed: it became his 3rd #1 album in the US, going on to influence countless other R&B and rap artists.

Kanye's charmingly naive perspective on politics in relation to the world of pop-music rears its head at the end of the video, marking a stark contrast to his 2018 monologic rants, odes to Trump and chaotic tweets. Where did it all begin?

#Ye #808s&Heartbreaks #Kanye2020 #StarsInterviewed