Kanye West & Big Boy Interview: 5 Biggest Takeaways

Following the release of Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s new album, Vultures 1, the pair have been immersed in the promotional circuit for the album including a comprehensive and extensive conversation with Big Boy. They discussed topics ranging from their collaborative album to insights on the music industry, recent controversies and beyond. The interview between the Vultures 1 duo and the esteemed radio host lasted over an hour. Here are five of the biggest takeaways from the conversation.

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Kanye West has previously openly embraced Christianity including in a previous interview with Big Boy. This has been evident in his music for decades. However, following the release of Vultures 1, Ye expressed conflicting sentiments. He mentioned having "issues with Jesus," and asserted that the act of prayer is a significant source of contention for him.

"You know, I have my issues with Jesus. There's a lot of stuff I went through that I prayed and I ain't see Jesus show up… We're so in this mentality that that's all that needs to happen but we ain't praying our way out of prison; we ain't praying our way out the abortion clinics. We ain't praying our way to get our land back that was always ours after gentrification after the Harlem Renaissance and Black Wall Street was burned to the ground. Them prayers ain't working."

During his interview with Big Boy, Kanye brought up one of his most controversial moments -- the 2009 VMAs. Ye took this moment to speak about the challenges he and Ty faced while creating this new album. Specifically, he mentioned reaching out to a select few individuals to inquire whether Universal Music Group was intentionally hindering the chart success of his music because of the incident. He shared his belief there has since been a conspiracy to stunt his commercial growth. 

"When it went number one, I called up some people I know like 'You think Universal was capping my albums ever since the Taylor Swift moment?’” he said. “‘And no one could deny that was happening. Just limit him. Turn it down, turn that boy down.’” Kanye also listed some of his most iconic records, expressing to Big Boy that their moderate success was quite a shock.  “‘All Of The Lights’ is like number 28. 'All Of The Lights?' 'Runaway,' you know, 'N***as in Paris' was not a number one record."

Read More: Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign Drop "Vultures 1" Amid Tons Of Controversy

Kanye West has been embroiled in several controversies over the years that have become worse in recent times. The rapper has also received backlash from both the Black and Jewish communities. This scrutiny arises from various actions and behaviors, including his endorsement of former president Donald Trump and instances of antisemitic sentiments. Ye disclosed that he has been subjected to numerous threats and expressed surprise at his continued survival. "My life has been threatened,” he stated. “I wake up every day just surprised to be alive because of how many threats I've received. From political to Twitter commentary, to all that."

Speaking of making headlines for various controversies, Ye also lost several friends. Ty Dolla Sign, however, has long since stood by him. He spoke up and explained that despite everything that was going on with Ye, he didn’t hesitate to collaborate with him on Vultures 1. He also asserted his belief that Ye would regain public favor in due time. 

More surprisingly, though, was Ty Dolla $ign's ability to push back against some of Ye's suggestions. During the conversation, Ye revealed that he attempted to make Vultures 1 entirely clean, similar to Donda. However, Ty Dolla $ign shut down that idea quickly.

In one clip that undoubtedly shook up the internet, Ye told Big Boy that he invented every genre of music in the past 20 years. "I invented every style of music of the past 20 years, I created the genre, I created The Weeknd genre, Trav, Drake… Everybody," he declared. "I'm gonna go ahead and say, with all love, Future and Thug also. Because the autotune album, 808s, if you think about it. Everybody think about Trav, Weeknd, and Drake, but no one thinks about Future and Thug also. Autotune album. Now everyone, they added what it was to it. But here's a new genre. It's called the 'making your own money' genre." The claim ultimately had people talking including Boosie Badazz.

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The Vultures 1 duo revealed that the album was the first of a trilogy collaboration between Ye and Ty Dolla Sign. Vultures 2 is set to be released in May, and Vultures 3 will follow sometime this year. Ty also hinted that the upcoming albums will have a different sound. Moreover, he encouraged fellow artists to be original with their work. 

"That's what the goal is for Vultures 2 and Vultures 3, always elevating,” Ty said. “Like if you ask me the question- what I think about music, I feel like I don't wanna diss anybody, but at the same time, you n***as gotta get better. People always copy the next shit… Like 10 songs are the same thing of each different type of beat."