Kanye West recognises the power of celebrity.
The American rapper’s fame has reached a new level since he and Kim Kardashian married earlier this year.
But while Kanye knows that his celebrity status can help further his career, he also feels conflicted about the drawbacks that come with being such a high-profile star, according to his close friend John Legend.
“He and Kim, Brad and Angelina, Jay and Beyonce they are the ultimate celebrity couples and I think he is conflicted about dealing with that because he recognises the power of it and also recognises the drawbacks,” John said in the interview with Magic FM. “I think he’s dealing with that just like anybody would, because part of it is you’ve achieved your goal and you’ve realised your dream, you wanted to be a successful artist, you wanted to be hugely impactful, you wanted to marry this stunning beautiful woman and so you realise all those dreams but you also realise is that there is costs to that as well.”
John and Kanye have built up a strong friendship over the past decade. And John added that while the public perception of Kanye is mostly true, there are also aspects to him that people don’t get to see.
“The things people see in the media – when he’s brutally honest and very creative, he marches to the beat of his own drum – all those things are very true of him,” John said. “There’s not like a public persona and a private persona, but people don’t know how generous he is.
“He’s been so instrumental in my career, people don’t really realise that and how generous he’s been to me over all of my career, including the beginning when I was broke and still figuring out what I wanted to do, as an artist he was helping me figure that out.
“So I have a more rounded picture of him than most people do, but he’s still that guy too – he isn’t afraid to speak his truth at any time and you need people in your life like that, especially when you’re making art and being creative because there is always going to be people to tell you what you want to hear, but you need people to tell you what you need to hear too.”
