By Olumide Adesida (with agency reports)
Kanye West discussed his artistic ambitions with Oxford university students on Monday, March 2, 2015, admitting he had dreams of being ‘bigger than Picasso’. The 37-year old rapper regrets never going on to study art and admits he has lofty ambitions, but wishes others thought like him in order to stop humanity from being ‘suppressed’.
He said: ‘My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater… That always sounds so funny to people, comparing yourself to someone who has done so much, and that’s a mentality that suppresses humanity.
‘If I could have done it again I would have gone to the Art Institute over the American Academy.’ And the ‘Bound 2’ hitmaker, who has 20-month old daughter, North with wife, Kim Kardashian, admits he gets very excited by his art work.
Speaking to Oxford University students at the city’s Museum of Natural History on Monday, March 2, 2015, he said: ‘I approach creativity like a sport, if I have a drawing I react just like a jock, ‘Look at the f***ing drawing over there, yeah!’
The outspoken rapper admits his ego is often his downfall but he doesn’t think his reputation is as bad as people perceive. He said: ‘People say I’ve got a bad reputation. I think I’ve got the best reputation in the building…’
‘One of my biggest achilles heels has been my ego. And if I, Kanye West, can remove my ego, I think there’s hope for everyone.’ Kanye’s address – a 45-minute stream of consciousness, was greeted by mixed reviews from the 350 strong crowd, with some describing him as ‘humble’, ‘wishy-washy’ and ‘funny, endearing and self-aware.’
23-year old Ioana and 23-year old Jecan, said: ‘He spoke about his daughter North and her wolves. It was strange’ as 21-year old Zachary Spiro added: ‘It is very difficult to describe what he talked about. But I’m glad I went.’
