May 20--Kanye West has a history of saying whatever is on his mind whenever the microphone and spotlight are on.
Here is a subjective list of Kanye's top five rants:
1. "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
WHEN: Sept. 2, 2005, A Concert for Hurricane Relief
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, NBC gathered stars to raise money for those impacted. "A Concert for Hurricane Relief" drew 8.5 million viewers and raised a reported $50 million. But the most memorable moment of the event came when West looked directly into the camera and uttered the words: "George Bush doesn't care about black people." West later apologized and President Bush accepted. Mike Myers reaction says it all.
2. "Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you...Imma let you finish. But Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"
WHEN: Sept. 13, 2009, VMA
It was Swift's first VMA win. The young country artist's "You Belong with Me" topped Beyonc頢Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and Mr. West wanted the world to know his opinion. The pair have apologized, back tracked and dizzed each other on several occasions since that night. Above is West on Ellen in 2010 discussing the VMA stunt.
3. "YOU AIN'T GOT THE ANSWERS, SWAY!"
WHEN: Nov. 13, 2013
West and radio host Sway Calloway got in a heated exchange during Calloway's morning show, SiriusXM's "Sway In The Morning." Calloway described West earlier in the interview as "one of the most clever people to manipulate the internet," and West took the opportunity to deliver another classic rant. "I am Warhol. I am the number one most impactful artist of our generation. I am Shakespeare in the flesh. Walt Disney, Nike, Google -- now who's going to be the Medici family and stand up and let me create more or do you want to marginalize me until I'm out of my moment," West said. But when Calloway suggests West do it himself, the rapper lashes out. "You ain't got the answers, Sway!" West yelled.
4. His entire VMA vanguard speech
WHEN: August 30, 2015
The speech begins with some introspection about West's encounter with Taylor Swift back in 2009. " You know I think about when I'm in the grocery store with my daughter and I have a really great conversation about fresh juice... and at the end they say, 'Oh, you're not that bad after all!' And like I think about it sometimes. ... It crosses my mind a little bit like when I go to a baseball game and 60,000 people boo me. Crosses my mind a little bit," West said. "If I had a daughter at that time would I have went on stage and grabbed the mic from someone else's? You know, this arena tomorrow it's gonna be a completely different setup. Some concert, something like that. The stage will be gone. After that night, the stage was gone, but the effect that it had on people remained." Then, West turned to the future. "We the millennials, bro. This is a new mentality. We're not gonna control our kids with brands. We not gonna teach low self-esteem and hate to our kids. We gonna teach our kids that they can be something. We gonna teach our kids that they can stand up for theyself! We gonna teach our kids to believe in themselves!" West ended his speech by announcing his run for President in 2020.
5. Yeezus tour rant in Oakland
WHEN: Oct. 23, 2015, Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
The wonderful folks at Slate worked to transcribe every outburst West had during his Yeezus tour. A noteworthy West rant during a show in Oakland targeted the media. "You know, the media try to take sound bites and (stuff). And it seem like they tryin' to make y'all not like Kanye West or some (stuff) like that, right," he said. "But obviously don't none of y'all give a (care) about what the media say. We are more powerful than the media today. I control the media! I get on TV shows and do what the (freak) I want, when I want, how I want, my way!"
Perhaps West is right.
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