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Kanye West Interview

EXCLUSIVE | The star tells MTV News about new single Heartless, monks choirs and his love of Phil Collins

Kanye West has told us about the unusual artists that have inspired his new direction and the first two singles from 808s & Heartbreak.

Speaking to MTV News before his O2 Arena shows last week the rapper went a bit 80s when talking about the influences for the record.

He said: I listened to Phil Collins, Boy George, The Police, Gary Numan. I ended up getting more polished as a designer, you know I designed the tracks.

Im kind of a minimalist- the more and more skilled I get at interior design and architecture stuff, the things that appeal to me and very minimal but functional spaces so I wanted my tracks to be minimal but functional.

Talking about his fifth album- which features the star singing rather than rapping- Kanye continued: The first track is one of my favourite songs I ever did- Say You Will- I dont even know if people appreciate how good that is yet!

Just to have those ominous monk choirs and the snares a little bleep noise, like any producer that hears that should be like thats incredible, listen to that snare, what is that?

West also bigged up the two singles from 808s And Heartbreak saying any hip hop artists would be glad to rap over the beats.

That hook (in Heartless) is like retardedly good. If Id had rapped on Love Lockdown "it wouldve just been a rap song and it wouldnt have sounded quite as different to people.

But any rapper wouldve loved to rap on Heartless, from a Wu Tang rapper to a west coast rapper to a down south rapper. Heartless is a perfect rap beat and the hook is like straight Broadway melody.

The message is just incredible In the night I hear them talk the coldest story ever told, and far along this road he lost his soul it could be an opera.

Finally when MTV News asked which artists he wants to compete with by releasing this record Kanye said: U2, Radiohead, Portishead and Pink Floyd.

Hes certainly ambitious!

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