Kanye West Opens His Heart

Kanye West talked at length about his dark new album 808s & Heartbreak at a special event in London last night.

MTV bagged an invite to the playback where the rapper answered questions about his new direction and the events that inspired the record.

His mother Donda West died during cosmetic surgery in November last year.

Kanye revealed he feels guilt over her passing saying: "I moved to California, so did my mum. I feel my mum moved to California and did stuff that she wouldnt have done if she was still in Chicago."

The rapper/producer said making 808s And Heartbreak helped him through both his mothers death and his split from his fiance.

He told MTV: "It's a little bit of autotune and a whole lot of f*cked up life. This album was therapeutic- its lonely at the top."

On the record Kanyeezy doesnt rap at all preferring to sing and using autotune and vocoder effects.

At the O2 Arena event he said he was prepared for a backlash: "I did the effects because I like the way they sound. I like autotune For anyone who doesnt like it- f*ck you!"

Talking about his new stadium sound West told us: "I look to people outside of my genre for competition."

And continuing on that theme he said: "I think Rihanna was the greatest thing that ever happened to Beyonce."

Kanye played the O2 Arena last night and continues his UK tour over the next week. 808s & Heartbreak comes out November 24.