TIME Magazine's decision to place Kanye West on the cover of TIME's Most Influential People issue is bound to raise plenty of controversy — which is appropriate, given that controversy is pretty much what Kanye is known for these days. Whether he's interrupting speeches at award shows, comparing himself to William Shakespeare, or jumping into a lake during a free concert in Armenia, Kanye's craziest stunts are starting to outnumber his Grammys. But, no matter your thoughts on the rapper, I think we can all agree on at least one good thing to come out of TIME's selection: Kanye's instant-classic interview.
"Kanye West would be the first person to tell you he belongs on this list," says Elon Musk in his introduction of the Influential Person. "The dude doesn’t believe in false modesty, and he shouldn’t." In the four-minute video that follows, Kanye strikes a delicate balance between serious self-reflection and absurd egotism — in other words, exactly the tone you'd expect from him — and spouts vague aphorisms that rival Jaden Smith's infamous tweets in their crypticness. In fact, taken out of context, the two celebrities' jumbled words are pretty hard to tell apart.
Can you tell the difference between TIME's Most Influential Person and the star of After Earth? Quiz yourself on the following quotes, and then watch the full Kanye interview in all its glory:
Quote #1:
"Every time I crash the internet, it's like this little drop of truth."
This gem is how Kanye chose to begin his TIME interview. Elon Musk was right: no false modesty here.
Quote #2:
"God bless the media, if we didn't have it, who would you judge to make yourself feel better."
That's Jaden Smith, thanking the fourth estate for enabling our nation's favorite pastime: judging people.
Quote #3:
"When life gives you big problems, just be happy you forgot all your little problems."
Jaden Smith again, proving he's the master of focusing on the big picture.
Quote #4:
"I think there's police officers with the exact same mission as me: just help."
Kanye must not be paying much attention to the news lately.
Quote #5:
"The more time you spend awake the more time you spend asleep."
Even Jaden Smith admits that this particular tweet was "the most Jaden Smith thing ever."
Quote #6:
"What's the main thing that makes magic magic? The fact that no one believes it's possible."
In my opinion, this Kanye quote gives Jaden Smith a run for "the most Jaden Smith thing ever."
Quote #7:
"When I entered the fashion world and encountered a lot of elitism and all that... it just made me happy."
Ah yes, Kanye. I too love the smell of elitism in the morning.
Quote #8:
"Whenever you disagree with somebody just remember the dress and accept that you guys are seeing two different things."
Kanye should have taken Jaden Smith's sage advice when he disagreed with Taylor Swift's Best Female Video award.
Quote #9:
"Every time I say something that's extremely truthful out loud, it literally breaks the internet."
You might guess this was Jaden Smith, but no — Kanye did actually find time in his interview to gloat twice about breaking the internet.
Quote #10:
"Kanye West is the greatest dancer of our generation."
Surprisingly, that's not Kanye bragging about himself. This one's all Jaden Smith... apparently forgetting about Mikhail Baryshnikov and a few other people.
And now, the full Kanye Time interview. You're welcome.
Images: Getty Images; dailyempiregifs/tumblr; Giphy.com (9)
