Kanye West On His Ego, Art And Reputation

The US rapper says: "We have the ability to approach our race like ants, or we have the ability to approach our race like crabs."

Outspoken rapper Kanye West has given a talk at Oxford University where he shared his thoughts on subjects including race, art, family, music and President Obama.

In the address hosted by the Oxford Guild Society, the US star delivered some, at times, unusual remarks including: "We have the ability to approach our race like ants, or we have the ability to approach our race like crabs."

He added: "Beauty has been stolen from the people and is being sold back to them as luxury."

West also said if he had not become a rapper, he would have liked to have been an artist as good as Picasso.

And he complained about the high cost of some clothing, saying a jumper should never cost thousands of pounds.

Here is a selection of his comments, courtesy of the Oxford Tab twitter feed:

:: If I could have done it again I would have gone to the art institute over the american academy.

:: My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater.

:: We have the resources as a civilisation to make a utopia, but we're led by the most greedy and the least noble.

:: I don't think there's a living celebrity with more weapons formed against him, but I don’t think there’s one more prosperous.

:: Obama calls the home phone, by the way.

:: People ask me how my daughter is doing. She's only doing good if your daughter's doing good. We're all one family.

:: We have the ability to approach our race like ants, or we have the ability to approach our race like crabs.

:: We've had Cosby Show, Obama’s president, Beyonce’s great…that’s passed. But you’re still taught the division by class, especially in UK.

:: Chris Rock & everyone else at every single media publication called My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy the best album of the last 25 years.

:: One of the best thing about the album was Nicki Minaj, and that she kicked my a**, on my own song, on the best album of the last 25 years.

:: 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.

:: People say I've got a bad reputation. I think I've got the best reputation in the building.

:: Beauty has been stolen from the people and is being sold back to them as luxury.

:: Clothing should be like food. There should never be a $5000 sweater. You know what should cost $5000? A car.

:: They think that we're done with racism. What about elitism? What about separatism? What about classism?

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