Kanye West on why he’s inspired by Jony Ive(s)

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zane-kanye
Zane Lowe and Kanye West during emotional interview: Photo: BBC

Zane Lowe, BBC DJ and future Apple employee, sat down with Kanye West today to talk about a number of subjects, including what the rapper’s amazingly innovative company will look like when it hits his projected $1 trillion valuation.

West didn’t sound too sure about the products he’ll be selling, but he pointed to some advice he got from none other than Apple design legend Jony Ive, saying innovation is basically overrated.

“Jony Ives who is like, in in my opinion, from what I know, Elon Musk included, it’s like, the world’s greatest living designer. And has the best mentality behind design… There might be some others. There are a lot that are great, but Jony Ives is the best that I know. He said people are so concerned about being first, as opposed to being better. So I think that innovation almost gets too much credit in a way.”

First, Space X/Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not a designer. He’s a next-level genius from the future who never sleeps.

Second, it’s Jony Ive. Sir Jonathan Paul Ive, if you want to be proper, but never “Ives.” Come on, Ye.

West said he believes he’ll be the head of the world’s first trillion-dollar company, but he’s going to need to bust out a whole lot of Yeezy sneakers if he’s going to beat Apple. His company won’t focus on innovation because there’s no money in it — “The money is in the repetition,” West says.

To his point, Apple is rarely ever the first company to the market with a product. It waits to see what everyone else is doing and then makes the absolute best device possible, with a price tag to match. West envisions a world were there is no such thing as “exclusivity” and we will all be able to drink out of the same marvelous cup of wares his company DONDA is peddling to the masses.

West also dished on what it’s like to have deep conversations with some of the world’s greatest minds. What do Yeezus and Musk talk about when chilling? “The fuutch,” says West.

You can watch the full 43-minute interview below:

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