Kanye West hung out with Joe Rogan during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, and the conversation was interesting, to say the least.
During the podcast, the two discussed many subjects, from mental health to his controversial presidential campaign. And although the interview went off on many tangents, things got particularly engaging when Rogan spoke with West about why certain people label him as “crazy.”
Joe Rogan knows why Kanye West is misunderstood
During the conversation, West did what he typically does, jumping from personal anecdotes to historical references, to extended metaphors about society, religion, love, and technology. At one point, West apologized for his non-linear thinking pattern, calling it a “riff.” In response, Rogan shared his thoughts on West’s abnormal method of communication.
“But isn’t that what you do, though?” Rogan asked. “Like, one of the things that I—when anybody ever talks about you to me, they say ‘Well, he’s all over the place.’ And I say, ‘I think he’s got a different power source.’ Like if you look at the way everybody interfaces with the world, there’s a universal power. Most people have like a 20 watt charger. The way i describe you, I say ‘I think that motherf—er’s got like a 150 watt charger, and these ideas are just coming at him.’ So you do go on these rants, that sometimes need to be dissected into individual things. But overall, you’re incredibly productive …”
Kanye West says he speaks in a ‘symphony of ideas’
Continuing the conversation, Rogan asked West why people think something is wrong with him. He then recalled West being put on medication and committed to an institution for his mental health.
West responded by explaining that he doesn’t think in the way that society has programmed most people to. He also claimed that his thoughts are better described as a “symphony of ideas” than a rant.
“Well, I’ll say these two things,” West said. “I think very three-dimensionally. I don’ think in the black and white lines that I’ve been programmed to think in. And I thiink in full color. So when I talk, I have to describe a thought in five ways. You know, we enjoy food that has multiple seasonings in it. We enjoy music that has multiple instruments. So when I talk, it’s not a rant. It’s a symphony of ideas. And when you collect them, you say, ‘Oh, these are all these things that connect.’ Yeah, you know, I just tell the truth, and telling the truth is crazy in a world full of lies. That’s simply it.”
Joe Rogan and West discuss society’s understanding of Kanye West’s mental health
Rogan remained supportive of West as the conversation continued, doubling down on West’s notion about society labeling his unorthodox methods of self-expression as mental illness.
“So that’s what you felt happened to you,” Rogan said. “Like you were telling your truth, and you were exhausted, and they labeled you as mentally unhealthy. Am I saying this right? What happened with you is you feel like maybe—or you probably feel like—that having this higher calling, and recognizing this higher power was the glue that kept your thoughts together. It kept your mind, and it kept you on a righteous path. So instead of being scattered with all these crazy thoughts and being exhausted, and being labeled manic, right, like we talked before, and you were saying that they had you on medication, but the medication f—ed with your creativity, in f—ed with all kinds of things.”
“It blocked my ability to channel what God wanted me to do,” West said in response.