Granderson: Kanye West’s life and art are one. You don’t have to keep watching or reading him and waiting to be told what to think.
I don’t have that problem. I have never felt comfortable with Kanye. I think he’s an artist and not an artist. I’m not a fan of the fact that he’s a producer. I think that’s just an excuse for a lot of stuff. But I think he’s definitely an artist. He’s very unique, and I think he’s very talented. His music is very good.
I have to give props to West. He really changed the game, with his music, with his fashion and with his person. He helped a lot of artists and musicians. He’s got a lot of talent, and he’s like a sponge. He absorbs and absorbs from the last thing he touched on. I think that’s something he has to get better at. He’s very talented.
For me, I don’t know why I feel like I’ve seen him more times than him, but I know that he’s had success, and he’s done things that made his life a little more comfortable.
The first time I met them was at the Grammy Awards in February of 2003. I saw him at that time, because the other artist was not as famous as he is now and I was working for a magazine at the time. I was doing art for the magazine, and I was trying to make a comic book. He was there and I met him, so I got to know him a little bit then. I met them again at the Grammys the year after that, and the following year, when I met them at the MTV Video Music Awards, I got to know him again. I just had a weird feeling about him. He was very different than he was the first time I saw him or the year after that. He doesn’t say much, but he’s not shy about his art, and what he’s doing, and the way he presents himself. He is not a nice guy, but that’s not the reason why I like him. The reason why I like him is because he’s such a unique individual. He’s so intelligent, and he’s so funny. I don’t know, I just have a good time with him.