Kanye West Says Robert Kardashian Helped with New Album: My Late Father-in-Law Is 'Still Doing Deals for Controversial Black People'
Kanye West describes his new album as a "dream that can't happen without God."
"I'm only doing two percent of the work," West, 38, explained to radio host Big Boy on Real 92.3 Thursday morning. "God is doing the rest of the work."
He also gave credit to his late mother Donda West and father-in-law Robert Kardashian for watching over the production of his album. Discussing his wife Kim Kardashian West's late dad – who helped defend O.J. Simpson when he was accused of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson – West said, "He's still doing deals for controversial black people from up in heaven."
The emphasis on faith might explain why So Help Me God is still a potential title for West's forthcoming opus, due Feb. 11. After originally teasing the name last March, West moved on to Swish in January – when he revealed the track list of the "best album of all time" – but days later he opted for Waves. Now, it's anyone's guess.
"Yeah, I wanted to get people's opinions on how they felt," he said, explaining Kardashian West's Twitter poll for prospective titles on Monday. "What I've really come to realize about being a celebrity is ... everybody is our family. It's family. If something bad happens, you're gonna hear about it."
West later added: "Obviously I have made a connection with people – a family-level connection that they played my music in their houses for so many years with their mothers, their friends, their kids. We love any opportunity we have to involve all of our family in the creative process."
As for what fans can expect from the lyrical content, the musician wants people to experience "ultra light beams" when they listen to his new work.
"This is a gospel album with a whole lot of cursing on it, but it's still a gospel album," he said with a laugh. "It's the gospel, according to 'Ye. It's not exactly what happened in the Bible, but it's a story of this idea of Mary Magdalene becoming Mary."
Despite the mystery surrounding his upcoming release, West is confident the music will be well-received. "Man, I am offended by the word 'luck' for the amount of work that I've put in," he said, noting his reaction when someone recently wished him "good luck."
Big Boy couldn't end the interview without asking about the peaceful resolution to West's recent Twitter spat with Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose – "We chopped it up, squashed it," West explained – and Drake's song "Summer Sixteen," in which the rapper claims, "'Ye's pool is nice – mine's just bigger."
West had Big Boy and everyone in the studio cracking up over his official response to Drake: "I have three pools."
