On his varied interests
"I'm a pop enigma. I live and breathe every element in life. I rock a bespoke suit and I go to Harold's for fried chicken. It's all these things at once, because, as a tastemaker, I find the best of everything."
On styling Kim
"I'm biased, but I think the best red-carpet look of all time—if not, one of the top five—was my wife's look at the Grammys. You know what [Jean Paul Gaultier] just did. He said, ‘F--k the s--t. I'm making real s--t. I'm doing perfume and couture.' And by focusing on that, he delivered."
On taking his word for face value
"You should only believe about 90 percent of what I say. As a matter of fact, don't even believe anything that I'm saying at all. I could be completely fu--king with you, and the world, the entire time."
On his biggest regret
"I am God's vessel. But my greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live."
On entering the business industry
"I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollar because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus."
On finding balance
"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."
On his career aspirations
"My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater… That always sounds so funny to people—comparing yourself to someone who has done so much—and that's a mentality that suppresses humanity."
On dealing with naysayers
"When you're the absolute best, you get hated on the most."
On his fashion influences
"You see Raf Simons right there, you see Helmut, you see Margiela, you see Vanessa [Beecroft], you see Katharine Hamnett. It's blatantly right there. I'm not going to try and act like I was influenced by a f--king dog walking down the street that broke its ankle that I had a heartfelt discussion with."
On his family's fashion sense
"I went to my grandfather's funeral and my cousin stood up and told this story about how he won best-dressed in high school because his mom was a tailor...And I looked to the left of me and the lady was just... this person that was sitting to the left side of me was both nice and chic. And to the right side, this person was also extremely nice and chic and a real person in Oklahoma City. And I looked at the entire funeral and I said to myself, ‘This looks just as good, if not better than fashion shows that I go to in Paris.'"
On his notorious concert style
"My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live."
On his understated style
"I don't want to say these really big over-the-top statements that end up getting quoted."
On his perception of the world
"Bad taste is vulgar. The world as a whole is f--king ugly. And the internet too. But I'm not in the construction business."
On his music
"Don't ask me what I think the best song of last year was, because my opinion is the same as most of America's. It was "Gold Digger.""
On his lifelong swag
"Trends come and go, but cool is forever."
On his inflated ego
"Come on now! How could you be me and want to be someone else?"
On his famous outbursts
"Anytime I've had a big thing that's ever pierced and cut across the internet, it was a fight for justice. You know, if Michael Jordan can scream at the refs, me as Kanye West, as the Michael Jordan of music, can go and say, 'This is wrong.'"
On his fashion insight
"We brought the leather jogging pants six years ago to Fendi, and they said, 'No.' How many motherf--kers you done seen with a leather jogging pant?"
On his future place in pop culture
"I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it's like when Biggie passed and Jay Z was allowed to become Jay Z. "
On his distaste for novels
"I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book's autograph. I am a proud nonreader of books."
On the public's misperception of his intelligence
"If people are saying you're wrong, it's probably a good sign that you're a genius."
On his extreme self-confidence
"I'm my favorite rapper."
On his celebrity status
"When people think celebrity, which is the highest form of communication—we're like walking networks or TV shows or brands in ourselves—you don't think good taste."
On his growing business empire
"I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollars, because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus."