Kanye is producing in the true sense of the word. 'Real Friends' was an idea started by me and Boi-1da. We passed it off to Kanye, and Kanye kind of stripped it down and had Havoc add some drums to it. Kanye had the vision. That's really true-school production.
I miss the old Kanye, straight from the 'Go Kanye, Chop up the soul Kanye, set on his goals Kanye, I hate the new Kanye, the bad mood Kanye, The always rude Kanye, spaz in the news Kanye...
Kanye's the best listener I've ever worked with. If I interrupt Kanye, every single time, he'll wait for me to finish before speaking. It's a running joke - sometimes I interrupt him just to see. And he always goes, 'No, no, finish. I want to hear what you have to say.'
Kanye West is a brilliant poet and artist. He and I work in a very similar way. We feel the vibration, the power of something, and it inspires us to create, whether it is music or design. It is the same process. Working with Kanye is a joy and great privilege. In 2012, we did collaboration together.
I have no idea how I do anything. I never have. You know I just started playing guitar and started singing and started working on this act that I would call "Don McLean" when I was probably in high school. And I have been doing this for 40 years, adding songs and writing things, cobbling together albums, doing live things, you know, albums and tours. And then I have records on the charts. I have no idea how this happened.
I would say almost 60 percent of working with Kanye - let's say 53 percent of working with Kanye - is speeches.
Together, we're going to finish the job we started.
I started singing backgrounds for Mary Mary and Usher during 'Confessions.' Then I jumped to working with Anthony Hamilton, Jill Scott; jumped again to Kanye West, The Killers. I kept saying, 'OK, this is the last time; then I get to do my music.'
Working on a film is different from working in an office. You spend 16-hour days together; you share stories and become really close. But, when you finish shooting, you don't see each other again.
The plan was just to make great art, and working with Donald Glover, who is such a renaissance man, we've been working together for ten years, and he is always pushing the envelope in a way - like, whenever we work together, I have no idea what it is going to turn out to be.
I used to call Kanye, Kanye pick up on the first ring, now Kanye don't even got no phone, that's how much times have changed.
I spend a lot of time working by myself developing songs, but I really need some other counterpart to help me pull it all together, because you go nuts working if I had to finish an entire project all within my own head.
Working with Kanye is really exciting and inspiring 'cause you get to see how he brings the fashion to life.
You can sand something forever. You can keep working on it. All the arts are like that: there's no magical finish line. You get sick of working on it or you walk away.
It was [Kanye West] who spoke, and then we met and recorded some songs. After, you know what it is: we all bump like crazy.
Oh, I really miss Grover yaar. Sunil and I have known each other for long even before we started working together on 'Comedy Nights With Kapil' or 'TKSS' and our bonding and chemistry reflected on-screen when we worked together. We have partied a lot together.