December 16, 2005 9:45

Kayne West admits he’s surprised by own impact

The rapper-producer says effect of his Bush attack was “magical”

Photo Gallery: Kanye West

Kayne West has declared his attack on George Bush among the biggest surprises of his year.

The rapper-producer criticised the American president's efforts to help the black communities in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on an NBC fundraiser programme by stating “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”.

Talking about his comments West admitted he was stunned by the effects.

“What surprised me most was the impact of my voice on NBC. It's just magical that I can say something that's a popular opinion and it really has an impact,” he told Rolling Stone. “I knew I wasn't going to read the whole [scripted] levee thing, because we'd practiced that earlier. I didn't think about Bush until the telethon. I saw him [on TV] -- I'm like, 'Wait a second, dude, that guy over there, he doesn't care.' But America was already headed that way. I think it was a common opinion.”

Despite getting global coverage, and a lot of condemnation at home, for his Bush comments, West however says he was attacked more for criticising hip-hop for homophobia.

“I got more backlash for that than for the Bush comment. It's wrong, and so many of my friends do that,” said West. “We gay-bash. We feel like it's OK to call a gay person a fag. We fought so hard to make it so white people couldn't say the word 'nigger' to our face. But it's not far-fetched to picture a black person calling a gay person a fag to their face. So that shows you the climate, where we're at right now. And it's not about racism, it's about discrimination.”

West is currently supporting U2 on dates in America, he returns to the UK for a full tour:

Manchester MEN (February 16)
Glasgow SECC (17)
London Hammersmith Apollo (19)
Cardiff Arena (22)
Birmingham NEC (28)

For ticket availability, go to NME Tickets or call them on 0870 1 663 663.