People tend love a tortured genius, until they get a little too tortured — and no-one has fallen victim to the shifting tides of public opinion more than Kanye West. The artist, who often raps about his struggle with depression and mental illness, was recently hospitalised for exhaustion. In the flurry of headlines that followed, it felt like ‘tortured’ was all some people could focus on — but that’s hardly fair. We’d like get back to the ‘genius,’ and so would Tim Westwood.
Over the weekend, the radio presenter decided to remind the internet of Kanye’s talent by sharing some archival footage. Turns out Westwood had been keeping it to himself for almost 12 years. The clip was originally filmed before Kanye and longtime friend John Legend went on air for the DJ in 2004. The video sees Kanye show off the vocals John helped him practise, “I’m doing vocal training and classical piano with a gangster twist.” He also makes “amnesia” and “DJ” rhyme, remarkably. Long live Kanye.
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Text Isabelle Hellyer