Kanye West has claimed missing out on music award nominations “partially led [him] to alcoholism”, and admitted he used to drink vodka in the mornings.
The 42-year-old rapper has opened up about turning to drink after his records ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ and ‘Watch the Throne’ were snubbed for Album of the Year accolades.
He said: “It’s good that we found out about all of those awards shows that partially led me to alcoholism. Whistle been blown, you know? Imagine ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ and ‘Watch the Throne’ [being eligible] the same year and neither of them being nominated for Album of the Year.
“Imagine doing ‘The Life of Pablo’ and driving down the road and never hearing none of those songs on the radio and your wife and your daughter are in the car.”
The ‘Famous’ hitmaker admitted he has ditched booze since he realized he needed it “day by day”, and insisted he has “never owned up” to being a “functioning alcoholic”.
He added to GQ magazine: “One day I was in my office working on the couture collection, and there was some Grey Goose in the fridge and I was just going to get a daytime drink, and I looked and thought, ‘Devil, you’re not going to beat me today.’
“That one statement is like a tattoo. I haven’t had a drink since I realized I needed to take it day by day, but I never owned up, or was even told, ‘Hey, you’re a functioning alcoholic.’
“People have called me a crazy person, people have called me everything – but not a functioning alcoholic. And I would be drinking orange juice and Grey Goose in the morning.”
Kanye recently opened up about going through a “mental breakdown”, and likened it to that of Ryan Reynolds’ character in ‘Deadpool’ as reported on The Sauce.
The ‘Bound 2’ rapper cancelled some tour dates in 2016 and was hospitalized, and he compared his experiences at the time to Ryan’s character Wade Wilson, who, after undertaking an experimental cure for terminal cancer and tortured, gains superhero powers but suffers with scars.
He said: “I’ve been through ‘Deadpool’. You know that movie? I had an actual mental breakdown from attempting to put together all of the pieces.”
According to Ye, Kobe Bryant’s death changed the way Kanye West “looks at life”.
The NBA star tragically passed away in January when he and eight others – including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna – lost their lives during a helicopter crash.
And Kanye – who dubbed the sporting legend as one of his “best friends” – has now said he thinks about Kobe whenever he drives past the area in Calabasas, California, where the crash took place.
He said: “So now there’s no way for me not to be as determined as Kobe every time I drive down that street. It’s game time. There’s no move that we can’t make, or that we’ll wait to make.
“Everyone in our life is now a member of the Lakers on one of Kobe’s championship teams. The way that Kobe would say that we all have to come together and win this championship is the way I look at life now. To an infinite, other level.”
Kanye, 42, says Kobe’s death has been a “game-changer” for him, and insists he will no longer “take any mess for an answer”.
In his interview just days after Kobe’s death in January – he said: “This is a game-changer for me. He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him, and that’s facts!
“We got the commercials that prove it. No one else can say this. We came up at the same time, together. And now it’s like, yeah, I might have had a reputation for screaming about things – but I’m not taking any mess for an answer now. We’re about to build a paradigm shift for humanity. We ain’t playing with ’em. We bringing home the trophies.”
Check out the full interview at GQ.
