It didn’t really come as a surprise that Kanye West did things bigger when he joined James Corden for the latest installment of Carpool Karaoke, but we never expected just how much he would change up the formula.
For one thing, there was no car to speak of as the segment was redubbed “Airpool Karaoke” for Kanye’s appearance. That’s because he joined the “Late Late Show” host in a flight to Los Angeles, rather than just a fake drive to work. But it wasn’t just Kanye and James, either. They were joined by Kanye’s entire choir as he took James to Sunday Service in the sky.
Finally, for the last big change to the format, there was no singing along to Kanye’s greatest hits. Instead, the choir presented some of the gospel-themed music from Kanye’s new album, as well as some of the music from his various Sunday Service events.
In fact, Kanye only spit lines one time through the entire 20-minute segment, but even that was not in accompaniment to anything. It was just an impromptu performance of “Jesus Walks” for James and his camera crew.
Between the musical interludes, though, things did get more familiar as Kanye opened up to James about his new spiritual awakening, talking about how the idea first came to him to start a church and how it’s reshaped his life.
He also spoke candidly about his finances, the line he wrote that told him he was going to be famous and what he would say to doubters that his newfound faith isn’t real. Oh, and if you thought he and Kim were done at four kids, he’s not even close to being finished. After throwing some hilarious shade at Kris Humphries, Kanye dropped a bombshell James has yet to recover from.
The quick dig came after Kanye asserted that people didn’t think it would be cool if he got married. James countered that everybody that it would be cool to marry Kim Kardsashian, Kanye quickly said, “Well, not Kris Humphries.”
Check out more highlights from their chat below:
Where It All Began
It’s crazy to imagine having a moment of epiphany that you’re going to be famous, but that’s what Kanye says happened to him one day on an escalator in a Virgin Megastore. The future superstar had just written a line and suddenly knew. “I remember saying, ‘Breathe in this moment because this will be the last moment that I can walk around in public,'” he said.
The line? “She got a light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson / She got a dark-skinned friend look like, Michael Jackson.”
The line would feature on “Slow Jamz,” which would go on to become West’s first number one single, along with Twista and Jamie Foxx who collaborate on it with him.
“I knew after that I wouldn’t be able to walk the streets for the rest of my life,” West said. When James marveled that he was so confident in that single, West added, “And the success of that line. I was like, I will be famous after this line.”
New Awakening
While Kanye has certainly had a tumultuous personal journey toward becoming the “Sunday Service” guy, he feels it was all an essential part of God’s plan for him.
“I think he wanted me to suffer more and wanted people to see my suffering and see my pain and put stigmas on me and have me go through all the experiences, the human experiences so now when I talk about how Jesus saved me, more people can relate to that experience than if it was just, ‘Oh, we grew up with this guy’s music and now he’s a superstar,'” Kanye explained. “It’s less compelling than, Oh this guy had a mental breakdown, this guy was in debt, this guy’s been through [a lot in his life].”
And according to Kanye, it was while he was hospitalized as part of that process that he realized he needed to “start a church in Calabasas. “It’s something I had a feeling that I needed to do that God put on my heart and now He just keeps taking me to new levels and us to other levels that we didn’t even imagine before.”
What started in Calabasas has become a traveling event that has brought in hundreds of thousands of people. And now he’s even taken it to the skies for Corden’s television audience.
Past Regrets
Kanye hinted at some of his more infamous antics over the years, like “when I was at the MTV Awards holding a Hennessy bottle running onstage,” which of course refers to the moment in 2009 that he bombed Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to declare that Beyonce should have won. But when James asked if he had any regrets about any of his past actions, Kanye said no.
“I have no regret and no shame,” he said, going on to shift gears entirely and add, “That’s the biggest thing, me being a perfectionist. That’s such a blasphemous statement to think that as a man you can perfect anything. God is the only thing that’s perfect. So the only thing that can be perfect is God’s plan.”
Kanye also at one point claimed that he effectively made Swift’s career by jumping on stage with her, but at other times he has apologized to her and admitted that his own ego is his biggest enemy. Now, he seems to have come to peace with his own past and believes it was all to position him to take this lead position in God’s service.
Showing Off
In fact, he now claims that he thinks God is also using Kanye’s wealth to just show off at this point. He even went so far as to do that thing you’re never supposed to talk about and got specific with his own dollar figures.
“Last year I made $115 million and still ended up $35 million in debt,” Kanye said. “This year, I just got $68 million returned to me on my tax returns. And people say, oh don’t talk about these numbers. No, people need to hear someone that had been put into debt by the system talk about these kind of numbers now that they’re in service to Christ.”
When James asked him to clarify, Kanye asserted that he believes his current success is attributed to his turning to God. “He’s showing off. He’s just showing out, Kanye said. “Yeezy [is] worth $3 billion. It’s the number one Google-searched brand in the world. He’s showing out. Now I get to work for God and he about to show out!”
Growing Family
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have four kids, while James Corden has three. When James asked if Kanye would recommend a fourth, Kanye didn’t even seem interested in stopping there.
“The richest thing that you can have is as many children as possible,” he said.
“Are you saying you would roll for a fifth?” James asked, a little surprised.
“For seven, Kanye said. “Seven children.” “He even said that he and Kim have talked about it.
But, as pointed out by CheatSheet, Kim recently told her social media followers that she’s not sure she can handle more than four kids with her busy schedule and future plans. So maybe they’re still talking about it.
Doubters Wake Up
James wrapped up his discussion with a very valid, if tough, question. He asked Kanye how he would respond to someone who perhaps doubts the sincerity of this latest development in the story of Kanye West. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that his erratic behavior had him in the tabloids.
Is this just another erratic shift in behavior that will change yet again?
“I’d say, When you go to sleep, would you agree that you are asleep when you’re asleep and when you wake up would you agree that you are awake when you are awake? Would you agree that those are two different states?” Kanye asked James, who agreed.
“People who don’t believe are walking dead. They are asleep and this is the awakening.”
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