Megastar producer/rapper Kanye West is currently on the verge of dropping his fifth album on November 22nd titled, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and the hype of the release is building exponentially. From the controversy of the banned album cover to starring in and directing his short film “Runaway”, It seems the 4th Quarter will be very promising for Mr. West.

Kanye West talks to HipHopClub journalist Marrio Gardner about the album, his experiences with working on the album and his latest short film that aired on BET. We even tried to get him to talk about his upcoming project with Jay-Z.

HipHopClub: Can you tell us about your upcoming album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” and how long did it take for you to record it?

Kanye West: I think it’s a year and a half in the making. Just going away, traveling, going to different countries, Hawaii, going to the studio, flying in a bunch of legends. The RZA, Pete Rock, No I.D., Q-Tip, a bunch of emcees. Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj… a bunch of people just coming down and collaborating on this joint.

HipHopClub: What was it like working with them?

Kanye West: It’s just amazing to be in the studio with The RZA because of how much Wu Tang affected me as a child. I just took the album as an opportunity to get close to the legends of the game and be able to just [converse] with them and learn a little bit. RZA, he came down not to just put beats out there but just to drop some jewels and give some pieces of information because O.D.B. was his cousin. There was a lot of similarities to me and the level of truth that O.D.B. would always trying to bring. Just navigating through the politics of actually having to be a superstar and maintain that but also being very authentic and being a real emotional artist too. So it’s a hard thing to juggle.

HipHopClub: Who can we expect to be on the album?

Kanye West: Prynce Cy Hi is on the album, Big Sean is on “See Me Now” we did a new version of that. We got Rihanna, Elton John, Fergie… of course you know The RZA. I don’t want to give everything away. It’s a couple of surprises on there, believe it or not. Even with people trying their best to leak it and stuff. They still can’t stop what I went into the studio and did.

HipHopClub: What was your inspiration behind your latest mini-movie “Runaway”?

Kanye West: It was honestly inspired by the covers that I created for the album. I express some of the times as a creative person dealing with a culture that beats down creativity and beats down anything that’s different. Like even right now, the suicide rates in Chicago. It’s how it’s set up; If anyone has their own mind about anything, you’re going to get outcasted like the group, like Outkast. I just wanted to prove it and show that in the film and that was my inspiration.

HipHopClub: HipHopClub readers want to know about your 2011 project with Jay-Z called “Watch The Throne”. When can we expect that?

Kanye West: It’s coming soon. It’s going to be early next year.

HipHopClub: Thank you.

Pre-order Kanye’s new album, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” on iTunes today by clicking here.

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