If you’re looking for the best Kanye West quotes then look no further.
The rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for recording artists such as Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Alicia Keys.
After escaping death in fatal car accident he was intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper. West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to critical and commercial success, and founded the record label GOOD Music.
West is among the most critically acclaimed musicians of the 21st century and one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 100 million records sold worldwide. He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time.
Kanye West is arguably the most outspoken and controversial individual of his generation. His views on religion, race, politics, fashion and music often attract a lot of media attention, as does his marriage to television personality Kim Kardashian.
He can come off as a rather polarizing figure, being respected for his undeniable talent and creativity, while being criticized for his perceived ego and arrogance. When you read quotes by Kanye West below you may decide he’s just a man who has extreme levels of self-confidence and self-belief.
Kanye West is a man who lives life on his own terms and is intent on making the most of the short time we all have to make an impact. I hope that reading the Kanye West quotes below inspires you to live to your true potential.
Inspirational Kanye West Quotes
1. “If you have the opportunity to play this game of life you need to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don’t appreciate the moment until it’s passed.” – Kanye West
2. “Nothing in life is promised except death.” – Kanye West
3. “Recognize and embrace your flaws so you can learn from them. Sometimes it takes a little polishing to truly shine.” – Kanye West
4. “I’m on the pursuit of awesomeness, excellence is the bare minimum.” – Kanye West
5. “People always say that you can’t please everybody. I think that’s a cop-out. Why not attempt it? ‘Cause think of all the people that you will please if you try.” – Kanye West
6. “Living well eliminates the need for revenge.” – Kanye West
7. “I’m not comfortable with comfort. I’m only comfortable when I’m in a place where I’m constantly learning and growing.” – Kanye West
8. “My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform life.” – Kanye West
9. “I always feel like I can do anything. That’s the main thing people are controlled by: thoughts and perceptions of yourself…If you’re taught you can’t do anything, you won’t do anything.” – Kanye West
10. “I still think I am the greatest.” – Kanye West
11. “People will have a problem with whatever you do. At the end of the day, nobody can determine what you need to do in order to be successful and why would you listen to someone who is not successful tell you what you need to do?” – Kanye West
12. “For me giving up is way harder than trying.” – Kanye West
13. “When you’re the absolute best, you get hated on the most.” – Kanye West
14. “People always tell you ‘Be humble. Be humble.’ When was the last time someone told you to be amazing? Be great! Be awesome! Be awesome!” – Kanye West
15. “Keep your nose out the sky, keep your heart to god, and keep your face to the rising sun.” – Kanye West
16. “I refuse to accept other people’s ideas of happiness for me. As if there’s a ‘one size fits all’ standard for happiness.” – Kanye West
17. “I care. I care about everything. Sometimes not giving a f**k is caring the most.” – Kanye West
18. “One of my biggest Achilles heels has been my ego. And if I, Kanye West, can remove my ego, I think there’s hope for everyone.” – Kanye West
19. “My greatest award is what I’m about to do.” – Kanye West
20. “Most people are slowed down by the perception of themselves. If you’re taught you can’t do anything, you won’t do anything. I was taught I can do everything.” – Kanye West
21. “Our work is never over.” – Kanye West
22. “I want people to feel like it’s okay to create. It’s okay to not be boxed in. I want people to feel like awesome is possible.” – Kanye West
23. “Believe in your flyness…conquer your shyness.” – Kanye West
24. “I think I do myself a disservice by comparing myself to Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and human beings that we’ve seen before. It should be more like Willy Wonka…and welcome to my chocolate factory.” – Kanye West
25. “I feel like I’m too busy writing history to read it.” – Kanye West
26. “Creative output, you know, is just pain. I’m going to be cliche for a minute and say that great art comes from pain.” – Kanye West
27. “Criticism can bother you, but you should be more bothered if there’s no criticism. That means you’re too safe.” – Kanye West
28. “I feel that I’m very blessed. But with great blessings come great responsibility.” – Kanye West
29. “Love your haters, they’re your biggest fans.”- Kanye West
30. “Know your worth! People always act like they’re doing more for you than you’re doing for them.” – Kanye West
31. “I was never really good at anything except for the ability to learn.” – Kanye West
32. “You ain’t gotta like me. I like me.” – Kanye West
33. “People never change. They just become better at hiding who they really are.” – Kanye West
34. “They say people in your life are seasons and anything that happens is for a reason.” – Kanye West
35. “You can’t look at a glass half full or empty if it’s overflowing.” – Kanye West
36. “Go listen to my music. It’s the code of self-esteem. It’s the code of who you are. If you are a Kanye West fan you’re not a fan of me, you’re a fan of yourself.” – Kanye West
37. “I want the world to be better! All I want is positive! All I want is dopeness!” – Kanye West
38. “For me, money is not my definition of success. Inspiring people is a definition of success.” – Kanye West
39. “Would you believe in what you believe in if you were the only one who believed it?” – Kanye West
40. “For me, you know, I’m a creative genius and there’s no other way to word it.” – Kanye West
41. “50 is Eminem‘s favourite rapper… I’m my favourite rapper.” – Kanye West
42. “When I think of competition it’s like I try to create against the past. I think about Michelangelo and Picasso, you know, the pyramids.” – Kanye West
43. “I just think that when my confidence meets other people’s insecurity that equals ‘Kanye’s arrogant’.” – Kanye West
44. “It’s like this, by not giving my album a classic rating you diminish your magazine’s credibility. And that’s real.” – Kanye West
45. “If I was just a fan of music, I would think that I was the number one artist in the world.” – Kanye West
46. “I don’t care about what people think, because people don’t think.” – Kanye West
47. “I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem, or use my arrogance as a steam to power my dreams.” – Kanye West
48. “My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater. That always sounds so funny to people, comparing yourself to someone in the past that has done so much, and in your life you’re not even allowed to think that you can do as much. That’s a mentality that suppresses humanity.” – Kanye West
49. “Our focus needs to be less on what our legacy’s going to be or how we can control each other and more how we can give to each other.” – Kanye West
50. “The most genius thing about the way I create is to create with other geniuses.” – Kanye West
51. “I think business has to be stupider. I want to do really straightforward, stupid business – just talk to me like a 4-year-old. And I refuse to negotiate. I do not negotiate. I can collaborate. But I’m an artist, so as soon as you negotiate, you’re being compromised.” – Kanye West
52. “It’s bigger than me. It’s about while I was here on earth what did I do to help.” – Kanye West
53. “You’ve got to be really dialed into exactly who you are to the one-hundredth power or you’re just like everyone else.” – Kanye West
54. “The only luxury is time. The time you get to spend with your family.” – Kanye West
55. “I’m a human being. I’ve got opinions, I’m not always right, I’m not always on time, I don’t always say things in the proper way, but my intentions are always extremely pure.” – Kanye West
56. “The risk for me would be in not taking one – that’s the only thing that’s really risky for me.” – Kanye West
57. “Kanye West is so passionate that he will make a sucker feel uncomfortable because they aren’t passionate like that about anything in their life.” – Kanye West
58. “It’s crazy that we live in a world where if you’re super positive and super creative…it’s scary. Because what does that tell you about the mentality of most people if you’re scared of like…positivity.” – Kanye West
59. “I refuse to follow the rules where society tries to control people with low self-esteem.” – Kanye West
60. “Every time I say something that is extremely truthful, out loud…it literally breaks the internet. So what are we getting all the rest of the time.” – Kanye West
61. “People in this world shun people for being great, for being a bright color, for standing out. But the time is now, to be OK with being the greatest you.” – Kanye West
62. “We’re not always in the position that we want to be at. We’re constantly growing. We’re constantly making mistakes. We’re constantly trying to express ourselves and actualize our dreams.” – Kanye West
63. “We were born into a broke world, and were like the clean up crew.” – Kanye West
64. “I don’t care about having a legacy, I don’t care about being remembered. The most important thing to me is, while we’re here, while we’re having fun, while we’re sleeping, breathng oxygen, living life, falling in love, having pain and having joy…what can we do with our voice to make things easier, to help someone to make it better for our kids.” – Kanye West
65. “I can be vilified. I can be misunderstood. I didn’t come here to be liked. I came here to make a difference.” – Kanye West
66. “We have to understand that we’re not each others enemy.” – Kanye West
67. “Fusion is the future. The mixing of ideas. The two lunch tables working together. Humanity…we’re 1 people.” – Kanye West
68. “People don’t stand up and protect their dreams because they get spoofed in a way.” – Kanye West
69. “I’m not going to sit inside of a corporation for 20 years. The time is now. The time is now to express yourself. The time is now to believe in yourself.” – Kanye West
70. “Let’s go on a living free, they say the best things in life are free.” – Kanye West
71. “Having a Rolex or a Benz is not something that actually represents your success because there’s always something more expensive to buy. Success is really being able to do things for others as well as the people around you and yourself.” – Kanye West
72. “Success is the best revenge.” – Kanye West
73. “For me to say I wasn’t a genius would be lying to you and myself.” – Kanye West
74. “By 50% I am more influential than any other human being.” – Kanye West
75. “Brands selling our self-esteem back to us through association. We need our own brands.” – Kanye West
76. “I’m doing pretty good as far as geniuses go. I’m like a machine, like a robot.” – Kanye West
77. “You’re not perfect, but you’re not your mistakes.” – Kanye West
78. “If we go on your iPhone and go to the dictionary and look up ‘humble,’ 80 percent of the definition is negative. It’s a controlling word. It’s a way to control the masses and to control the sheep.” – Kanye West
79. “There’s a lack of people in power that are motivated by the idea of helping people.” – Kanye West
80. “All these walls that keep us from loving each other as one family or one race – racism, religion, where we grew up, whatever, class, socioeconomic – what makes us be so selfish and prideful, what keeps us from wanting to help the next man, what makes us be so focused on a personal legacy as opposed to the entire legacy of a race.” – Kanye West
81. “It’s not ‘can’; it’s ‘will.’ You have to will things into fruition.” – Kanye West
82. “If you learn from your mistakes, then I’m a fucking genius.” – Kanye West
83. “I just have to look and say, ‘What do I have to lose?’ We only have everything to gain.” – Kanye West
84. “There’s nothing I really wanted to do in life that I wasn’t able to get good at. That’s my skill.” – Kanye West
85. “We’re a blip in the existence of the universe, and we’re constantly trying to pull each other down. Not doing things to help each other.” – Kanye West
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