Happy birthday, Yeezy! 20 of the best Kanye West quotes ever

“I’m like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector.”

—The Fader, December, 2008

“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.”

-Oxford University Lecture

“People always tell you, ‘Be humble. Be humble.’ When was the last time someone told you to be amazing? Be great! Be great! Be awesome! Be awesome!”

– Time Out Interview

“Kim doesn’t understand what a blessing I am to her.”

—via Twitter

“What’s a B+ mean? I’m an extremist, its either pass or fail! A+ or F-! You know what, f–k you and the whole f–king staff!”

—In response to a concert review in Entertainment Weekly, 2008

“I’ve got ideas on colour palettes. I’ve got ideas on silhouettes. I’ve got a million people telling me why I can’t do it, you know. That I’m not a real designer.”

– Dezeen.com Interview

“You don’t see how fly my style is? I don’t see why I need a stylist when I shop so much I can speak Italian.”

– Lyric from “Champion.”

“If someone was to say, ‘Hey, do you want to go to a high-end house now?’ I’d absolutely say no… Because I’m only concerned with making beautiful products available to as many people as possible… Everyone should have the good life… this is very much a Robin Hood approach that I have to making clothes.”

-Style.com Interview

“I brought 10 years of product that has added to humanity. And now, where’s the culture at?! So then I scream and I’m sitting in the middle of it. Whether I’m at a dinner with Anna Wintour, or I’m at a listening session with Pusha, or me and Virgil are in Rome giving designs to Fendi over and over and getting our designs knocked down. We brought the leather jogging pants six years ago to Fendi, and they said, ‘No.’ How many motherfuckers you done seen with a jogging pant?”

-Style.com Interview

“My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live.”

— via VH1 Storytellers, 2009

“I have to dress Kim every day so she doesn’t embarrass me.”

– Via Twitter

“I think what Kanye West is going to mean is something similar to what Steve Jobs means. I am undoubtedly, you know, Steve of internet, downtown, fashion, culture. Period. By a long jump. I honestly feel that because Steve has passed, you know, it’s like when Biggie passed and Jay Z was allowed to become Jay Z.”

-New York Times Interview

“I’m doing pretty good as far as geniuses go … I’m like a machine. I’m a robot. You cannot offend a robot … I’m going down as a legend, whether or not you like me or not. I am the new Jim Morrison. I am the new Kurt Cobain … The Bible had 20, 30, 40, 50 characters in it. You don’t think that I would be one of the characters of today’s modern Bible?”

—During a radio interview with Tim Westwood, 2008

“Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed. I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book’s autograph. I am a proud nonreader of books.”

— via Reuters, 2009

“Criticism can bother you. But you should be more bothered if there’s no criticism. That means you’re too safe.”

– Rolling Stone Interview

“I feel like I’m too busy writing history to read it.”

– Via Twitter

“Nobody can tell my girl what to do. She just needed to be given some platforms of information to work from. One beautiful thing is that as she discovers it, the world discovers it. For her to take that risk in front of the world, it just shows you how much she loves me. And how much she actually loves the opportunity to learn. You got, like, a million companies saying, ‘This is impacting your brand! This is impacting your fans! And blah blah blah.’ But she still sees this light of beauty.”

– W Magazine Interview

“You may be talented, but you’re not Kanye West.”

— via Twitter

“When I look in North’s eyes, I’m happy about every mistake I’ve ever made. I’m happy that I fought to bring some type of reality to this world we choose to stay in right now, driven by brands and corporations.”

—Paper magazine, April 2015