Kanye West Talks About "Alcoholism," Rapping His Faith and Kobe

Kanye West covers details of his life then and now - with his 'alcoholism,' renewed faith in God, how the death of Kobe Bryant affected him, and even politics in an interview with GQ.

Kanye and Kobe

In one session of the three-part interview, which happened four days after Kobe Bryant's sudden death, West opened up that his demise was "a game-changer" for him. Bryant, the Lakers superstar, died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, with eight others on board, including his daughter, Gianna.

The rapper admitted that every time he passed by the street in Calabasas, Calif, where the tragedy happened, he was reminded to put on the Mamba mentality of determination. The event changed the way he looks at his life now. West and Bryant, who were friends, played hoops together. "He was the basketball version of me," he said, "and I was the rap version of him."

Alcoholism and his faith in God

Grammy-winning West revealed he wanted to stop doing rap because "I rapped for the devil so long that I didn't even know how to rap for God." One of his pastors approached him and said his son wanted to hear a rap album about Jesus from Kanye West. That child's wish made the difference for him.

The rapper's first all Gospel album, "Jesus is King," was released in October 2019 after his newfound faith in God. In one of the tracks, "Hands On," he rapped: "Told the devil that I'm going on a strike, I've been working for you my whole life." The album had 264,000 equivalent sales in the first week in the U.S. It had garnered 197 million streams and 109,000 sold albums. On its launching debut, it topped the Billboard 200 charts.

West started his private Sunday Service sessions in early 2019 when he and his associates sang gospel versions of his hit songs. The full-scale service was witnessed in Coachella in April 2019 for a special Easter Sunday show.

The singer-songwriter confessed that his rebirth gave him the motivation to stop drinking. He shared that one time in his office, he saw Grey Goose inside the fridge. He did not give in to the temptation, thinking, "Devil, you're not going to beat me today." He never owned up being dependent on the bottle, nor has anyone told him that he is a "functioning alcoholic." He admitted, though, in the interview that he used to drink orange juice and Grey Goose in the morning. One of his controversial antics was when he drank up direct from a Hennessy bottle on the red carpet of an award show. Now he said, "I am definitely born again."

Politics

The rapper had been seen wearing the MAGA cap ("Make America Great Again") - President Trump's battle cry during the election. When GQ asked him about his plans for the forthcoming elections, West confirmed that he would be voting this time. Without specifying, he was quoted as saying, "we know who I'm voting for." West is reported to have intentions of running the presidency in 2024.

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Kanye West