Kanye West Talks Tech, Genius + More At Cannes Lions Creativity Conference

Fresh from his wedding to Kim Kardashian, Kanye West joined Steve Stoute and Ben Horowitz on a panel at the Cannes Lions Creativity Conference today in Paris, France. While there, Ye reportedly ditched his original plan to avoid making "big over-the-top statements" and let a few choice gems fly. His appearance on the tech and creativity panel seems to have been highlighted by his flair for being outspoken as he threw a few choice barbs into his discussion of innovation, genius, brands and the current state of the internet. He also covered his feelings on the recent Beats/Apple deal:

“The world as a whole is fucking ugly. The Internet as a whole is fucking ugly, too. But I’m not in the construction business,” he said. “I said to Kevin [Systrom], why don’t you let us redo Instagram? Now, you know, Instagram is nice. It’s nice looking. I’m not knocking it. But just in general, everyone spends all of their time looking at their screens or their phones. And just as a simple task, we could clean that up."

“There would have been no Beats deal without the Samsung deal. It showed the No. 1 company the importance of connecting with culture,” said West. “The reason I said I didn’t like Samsung particularly is because throughout my entire life, because of how my parents raised me, I have to work with the No. 1. I can’t work with anyone but Jay Z, because he’s No. 1. I can’t be with any girl but Kim, because that’s the girl whose pictures I look at the most and get turned on by. I’m not going to represent any company but Louis Vuitton, because that’s No. 1. … Samsung is not quite Apple, but it showed that Jimmy [Iovine] and Dre would be able to connect with the No. 1 influencers.”

Some of his other statements, including a rip of legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz, were a bit more provocative:

“Because Annie pulled out, I was like, ‘Okay, I still want my wedding photos to look like Annie Leibovitz,’ and we sat there and worked on that photo for, like, four days because the flowers were off-color.

“Can you imagine telling someone who wants to just Instagram a photo, who’s the No. 1 person on Instagram, ‘We need to work on the color of the flower wall,’ or the idea that it’s a Givenchy dress, and it’s not about the name Givenchy, it’s about the talent that is Riccardo Tisci — and how important Kim is to the Internet.

“And the fact the No. 1 most-liked photo [on Instagram] has a kind of aesthetic was a win for what the mission is, which is raising the palette.

“It was a long time,” he added — drawing laughs from the audience, before later adding, “Why did Annie Leibovitz pull out one day before the wedding?”

He reportedly claimed that she ultimately admitted to being "afraid of celebrity."

A smattering of other quotes from his time on the panel were recently published by PageSix:

• “Fashion is so important because they are trained thinkers of taste. The reason I have been trying to build relationships in that world is that … celebrity is the highest form of communication, we are like walking networks or TV shows or brands. You don’t think good taste, and I think bad taste is vulgar — it’s like cursing. I believe the world can be saved by design because, what is the most vulgar thing someone could do? Kill someone, so good taste is the opposite of that.”

• “Black people are allowed to wear big chains and name what they have on and say out loud what things cost.”

• “The world as a whole is f—g ugly, and the Internet is f—g ugly. But I am not in the construction business.”

• “We have to remember Rome wasn’t built in one day. But the Internet is the new Rome.”

• “Empower the best content creators or f—k you.” Looking at the audience, he added, “Not you in particular.”

Though Kanye expressed the need to avoid making statements that could have been taken out of context, it is impossible to know for sure that some of them - however amusing or alarming - were not. The official footage of his contributions to the panel at the CLCC has yet to surface. Until then, the public will have to be satisfied with the information being tossed around the web. These quotes should make a fun read for people who live for his infamous rants. They definitely make the prospect of a full video of the chat seem pretty enticing. Love it or hate it, Kanye West has mastered the art of keeping people on the edge of their seats. Check the footage below to watch some post-chat footage from the Cannes Lions Creativity Conference. Stay tuned for more.

Spotted at USM.