Kanye West believes he is a trend-setter and so "credible and influential" that he can change things like Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.
The 36-year-old rapper, whose sixth solo album 'Yeezud' releases next week, has made some tall claims in a New York Times interview.
"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," said the rapper, who is expecting his first child with Reality TV star Kim Kardashian.
In another such bizarre comment, the singer said, "I think that's a responsibility that I have, to push possibilities, to show people: 'This is the level that things could be at'. So when you get something that has the name Kanye West on it, it's supposed to be pushing the furthest possibilities. I will be the leader of a company that ends up being worth billions of dollars, because I got the answers. I understand culture. I am the nucleus."
The rapper said he did not regret snatching the mic from Taylor Swift during the MTV Video Music Awards, which even prompted an unfavourable comment from President Barack Obama.
West said his apology was a mistake.
"Yeah, I think that I have like, faltered, you know, as a human. My message isn't perfectly defined. I have, as a human being, fallen to peer pressure."
West's remarks have been slammed by major media outlets in the US. Entertainment Weekly said the interview was "a breathtaking study in the art of narcissism" while Us Weekly wrote: One flaw Kanye West clearly doesn't have is low self-esteem."
New York Post went further by calling his comments 'dumb' and even compiling the 10 best things he said in the interview.
"While no one has ever accused West of being modest, he recently rambled absurd bon mots like how he's the successor to Steve Jobs and is the Michael Jordan of music," Post wrote.
