Kanye West Graces the Cover of XXL’s October Issue

The Louis Vuitton Don penned the cover story on himself—his first article ever—and also served as the creative director of his own 40-page section in the special collector’s issue.

In his candid cover story, Ye speaks on the reaction he received from the infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards debacle. “I stress that the incident wasn’t about Taylor personally,” he explains in the story. “And it definitely wasn’t about race. Where I messed up is, at the end of the day, it’s your show, Taylor. It’s your show, MTV.”

“The relationship with the public and with your fans is like the relationship with your girlfriend,” he adds. “How could I not, at a certain point, be like, ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been at the awards show. I’m sorry.’ Not that I don’t deserve to get beat up or change who I am inside, to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

Mr. West said that, following his VMA outburst, he immediately dedicated himself to the studio. “I knew I wasn’t in a great spot publicly after the incident, but I would just block it out and work as hard as possible and let my work be my saving grace,” he shared. “In a way, I had thrown a Molotov cocktail at my own career, and it gave me an opportunity, for the first time, to go away and find out who I was. Because I felt very alone.”

In addition to Kanye’s cover story, XXL’s October issue features stories on Kid Cudi, West’s G.O.O.D. Music family, Wiz Khalifa and the top 10 producers turned rappers of all time.

Be sure to pick up your copy on September 28. —XXL Staff