Is Kanye Having An Identity Crisis?

To be boastful is to be hip-hop. In an effort to declare their supremacy over the common man, the common rapper is fond of making the type of brash declarations that if said amongst the polite would inevitably elicit blank stares and sarcastic guffaws. Yet when it comes to rappers, we celebrate their lack of humility. Rappers are not humble nor should they be.

Kanye is the least humble man on the block and he admits this himself. Kanye is a man that wants you to know that he thinks he is the best and it is simply an affront to his sensibility to pretend otherwise. “For me to be saying I’m not a genius, I’d be lying to you and to myself,” the rapper said in his much-talked about appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week.

However, Kanye seems to be making an unusual amount of audacious boasts recently (even for him). He has declared himself to be the modern equivalent of everything from subatomic particles to the gods, themselves. These claims have us wondering if Kanye is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis.

Here are the people, places and things that Kanye has been making comparisons of himself to.

A Black New Wave Artist

According to his celebrated interview with The New York Times, Kanye isn't just a rapper. He's new wave.

"I hadn’t heard new wave! But I am a black new wave artist."

Dead Prez

In his June 2013 interview with The New York Times, Kanye compared himself to revolutionary underground hip-hop group Dead Prez. Kanye appeared with Dead Prez along with Dave Chappelle, Common and Talib Kweli on the cover of XXL in 2004.

"You know, I was able to slip past everything with a pink polo, but I am Dead Prez."

Gil Scot-Heron/Miles Davis

Kanye declared himself in the lane of two legendary black soul and jazz artists, Gil Scott-Heron and Miles Davis, in his 2013 New York Times interview.

"I am in the lineage of Gil Scott-Heron, great activist-type artists. But I’m also in the lineage of a Miles Davis—you know, that liked nice things also."

God

Kanye makes it pretty clear that he think he is a god on the song that he titled "I Am A God."

The Nucleus

Even at a subatomic level, Kanye West believes that he is the center of everything.

"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." - Kanye West in The New York Times

Steve Jobs

Kanye West is fond of comparing himself with Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs as he did in his June 2013 interview with The New York Times.

"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."

A Product Person

Kanye West expressed his desire to be in control of all aspects of artistic production during his much-discussed interview with Zane Lowe on BBC 1 Radio.

"When I say that, it means, I want to do product, I am a product person. Not just clothing, but water bottle design, architecture, everything.”

A Rock Star

According to Kanye, hip-hop has surpassed rock music at the center of the cultural zeitgeist. What else is there to do when you are biggest rapper alive? You declare yourself the biggest rock star of them all.

“Rap is the new rock and roll. We are culture. Rap is the new rock and roll. We are the rock stars. It’s been like that for a minute, Hedi Slimane. It’s been like that for a minute. We the biggest rock stars, and I’m the biggest of all of them.” - Kanye West To Zane Lowe

Walt Disney

During his interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Kanye compared himself to legendary animator and filmmaker Walt Disney, the man who created a little cartoon character by the name of Mickey Mouse.

"When I compare myself to Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Howard Hughes, David Stern, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Jesus… these are my heroes. This is the type of impact I want to make on the earth."

Howard Hughes

He is also told Kimmel that he was famous American businessman, investor, aviator, aerospace engineer, filmmaker, philanthropist and noted urine jar collector Howard Hughes.

Michelangelo

He told Kimmel that he was comparing himself to Renaissance artist Michelangelo, too.

David Stern

And NBA Commissioner David Stern. (Although, it's totally possibly he's talking about this guy.)

Leonardo Da Vinci

This guy, too.

Jesus

Him, too.

A Rap-Lic Priest

On "I'm In It," Kanye West called himself "a rap-lic priest." We don't know what that's supposed to mean, either.

Espresso

In his Zane Lowe interview, Kanye compared himself to a human cup of coffee.

"I'm just the espresso. I'm just the shot in the morning to get you going, to make you believe that you can overcome that situation that you're dealing with all the time," Kanye said.

Hypebeast

In a 2009 interview, Kanye West told Vibe that he believed he was the living embodiment of fashion blog Hypebeast.

"I am a walking Hypebeast. I am like Hypebeast, the guy. The actual human being. People always talk about exclusive shit, colorways this and blah blah blah. I’m actually the human being version of a brand. I’m like Nike, the human being."

A Genius

He does this a lot.