But is this it? Or could we see a
‘Blueprint’ quadrilogy?
A quad what? (laughs) There is no more –
this is the end of the series. Enjoy it!
So when you’re recording an album, do
you approach it as if it could be your
last? Every record should provide a
fitting legacy...
Yeah, I try. I’ve actually been approaching
it like that since the ‘Black Album’. If there
is no more, I’m happy leaving that as my
final word. It’s the blueprint of who I am.
That’s a great pick up! Did I ever say that
anywhere before? You’re pretty sharp...
You mentioned Kanye showing up with
a CD full of beats. Is that how you like
to work? Or is it more a case of getting
into the studio with people and letting
it evolve?
I like it to all evolve in here (taps head).
He left me with the tracks, I just took them
and sometimes I would send them to him
when I’d done and let him do his thing.
But it was really cool this time round cos
Kanye is Kanye! When it was the first
‘Blueprint’, he didn’t have any opinion
on anything. He didn’t dare. He laid the
beat and was just happy to have a beat
on there. You know, now he’s fucking
Kanye West. We’re going into the studio
and having these tug-of-wars over the
direction of a song, or how this should
sound. Things like that. It was fantastic, I
like it that he has the ego (laughs).
Did any of that original CD make it onto
the album?
Yeah. ‘Boy Fresh’ was on that original
sequence of what Kanye played me in
Manchester.
And I heard you recorded a lot of the
album over in Hawaii. What made you
decamp over there?
That’s Kanye – he goes out there and
likes to record in Hawaii. He kept going
on, saying ‘I’m telling you it’s a good vibe
over there!’ And I’m like ‘Hawaii?! A good
vibe in Hawaii?’ In the end I buckled and
said alright. Turns out there was a great
vibe! We laid down ‘D.O.A. (Death of
Autotune)’ straight of the bat over there.
So Kanye; it worked out!
20
You say that Kanye had the record
already sequenced in his head and
I assume you put a lot of effort into
how it all hangs together, so how do
you feel about people picking and
choosing tracks when they listen to
the album? iTunes encourages people
not to sit down and listen to records
anymore – does it bother you?
It is what it is and that’s how people listen
to music. I can’t dictate how they go about
that. My approach is still the same when
I make a full album. When I sequence a
record I’m thinking about you listening to
the record and I don’t want to interrupt
your good time! I don’t want to put a song
in way over here, then something else
way over here... I want it to make sense
and tell a type story that just moves. So
I still make it as an album and people
decide how they want to listen to that
music. Except in the case of ‘American
Gangster’ – I wouldn’t let iTunes sell that
because I didn’t want to break it up. But
that was only because it was a concept
album and a movie director doesn’t sell
scenes of his movie. But all the other
albums I’ve ever put out, iTunes have
and I can’t dictate what people want to
do with it once it’s out there. Maybe I am
old fashioned, but a record is a piece of
music from start to finish and that’s what I
set out to create.
And when it comes to the subject
matter of a record, is that you speaking
or do you assume a character?
Even a record like ‘American Gangster’
wasn’t actually me looking to be the
person in the film, it was my interpretation
of the emotions I felt whilst watching it. I
took emotions that related to my life from
the movie scenes and talked about them
in that way to make an album. It was a
concept album, but not about the movie.
It was influenced by the movie, so it was
still me as me speaking and feeling, you
know?
Do you feel exposed as an artist putting
your emotions out there for people to
dissect and experience?
Despite us sitting here and discussing
things, I’m not really the type of person
who can sit and talk about how they feel.
You know, I’m bad at that and so is my
whole family. We were raised to hold
a lot in, so for me making music is like
therapy. It gives me a chance to express
my emotions and the things I have going
on, so yeah I’m exposed. But it can’t be
any other way.
Listening to the album, there are some
notable collaborations – Rhianna, Kanye,
MGMT etc. Do you have a fixed idea of
who you want on a particular track and
then aim to get them?
Actually, they weren’t on till the other day.
Literally, Kanye wasn’t on there until two
days ago. It just felt like he needed to
be on there. I was listening to this track
and the drums just kept reminding me of
‘Jesus Walks’ and I could hear him... And
that’s how collaborations usually happen
for me. I don’t sit there and pick people
out of the air. It’s more that I’ll find myself
in someone’s zone and I’ll be ‘man, this
would sound good if so-and-so was on
it’.
But how far is it collaboration compared
to a guest spot? Does someone like
Rhianna get to have artistic input?
I like anyone who I’m working with to
bring their flavour and their energy to the
track. You know? Or else why get them?
If I bring a person in they’re free to do
whatever. You do whatever you want to
do and what you feel. That’s the reason
I came to you. Otherwise they’re just
another instrument...
An expensive one at that.
(Laughing) Ain’t that right!
Anyone you’d really like to collaborate
with?
Let me see... You know who? Jack White.
He can do it all, he’s a renaissance man.
Throughout the album you seem to be
reasserting yourself. At one point you
say ‘tell me one thing I haven’t done’
then go on to say that no one is bigger
than you apart from The Beatles. Do
you feel a need to come back and state
that you’re here and reassert your
place?
You have to do that, you just have to.
Every artist has to make a stance. One
song I have is called ‘A Reminder’ and
that’s what it is. I believe that you have
to do that every time. How can you be
complacent?
So when you’re recording do you
cut yourself off from other people’s
music? Or do you think it’s important
to stay submerged – keep an eye on
what everyone else is doing?
I don’t think you should ever \