Kanye West Explains New Music Video: 'It's a Comment on Fame'
— -- "Wake up, Mr. West," one of Kanye West's well-known lyrics, takes on new meaning with his just-released video.
The rapper's new music video for "Famous," which he premiered at The Forum in Los Angeles Friday night, shows West sound asleep.
What's more is that the video features 11 celebrities -- including George W. Bush, Donald Trump and Taylor Swift -- sleeping alongside him. But even more eye-catching, all of West's celebrity bedmates in the video are nude. Completely nude.
We can't show you much of the video, but the rapper revealed his inspiration behind the visual, which also features "cameos" by his wife, Kim Kardashian along with Anna Wintour, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlin Jenner and Bill Cosby.
"It’s a comment on fame," West, 39, told Vanity Fair hours before the video premiered.
He added that he's not endorsing any celebrity featured in the video, such as Trump or disgraced comedian Bill Cosby. West added, "It's not in support or anti- any of [the people in the video]."
"Maybe in some alternative universe me and George Bush could have been friends," West continued. "I could have been his O.J. Simpson black friend on the golf course."
The rapper recreated a 2008 painting called "Sleep" by American realist artist Vincent Desiderio. West said he also drew inspiration from an American sculptor: "Matthew Barney is my Jesus," he said.
If you wondering whether West's wife had an issue with the eyebrow-raising music video, West said he actually got her approval.
"[I say] a lot of lines other wives would not allow a husband to say," he said. "But my wife also puts up photos that other husbands wouldn't let them put up. One of the keys to happiness in our marriage is we’re allowed to be ourselves."
As far as other celebrity reactions, West said so far his friends had one thing to say: "They want to be in the bed."
