Actress, model and all-around-interesting personality Chloë Sevigny graces the pages of this month’s Interview Magazine. First gaining notoriety in 1992 for an appearance in Sonic Youth’s music video for “Sugar Kane,” Sevigny has worked on such powerful films as Kids and Boys Don’t Cry, in addition to a bevy of interesting television projects. You can read choice excerpts below and head over to Interview to read the spotlight by Kim Gordon in its entirety.

When you were young, did you spend hours dressing up in different outfits? I did. In fact, I wonder when I stopped doing that. Like, at some point you don’t have time anymore.
You don’t have time, or you don’t want to stick out as much as you used to. But for me that was the big reason to dress the way I did. It was a way of showing my identity and rebelling. I put a lot of effort into my outfits. I made a lot of stuff and I scoured thrift stores and I would change the tags at the Salvation Army, which I still feel slightly guilty about.

Do you get sick of talking about fashion?
No, but I am worried that some of the choices I’ve made—and because people think of me as this fashion icon—might have affected my film career. That people don’t think of me as a serious actress as much—sometimes that worries me.

23-year-old Harlem-bred rapper A$AP Rocky first made his mark on both musical and pop culture with his well-received Live.Love.A$AP mixtape. The supposed 3-million-dollar advance from Polo Grounds Music was a testament to his hard work and originality. Recently, Interview Magazine had a chance to sit down with the emcee to talk about a bevy of topics. Below is an excerpt of the article while the entire piece can be seen here.

A$AP Rocky’s ferociously energetic mix tape Live.Love.A$AP quickly caught fire with hip-hop heads, music bloggers, and nominal tastemakers when he unleashed it on the world via the Internet last fall. In fact, the furor was so great that large numbers of those most standoffish of record-industry gatekeepers—A&R people—soon found themselves frothed up and in a tizzy over the 23-year-old Harlem-bred rapper’s peculiar blend of influences, which include Southern regional hip-hop styles (like the slowed-down, doped-out beats of the Houston subgenre of screw music) and the world of high fashion (who was the last rapper to name-check Rick Owens?).

From the big screen to the TV screen, club floor to Grammy stage, the 39-year-old rapper, Common, embodies every bit of what it means to be a renaissance man. Coming off his first successful publication – a memoir entitled One Day It’ll All Make Sense – and the launch of his television acting career with AMC’s Hell on Wheels, the critically acclaimed artist recently stepped back into the studio to cook up his latest album, The Dreamer/The Believer, slated for a December 20 release. With plenty to discuss, Common sits down with online lifestyle magazine, Interview, to divulge what makes him so awesomely cool. Touching on topics like his friendship with the late J. Dilla, acting endeavors, and a track on his new album referencing the softer side of hip-hop, this brief interview is a must-read no matter what art you prefer from the talented Chicagoan. Check out the full article through Interview Magazine.

Did you act when you were growing up?
I acted when I was young—there was one play that I did. I felt I did well, but I remember my mother raving over my friend’s performance [instead]. I kinda lost my faith at that point in acting, and I had interest in other things. I loved plays, I loved films, but I had no desire to act until I had just put out my album Like Water for Chocolate. Creatively, I felt like I’d hit a ceiling, and I needed something else to express myself, and I just decided to take acting classes. The first opportunity that came up was with Girlfriends—someone that I work with was just talking about that, saying, “See how far you’ve come, from Girlfriends to Hell On Wheels. We’re very proud of you!”

But you’ve also done some acting in your videos.
Yeah. Technically, my first acting job was in one of my videos for a song called “Retrospect For Life,” which Lauryn Hill directed and featured an actress by the name of N’bushe Wright, who played my girlfriend who was about to be pregnant. I remember being so nervous about it, but now I feel like I can conquer the world with it. I got a long way to go—I want to keep growing, but it’s something that I’m very into.

What made you decide that it was time for you to write a memoir? You’re quite young.
I felt like I had experienced a lot of things in the first chapter of my life, and I wanted it to inspire and motivate people, so I just started writing.

There’s a part in the book where you talk about living with J Dilla.
Yeah, we had an apartment together in LA. It was incredible to have J Dilla in your dining room making beats—it was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had. I used to get really, really excited when I was getting a JD beats CD. But to have that access and see him create things live every day. There were times when he was sick and couldn’t work as much, but every time he was able to, he would work. He loved music.

What do you think made him so special?
God gifted him with that talent, and then he just loved it so much—he was born to be that creative. One thing that allowed him to continue to be special was that he wasn’t controlled by the industry. He didn’t care if it was the popular rapper calling him or the label telling him they wanted something, he really did stay focused on the music. He had a unique perspective—he was brought up in the hood in Detroit, but he was into jazz music, and sampling Bobby Caldwell and people like that. He had a wide variety of information and talent.

Last month we caught a snippet of Donatella Versace’s feature with Interview Magazine, in regards to deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G. We now present the full interview, conducted by female emcee Nicki Minaj. Speaking on a variety of topics, the Vice President of the Versace Group transitions from small talk to Minaj’s music to Versace’s feelings towards the legendary Prince. The conversation then shifts to the luxury brand’s forthcoming Spring 2012 collection, which bears an “under the sea” theme. Excerpt from the interview are offered below:

How are you?
Very good. How do you feel today? Your eye is better?

I’m feeling better. I had a little health scare yesterday with my eye. But I drugged myself up and got really drunk and passed out, and now I’m feeling better.
Sometimes that’s the only therapy that works anyway. I can’t wait for the show. It will be amazing.

I know. Everyone is talking about it.
I love “Super Bass.” But the song I’d really love to hear you sing is “I’m the Best.”

You like that song?
Love that song. Love it.

I wanted to talk a bit about the recent collections. We’re really seeing the influence of Versace a lot right now in fashion. I think a lot of critics were excited to see the return of some of the iconic house codes in your Fall 2011 collection—the studding, cut-outs, micro-shorts, Miami art deco colors, and Medusa heads, and stuff like that. Was there a specific reason why you chose to return to the history of Versace for that collection?
The reason I did it is that I feel like so many young people today don’t know Versace’s past and what it stands for, so I wanted to make an homage to that history in the collection. Of course, you can never put out the same thing exactly as it was because we live in different times, but I wanted to show with that collection where Versace comes from. I felt the Medusa is an iconic sign because people in the past were afraid of the Medusa. In mythology, the Medusa can petrify people with a look—which is a good thing, I think. [laughs] But the Medusa is a unique symbol—something strong. It’s about going all the way. That’s why I do things like the H&M collaboration, because I want to reach a bigger audience of young people. These are the people I look to for inspiration, so I wanted to make it affordable for them to buy a piece in the Versace style. Versace was—and still is—about the sophisticated woman who is elegant, not afraid of her own sensuality, and not afraid to dare or take risks in life. I think women are much stronger than men in society now. We take more risks than they do in general . . . I mean, there she is: Nicki Minaj.

Where do you find your inspiration? Would you say you’ve had a muse at any point?
Well, my muse changes all the time because I think every designer is a bit of a muse for themselves in a way—they just don’t want to say it. But I also think Madonna was an influence in the ’90s. I love her. I think she’s the most amazing, talented woman around . . . She’s an incredibly well-styled woman. Prince, obviously, is someone I’ve been close to also. I think Lady Gaga today is very inspiring. But as a designer, you always take facets of different people and you mix them together with your own thoughts and information and creativity and passion—because I think fashion has a lot to do with passion—and that’s where you get your inspiration.

I wanted to talk to you a little bit about growing up with Gianni. You’re from the southern part of Italy, right?
I grew up in the south of Italy, next to the sea, which was a great place to grow up. The type of life we lived there was very relaxing, you know? Just very fun, open-minded people . . . It was all very sociable and low-key. I was the youngest one in the family, so it was nice for my brother and I. But fashion was always in the air. My mother worked as a seamstress, and Gianni was always looking at the dresses she would make for clients.

So how old were you when you started to get into what Gianni was doing?
Well, I studied at a university in Florence and finished my degree. My mother was very strict about this recipe: You need to get your degree. So this was in the ’80s, and around that time, Gianni had gotten his first job in fashion for another company, so on the weekends I used to go see him because we were a one-hour train ride away from each other. When I’d see him, he was always working, and he would ask me what I thought about his work, like, “What do you think?” So he got me into this, really, because I’d studied something different at university. It was really the way our family was, because Gianni really trusted women’s opinions, and he felt it was his sister who was able to tell him the truth. So this is how it started.

To read the entire piece between Minaj and the chief designer, head on over to Interview Magazine.

Interview Magazine recently caught up with 27-year-old actress Scarlett Johansson in Glasgow on the set of her next film Under the Skin, digging into her recent works and personal life. Directed by Cameron Crowe, her latest film, We Bought a Zoo is on a different angle from her past works. Being more of a heartwarming film revolving around the human spirit, it stands out amongst her other films she’s done such as blockbusters like Iron Man 2 and The Black Dahlia, as well as philosophical films like Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Lost in Translation. Straying off as a young actress, she continues to explore with different genres of film, adding a whole lot more to her palette. An excerpt is seen below and you can read the full interview here.

How are you?
I’m good. I’m in dry, sunny Glasgow right now, enjoying the tropical weather. [laughs] I’m doing a film here called Under the Skin. It’s a project that I’ve been talking about with Jonathan [Glazer] for a few years now—I think he’s actually been working on it, in different incarnations, for about eight or nine years.

What is it about?
It’s hard to give a kind of warm-up line for the story because it’s almost like giving the plotline of a Bergman film, but I’m playing a character called Laura, who is an it that becomes a she . . .That’s what the story’s about—it’s about that transformation . . . It basically has no written dialogue, and I don’t think it’s really character-driven. Jon is an incredible visionary, and in the place I’m in right now, it feels really fresh. It might be an impossible project . . . [laughs] We’ll see.

How is your brother, Hunter?
He’s great. He’s been working on Scott Stringer’s campaign for a couple of months now, so he’s super busy with that. He’s really happy to be working with Scott—and, you know, the family’s proud.

I remember he promised to blog for us. I’ll invite him into the newsroom to meet our editors.
He’d absolutely love that. He always has so much fun when we’re out together. I’m already planning what I’m going to wear to the next White House Correspondents’ dinner.

I loved being at the dinner with you, watching all of those senators from both sides lining up to meet you.
Next time I go I’m going to find Anderson Cooper’s table and camp out there. My brother was totally geeked-out by Katie Couric. I think he followed her around the entire night. I was chasing after him, and I turned around, and I had a bunch of Republican senators chasing after me. [laughs] But honestly I think it’s the best party in town. I’d rather go to the White House Correspondents’ dinner than any awards show.

Cam Newton is undeniably having not only a rookie of the year-type campaign, but one that will probably find him on a Pro Bowl roster. His naysayers are certainly eating their words as Newton has been shredding NFL defenses like they were SEC bottom-feeders. Prior to the season, he sat down with Interview Magazine to talk about the major differences between the pro and college game. You can see an excerpt below and read the entire thing here.

How are you feeling after last night’s game?
Everything’s good. Of course, I didn’t get to win, so that bothered me, but it’s just the preseason and I’m still learning. I’ll watch the film, learn, and hopefully I’ll get better. I’m not going to rush anything.

I know it’s very early on in your career, but what differences have you found between college and the NFL?
The defense’s velocity, man—everybody’s so fast. You see yourself running around out there, getting chased by 300-pound linemen . . . In college, typically, you can run faster than those guys to get yourself out of trouble, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get out of it like that now. [laughs] It’s their job! In college you had to worry about that math class or this exam that’s coming up on Tuesday, but not in the professionals. You eat, sleep, and do everything related to your craft—and your craft is football. You can be at it from sunup to sundown.

I see—no distractions. So as you’re moving into the season, what are you focusing on?
I’ve got to grow up fast. You’re not talking to freshmen anymore. You’re not trying to get them on board, saying, “Hey, man, let’s get out there.” Now you’re talking to grown men, and they’re like, “Man, I gotta get my kids outta daycare,” and “I gotta take my wife out to dinner.” It’s different. It’s real. You don’t have to motivate them as much. I’m working on understanding my role.

You’re only 22 years old and you’re suddenly in a very intense leadership position. Is that intimidating?
Ummm . . . Not really. That’s just something that comes natural in a person. The hard part is that you’re always in the spotlight. Oftentimes I see myself on TV, and it’s like, “Man, what have I become?” I used to hope I was gonna be on TV, hoping people would see me playing football. Now, I’m being critiqued at the highest level—you know, “Cam didn’t do that right. He didn’t do this right.” Which is fine, but there’s no off switch. If I go downstairs right now and cuss out somebody, it’s going to be on ESPN tomorrow, you can believe that. That’s the difference.

You feel like you can’t make a move without being watched.
In this field, people know how much you’re worth—meaning X amount of dollars, or that you’re on TV this much. You have to respect that you are not regular anymore. And when I say “regular,” I don’t mean that I’m better than you are, I mean that everybody’s watching. In this day and age, everybody wants to be that star. Of course, people are going to say, “He’s immature. He doesn’t deserve this.” But when people see you do alright, then you start winning their hearts. It’s not going to come easy, though. It doesn’t matter how many people you do right, you’re still going to be hated by so many others. You can’t live your life trying to make everybody happy.

French Vogue will never be the same again after Carine Roitfeld’s departure. In her early preeminence at the highly conceived French fashion magazine, Carine glorified the erotic chic styling that became an authentic trademark of her for the last decade. The aforementioned styling was initially started as a movement by Roitfeld alongside Tom Ford and Mario Testino to infuse hyped glamour eroticism into the world of high fashion. Ceasing her major editorial duties, Carine Roitfeld has managed to keep herself busy with styling, taking on several big projects in recent times. With this latest feature by Interview Magazine comes an interesting conversation between Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld. The two catch up talking about beauty, photography and their past work experiences.

Excerpts of the interview can be seen below while the full interview can be seen here.

KARL LAGERFELD: How far can you take an image?

CARINE ROITFELD: I think that when you’re taking pictures with my principles, you can try anything. Dare to do a lot of things—dare with sexuality, dare to break taboos as long as it remains photogenic. As long as I find an elegance and beauty in it, I am not afraid to tackle anything.

LAGERFELD: I think it was Marlow who said, “There is no beauty without some strangeness in the proportions.”

ROITFELD: Exactly. I think that something needs to be weird in order to have a real beauty. Beauty can be quite boring, especially if you’re talking about beauty that doesn’t last. And what lasts is exactly the thing that maybe wasn’t pretty at first—it comes over time to be beautiful or interesting or exciting.
—
LAGERFELD: When do you think a photograph become erotic? And when does it cross that boundary into the x-rated or pornography?

ROITFELD: It’s very difficult to know when you’re crossing the boundary. I hate the word boundary because I never think about it when taking a picture. Very often it doesn’t mean anything because it depends on who’s looking at the picture more than the content of the picture itself.

LAGERFELD: Yes. But even it’s simpler than that. Take Helmut Newton. Some of his photos were shocking. But there’s always a beauty in the composition. There’s always an artistic interest in terms of the image.

ROITFELD: I am against absolute gratuity.

LAGERFELD: That’s what I wanted to hear you say.

ROITFELD: Moreover, I think in Helmut’s pictures, it’s a stolen moment, like a snapshot. He didn’t try too hard.

LAGERFELD: He never tried too hard, right?

ROITFELD: It was very, very, very fast.

LAGERFELD: The Germans have a saying, “Things are spicier if they’re short.”

ROITFELD: Well, you and I have worked together so you know this about me. I think the first picture taken is often the best one.

LAGERFELD: Oh yes. But I worked with Helmut a lot too. I was even Helmut’s stylist with Caroline of Monaco. I know his work process. The rest of us were making such a fuss, trying so hard, and he’d just come in and do it. What was his secret? Even the most explicit photos were an art form.

The Beastie Boys may take a musical hiatus as a group, but their music never stops. The group which just released a new album Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, is featured in the newest issue of Interview Magazine sitting down with Matt Diehl to discuss the delay of their new album, as well as a retrospective of the group’s previous albums. The band also details the creative process behind choosing Hollywood’s leading comedic talent for their newest video “Make Some Noise.” Below are several notable excerpts from the interview.

DIEHL: Beastie Boys records seem to come out at these strange, cosmic times. Two days before Hot Sauce Committee Part Two came out, it was announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed, which made me think of how much September 11th influenced your previous album, To The 5 Boroughs [2004]. And then recently the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles opened Jeffrey Deitch’s first major show, “Art In The Streets,” which featured street art from Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quiñones, RAMMELLZEE, and others from the ’80s cultural moment that launched the Beastie Boys . . .

DIAMOND: Things that make you go, “Hmm . . .”

HOROVITZ: Go figure.

DIAMOND: Yeah . . . It is weird. Actually, if you put those events in chronological order, first Jeffrey Deitch curated “Art In The Streets” at MOCA, then Bin Laden was killed, and then the Beastie Boys released Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. Deitch is actually on the album— he raps on the record. But you know . . .

DIEHL: In any case, Hot Sauce Committee seems connected in some way to the spirit that you guys had when you were starting out.

HOROVITZ: I get that, because the last record we put out [The Mix-Up, 2007] was an instrumental record— which is not what we used to do. And then the record before that was To The 5 Boroughs, which is misunderstood, in a way. That was supposed to be our serious political album.

DIAMOND: Well, people labeled it as such. There is an overall seriousness in tone that pervades To The 5 Boroughs. We’re downtown New Yorkers and had very close proximity to the events of September 11th. Like everybody on the island of Manhattan, we were impacted by it in so many ways in terms of what we saw, what we felt, what our daily experience became in the wake of it. I was close to it that day. At the time, I was living pretty close to Ground Zero. I had to grab some necessary equipment, put it in my backpack, and flee the immediate proximity on my bike.

HOROVITZ: Also, maybe To The 5 Boroughs just wasn’t that good. I mean, we thought it was great, but looking back on it, there were some duds on there, so maybe that’s what it is.

DIAMOND: It definitely could be that. The thing about being around for a frickin’ long time is that you’re not gonna knock it out of the park every time. One time an older Jewish manager-man came out of a cave and said to me, “What you guys do, you’re doing as a career over a lifespan.” Take Neil Young: he might make a couple of albums like Trans [1982], which is a great album, but a lot of people didn’t feel it at the time it came out. But then he comes back with Everybody’s Rockin’ [1983], and people loved that. So you go through that. But people are saying Hot Sauce Committee reminds them of what they like about what we do.
—
DIEHL: You announced that vibe with the video for the album’s first single, “Make Some Noise,” which is totally epic. Danny McBride, Seth Rogen, and Elijah Wood play the ghosts of Beasties past, and Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly, the ghosts of Beasties future. How did all that come about?

DIAMOND: The idea for that video is really a couple of years old now. It came about when we were finishing the record the first time around. Pretty soon after, we were flying to England and ran into Danny McBride on the airplane. Then it became a reality . . .

DIEHL: The video directly references your infamous “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)” video, and the Beasties’ more politically incorrect early era. That was surprising. For years it’s seemed like you’ve tried to disavow that time.

DIAMOND: Yeah, yeah . . . I know.

HOROVITZ: The obvious question is, why now?

DIAMOND: It’s a good question. I didn’t even think of that. I just don’t know why we’re now comfortable riffing on this video that we made 25 years ago.

HOROVITZ: My friend Sam told me last night that he was very pleased with the video. He said, “Wow, that was really good! You kind of took your greatest liability and turned it into an asset.” I thought that was cool.

Love them or hate them, the Odd Future gang doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon. From press junkets to European tours, Tyler and his crew have become veritable celebrities – respected by fans and fellow artists alike for their raw, sparsely-produced and at times bizarre forays into the world of hip-hop. New from the late Andy Warhol’s gem of a magazine, Interview, comes an (you guessed it) interview with Tyler, the Creator conducted by the oft-maligned rapper Waka Flocka Flame. Some of the highlights of the piece can be found below, but those interested should be sure to check out the whole article over at Interview.

FLAME: All right. So firstly, what do y’all think is so odd about the future?
TYLER: What’s odd about the future? I think we’re all gonna die pretty soon, and the animals are gonna take over—like ostriches and shit. I think they’re gonna take over the world and we’re gonna be their slaves.

So would you describe Odd Future as a hip-hop heavy-metal group? Or a punk-rock rap group? How do you describe what you and your crew do?
I don’t like either description. I don’t like being put in a box. I just make music, you know? When you’re put in a box, people have a set mind-state of what your music could sound like before they even look into it. Like, if no one ever heard of me, but I’m hip-hop-metal-rock, then they’re already gonna have an expectation of what the music will sound like. Then, when they go in and finally listen to it, it might be different from what they thought, and they could automatically hate it because they already had expectations.

I saw y’all on Jimmy Fallon, and I wanna know something: why do y’all always have lawn gnomes on stage?
Oh, because my album, Goblin, just hit, and in German history, a goblin is the evil cousin of the lawn gnome. So I thought it’d be cool to have lawn gnomes on stage ’cause they look cool but they’re the cousins of goblins and leprechauns and shit like that. I just thought it’d be cool to have happy-ass lawn gnomes while I’m on stage lookin’ all mean and shit.

In that video y’all directed called “Yonkers,” you eat that cockroach, then you vomit it back up, then you’re bleeding out your nose, then you’re hangin’ yourself.
Yeah.

Is there something deeper behind it? What do those images mean?
Well, a lot of people think that stuff is deeper than it really is. Some people just think too much. Like, my manager knows I wanna be a video director, so he was like, “Hey, just write a video, write the treatment for it, and we’ll shoot it.” So I was like, “All right, fuck it. I’ll eat a cockroach, I’ll throw up, and then I’ll hang myself . . . It’s, like, no subliminal messages or secret meanings or anything. I just personally think the shit would look really cool, so I did it. I just like doing shit that I think is cool, and people happen to like it, so I’m pretty, like, fortunate for that. So I’m gonna just continue to be myself and do what I like. Again, people are just so quick to judge shit ’cause they don’t understand it. But I understand what I’m doing, and that’s all that should matter.

Following the release of his debut studio album, Finally Famous, Interview Magazine sits down for a chat with Big Sean. Since the time of his discovery by Kanye West just a few short years ago, the rapper has admittedly gone from just having a dream to actually living one. In the interview, he discusses a few of the things that have come with fame (they’re not all good) and how he’s handling it. He also talks about his relationship with Kanye West and Jay-Z, viewing the two men as his mentors, and seemingly grateful to have their blessing. Scroll down to read the interview in its entirety.

Alex Chapman: The crowd went wild when Kanye came out [to perform the song "Marvin Gaye and Chardonnay"]. I saw Jay-Z was there too.
Big Sean: Yeah, that was crazy. I’ve put in a lot of fucking work, man. I take pride in it—I do it for my fan base. I used to ride to school listening to Kanye and Jay-Z. And then having them fools at my show? You know? They were my idols.

And then I also saw you were on Jimmy Fallon’s show, which has obviously become the kiss of mainstream life for a lot of great acts.
It was tight man, playing with The Roots. I walked in, and The Roots told me they were fans of my music, and I was like, “Oh shit.” That was crazy. They had to learn songs on my album and had to play them in like an hour. They are one of the most talented bands ever. It was crazy how I was able to tell my story so fast too, because you know they limit your time and it was hard to get it all out.

I was definitely impressed—you were able to act like you’ve never told the story of you and Kanye meeting before, even though you’ve told it about a million times. Speaking of which, how do you hold up doing so much press and performing?
Big Sean: If you realize all the stuff I go through every day, man… but it’s definitely better than not doing anything or being home with my mom, and it’s tight that I’m finding my own way in the world and making music that people like. Even though it’s tiring, I’m having the time of my life. I get sick all the time because I get no rest and sleep, but it’s definitely worth it.

With all the material you’ve come out with via mixtapes, it’s crazy to think that this is really just the beginning. What’s been the difference between the music you’ve made in the past and making an official, debut album?
There are a lot of sample clearings. Because of that, I couldn’t put out some of the things I wanted to put out. I was really mad about it, but the album is still a really great body of work, and I’m so proud of it. Also, with a mixtape, you can just go in and don’t have to worry about having a single or a hit record on it. You can just have 40 bar verses if you really want. But when you are doing a commercial release, you have to make music that you can play around the world—at concerts, barbeques, stadiums, whatever the occasion might be. It’s definitely a different process, but the thing for me is just to do it well. I can’t wait to use what I learned on this album and apply it to the next album.

How involved is the G.O.O.D. Music crew in the material that made it on the album?
They give me creative control. NO ID just went in and made the body of the album—Kanye was always busy, but he would put his hand in there and let me know what was fresh and let me know when he didn’t like stuff. Kanye and me made a couple tracks that didn’t make the album because of sample clearings, and then a couple he wanted to hold onto.

It feels like Kanye’s grown so much since “College Dropout,” and the palette of things he’s been inspired by—in terms of music and style—over his career is pretty extensive. Are you starting to feel influenced in the same regard, or is it too early?
I haven’t seen anything too crazy yet. I’ve been around the world once and seen things that have inspired me, but as far as style, I’m pretty into the stuff I’m into and the clothes I like. I think I’ve still got a lot of growing to do as a person—this is my first album, so maybe if you ask me that question later, I’ll have a different philosophy on life. For now, I’ve been concentrating on the music. But what happened with Kanye was music took him around the world, and he was able to intake so much and learn so much about style. I’m pretty sure that will happen to me.

Everybody knows you have a great relationship with Kanye, but I’m curious about your correspondences with Jay-Z.
He’s a great guy. He’s like Kanye’s big bro—he’s family. We’ve had dinners where we just kick it with each other and talk and I just soak up knowledge from him. Once, we were in the studio and we just talked for hours—it was just me, him, Kanye and I think NO ID was there, and I was just thinking “Damn, how did I get here?” Jay-Z is definitely a person who doesn’t give a shit and, from an OG’s standpoint, lets you know if you made a mistake so you don’t make another.

With so many big stars helping shape your career, I have to ask: where do you see yourself in five years?
That’s a good question. I think I just want to be remembered for my story and as an example to always move on the impulse of your heart, and not give a fuck what people think. When I graduated from high school, the teacher said I was throwing my life away following music, and the same teacher invited me back to speak at the school. I don’t say that to brag, I just want to be an example. I never want to look back on life and say I wish I did something, and I don’t want anybody else to do that. I want my music to and serve as a message for this—my music to ride to, smoke to, have sex to, cry to, and just live to.