Chance the Rapper Isn't Intimidated by Donald Trump or Kanye West

For his latest in-depth interview, Chance the Rapper links up with GQ to start the year as the famed outlet’s cover star. Speaking to GQ‘s Mark Anthony Green for an extensive Q&A session, Chance serves up some interesting thoughts about his hometown hero Kanye West, why he’s not “afraid” of Donald Trump and his impending presidency, going broke often, the Grammys, and more. Among the most notable quotes come when the topic turns to Trump and Kanye, with the “No Problem” rapper sharing the following with regards to Kanye West:

I don’t think I ever wanted to be like Kanye in personality, though. I think I definitely want to, have always wanted to, have his boldness or assurance in myself. But I’ve definitely seen Kanye do things where I was like, “I’d never do that.” I’ve always been able to defend Kanye. When everybody’s like, “Kanye’s a nut, Kanye’s a nut,” I’m one of those guys saying, “No, he’s saying some real shit.” Like when he went onstage with Taylor, I was like…well…Beyoncé kind of deserved that. [laughs] I’m rationalizing everything that he does, but I can’t say that in the same position I would do the same things. Being around Kanye, Kanye says crazier shit in private than he does in public, which is hard to believe because he says the craziest things in public. He does have a filter. He’s not a liar or somebody that is going to sugarcoat things when he does speak. But Kanye’s said some crazy shit to me where I respond, “No, I don’t feel you at all.” I always wanted to be more of a person that people enjoy. Somebody that will make you laugh. I’m talking about just my personality, not necessarily how my music sounds. Because I believe I’m a disrupter like Kanye in a lot of ways.

And, on Donald Trump as POTUS, Chance leaves Mark Anthony Green with this:

You gotta just understand, like, shit has been fucked-up, right? Like, “Make America Great Again,” that’s not a real thing because shit ain’t really switched up for them. It’s not really going that bad for you. If you feel like you’re the under-represented, under-appreciated side of Middle America that is white—quote me—you need to, uh, toughen up, nigga! Somebody gotta punch you in the chest, because shit is sweet for you. You know what I’m saying? I would say to everybody, you know, the world is coming together. Like there’s—every day people are becoming more and more, I’m not using this word in terms of emotion, but sensitive to real issues and … And aware. That’s really what I mean. People are raising their kids to be more and more knowledgeable and understanding. I would say the main reason not to be afraid is that I’m making music for your kids now. I’m coming so clean-cut with the message of hope and understanding, and the Word, that it’s like: What could you be fearful of?

To check out the entire feature from GQ, head on over to the interview’s official page. For more, check out some behind-the-scenes footage from Chance’s photoshoot with GQ below.