President Obama may have called Kanye West a “jackass” back in 2009 but he still think he’s talented. But if he has to pick one out of Jay-Z and Kanye, it’s the former.
“Kanye or Jay-Z?” The president smiles. “Jay-Z,” he says, as if the answer should be obvious.
“Although I like Kanye,” Obama continues, with an easy smile. “He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.” He is displaying his larger awareness of the question, looking relaxed, cerebral but friendly, alive to the moment, waiting for me to get to the heart of the matter.
“Even though you called him a jackass?,” I ask.“He is a jackass,” Obama says, in his likable and perfectly balanced modern-professorial voice. “But he’s talented.”