West seeks rest on NZ tour

Superstar rapper Kanye West plans to do a lot of sleeping between his two New Zealand shows, tonight in Auckland and tomorrow in Wellington.

West will perform with Nas and Kiwi rapper Scribe tonight, before heading to Wellington tomorrow for a second show.

This isn't the first time West has been to New Zealand, as he performed here in 2006 when he opened for U2 at Mount Smart Stadium.

He kept around 40 journalists waiting as he arrived fashionably late for a press conference in Auckland today, sporting his trademark dark glasses and designer threads.

He's not afraid of admitting he doesn't plan to do any sightseeing while here.

"I'm going to sleep. All I want to see is the back of my eyelids," he said.

"The correct thing for me to say would be I'd go and see the capital, but I'm just going to perform really good, then I'm going to sleep."

West is touring to promote his latest album, 808s & Heartbreak, which is hugely inspired by what's been going on in his personal life.

Not only did he lose his mother, Donda West, after she died from plastic surgery complications, he's also been arrested twice after run-ins with paparazzi, and his relationship with fiancee Alexis Phifer came to an end.

"808s came from suffering multitude losses at the same time. It's like losing an arm and a leg and having to find a way to keep walking through it. I was able to create the most ridiculous pieces of art by being completely numb to the situation.

"If you have pain a lot of times you just work through it, and this was the only type of music I could create at that time.

"808s explains what a man goes through in a relationship, and it's not always easy when you're meant to be such a tough guy.

"I got a lot of mixed reviews, and I guess that's a good thing. I'm delivering art in its purest form, and I've had a lot of experiences and musical influences which shape my music.

"I think with this album, people were expecting an eight-bit Nintendo and I gave them a 16-bit Sega. I only produce an album every two years so it's an early Christmas present for my fans," he said.

And West believes this could be a turning point for his music.

His goal is to make big songs which people can sing along to. It's not just about the rap any more.

"I still listen to hip hop in my car, but I don't learn the lyrics like I used to when I was 18.

"I always had this melody in me, and 808s doesn't have a lot of samples in it. But writing songs and melodies is a better challenge.

"People used to tell me don't rap and now they're telling me not to sing. What's great about coming from rap into singing is that I'm doing songs which are closer to my idol Jim Morrison," West said.

And he's not being modest about it either, proclaiming, "I'm going to be the biggest star and write the biggest songs in history."

New Zealand rapper Scribe is one of the support acts tonight, but West says he's completely ignorant of his music.

"I barely know the lyrics to my own album. I'm a completely ignorant big artist and I admit to that. I'm just so not down with it," he said.

It seems West has his mind on other projects alongside his music, with fashion being his other key passion.

"I wear the best clothes by the best designers, and every now and then I find a piece that's good enough for me to wear.

"Every day I'm meeting new designers and learning more and more about them," he said.

But when asked if he'd like to be the next James Bond, West isn't so sure.

"I like the tuxedos, bow ties and sh*t like that. But I also like plastic watches. But I don't want to be like James Bond and fit into an iconic figure that someone else has created, I just want to be me," West said.

Citing many musical influences in his life, West said he even gets inspiration from Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer.

"I'd say my hairstyle is a bit like Vanilla Ice and I'm definitely not opposed to wearing MC Hammer pants," he laughs.

He also takes influences from his fans, mainly through his blog site.

"My fans are like family members and sometimes they say very motivational things which is great.

"But when I'm performing, they just go crazy. My fans seem to be getting younger and younger, but it's great to see the older fans who've been listening to my music right from the start."

West is known for his dislike of paparazzi, after being arrested twice for clashing with photographers.

"When you're part of a regime of living legends, paparazzi try to take away your iconic status. Once you're a superhero, they turn you into a super villain.

"It's a shame because it takes away from the music which is what it's all about.

"At the end of the day, I just want to create great songs that connect across the world," West said.