Rapper Kanye West has revealed he scrapped his latest album following his controversial appearance on TMZ where he implied slavery was a choice.
"I completely re-did the album after TMZ. We just sat there and really honed in on the words," he told US radio host Big Boy.
The rapper copped intense backlash following his comments on the live gossip show, with fans threatening to boycott the musician's future work.
Kanye has opened up on the TMZ incident and his battle with mental illness.
Photo: Invision
West said he removed some bars that discussed the issue from the album.
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"It was just too sensitive about the topic," he said. "I was like, 'Yo, I'm a just chill right now, just keep making some music."
The rapper released his eighth album Ye on Friday. He addresses the TMZ incident in the song Wouldn't Leave – an emotional tribute to partner Kim Kardashian that touches on the tense fallout following last month's car-crash interview.
"I'm on fifty blogs, gettin' fifty calls/ My wife callin', screamin', say 'We bout to lose it all!'/ Had to calm her down 'cause she couldn't breathe/ Told her she could leave me now, but she wouldn't leave," he raps on the song.
"For every down female that stuck with they dude, through the best times, through the worst times, this for you," he adds.
On the album – which features the scrawled quip "I hate being bipolar, it's awesome" on its cover art – West also discusses his battle with mental illness, which saw him hospitalised in 2016 and diagnosed with the condition.
"That's my superpower!" he wails on the paranoid opener Yikes. "Ain't no disability, I'm a superhero!".
During the interview with Big Boy, he addressed his reason for opening up on his battle with bipolar disorder.
"I'm so blessed and so privileged, because think about people who have mental issues that are not Kanye West that can't go and make [an album] and make it feel like it's all good," he said.
"Think about somebody that does exactly what I did at TMZ and they just do that at work, but then Tuesday morning they come in and they lost their job… That's why God put that on me."
Rob Moran is an Entertainment reporter for The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Brisbane Times.
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