Music legend Quincy Jones is clearing the air after making an off-the-cuff remark about rapper Kanye West. QJ, who has produced several hits including Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller,” labeled Kanye West “just a rapper” in an interview with US Magazine, insisting that there’s “no comparison” between the two
“Did he write for a symphony orchestra? Does he write for a jazz orchestra? Come on, man. He’s just a rapper. There’s no comparison,” Jones told Us Magazine. “I’m not putting him down or making a judgement or anything, but we come from two different sides of the planet. I spent 28 years learning my first skill. I don’t rap. It’s a whole different mindset. No comparison. None. I don’t think about him much. He’s a great rapper, but there are a lot of good rappers.”
In return, Jones received quite a bit of backlash from West’s fanbase, and now the legendary producer says his words were taken out of context and he has “nothing but respect and love” for his “little brother Kanye West.” Jones posted to his official website QuincyJones.com:
“I’d appreciate it if people didn’t take my comments about Kanye West ( @KanyeWest ) or anyone else for that matter out of context to contrive a story. I have nothing but respect for my little brother Kanye and what he has achieved in his young career and I look forward to watching his evolution as an artist. There is a reason why we put him on the new We Are The World 25 for Haiti – he’s a great rapper. But having been in the music business for more than 60 years and having been fortunate to accomplish what I have over that time, it’s not unreasonable to put a comparison of Kanye at this time in his career and myself into the proper perspective. This is not dissing Kanye, this is simply trying to express that I’m not a rapper! I don’t need to take anyone else’s props away from them. Let’s all just try and keep the record straight.”
Glad Quincy Jones cleared that up, otherwise we’d have to believe he was trying to throw some major shade at Kanye!!
