Kanye says Timberlake is his biggest rival

Rapper calls ‘SexyBack’ singer his inspiration and competition

Ian West / AP

Kanye West performs at Central Hall in Westminster, central London on Monday, Aug. 20.

Interviews, performances

Myley Cyrus' crew bus crashes
Nov. 22: A bus carrying members of Myley Cyrus' production crew crashes in Virginia. WVTM's Gene Petriello reports.

Susan Boyle's CD tops charts

On the set of Adam Lambert’s ‘For Your Entertainment’

One dead after concert tour bus crashes

Boyle sets pre-order record

updated 10:52 a.m. ET Aug. 21, 2007

NEW YORK - Kanye West considers a certain “SexyBack” singer his biggest rival.

“My biggest inspiration and biggest competition is Justin Timberlake,” the 29-year-old rapper tells XXL magazine in its October issue, on newsstands Sept. 11. “He’s the only other person that gets an across-the-board response and respect level — black radio, white radio.”

“If Justin hadn’t come out and killed the game, I can’t say that my album, singles and videos would be on the same level that they’re on,” he says. “We push each other. I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day.”

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

A sly dig at 50 Cent? Earlier this month, the 31-year-old gangsta rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson, promised to quit his solo career if West’s new album, “Graduation,” outsells his upcoming CD, “Curtis.” Both albums are due out Sept. 11.

West, a six-time Grammy winner, tells XXL that he’s “never cared about being No. 1.” Record sales, he figures, aren’t as important as how the music connects with people.

“I feel like my lyrics are, if not THE, then equal to, the realest lyrics out,” he says. “I connected with so many people without talkin’ about guns and drugs. ... It’s harder to go to work 365 days than shoot a person in one day.”

Further, “there’s nothing about wearing a pink Polo that would make anyone believe that I would hold a gun,” he says.

Click for related content

50 Cent promises to quit if Kanye outsells him
Timberlake, Beyonce tops in video award nods

West realizes his flamboyant style and less-than-humble public behavior — like throwing fits over not winning music awards — could hinder his chances for success.

“... When people come up to you like, ‘That was really good,’ you’re supposed to play stupid, like, ‘Wow, you really think so?”’

“Because people can’t really handle the truth,” he continues. “But I am the truth. I’d rather be hated for what I am than loved for what I’m not.”