I was diagnosed with mental illness at 39 – Kanye West

Kanye West has revealed that he was diagnosed with a “mental condition” at the age of 39, and considers it a “superpower” that apparently helps fuel his creativity.

West talked about his diagnosis in an interview with radio personality Big Boy after debuting his new album, “Ye,” at a listening party in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole on Thursday.

“I had never been diagnosed until I was like 39 years old,” the rapper said, clarifying that he was “diagnosed with a mental condition.” But “like I said on the album,” he added, “it’s not a disability, it’s a superpower.”

The rapper didn’t name the condition, but he has referred to his bipolar disorder on “Ye.” The artwork for the album also features a photo of mountains, with a hand-written scrawl reading: “I hate being bipolar it’s awesome.”

Read his full comments below:

“I’m so blessed and so privileged because think about people that have mental issues that are not Kanye West, that can’t go and make that [album] and make it feel like it’s all good. Think about somebody that does exactly what I did at TMZ and they just do that at work, right? But Tuesday morning, they come in and they lost their job and they can’t go back and make that. That’s why God put that on me at age 40.

“I never been diagnosed until I was 39 years old […] diagnosed with a mental condition. […] But like I said on the album, it’s not a disability, it’s a superpower.”

Speaking on why his eighth studio album was called “Ye”, Kanye said:

 

“I believe ye is the most commonly used word in the Bible, and in the Bible, it means ‘you,’ so I’m you, I’m us, it’s us. It went from Kanye, which means the only one, to being ye—just being a reflection of our good, our bad, our confused, everything. The album is a reflection of who we are.”8