--- title: Kanye West Is 'a Monster', According to Paul Mccartney description: The former Beatles' member Paul McCartney fondly referred to Kanye West as "a monster" while discussing a recent collaboration canonical: https://time.com/4346122/why-kanye-west-is-a-monster-according-to-paul-mccartney/ author: Tara John article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-24T12:20:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T17:47:33.876Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Kanye West Is 'a Monster', According to Paul Mccartney og:description: The former Beatles' member Paul McCartney fondly referred to Kanye West as "a monster" while discussing a recent collaboration og:url: https://time.com/4346122/why-kanye-west-is-a-monster-according-to-paul-mccartney/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt120e4e0ee129510f/69889491e20a877b19a90f63/paul-mccartney-kanye-collab.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West perform at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. Sunday, February 8, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kanye West Is 'a Monster', According to Paul Mccartney twitter:description: The former Beatles' member Paul McCartney fondly referred to Kanye West as "a monster" while discussing a recent collaboration twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt120e4e0ee129510f/69889491e20a877b19a90f63/paul-mccartney-kanye-collab.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Kanye West Is 'a Monster', According to Paul McCartney by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John May 24, 2016 12:20 PM UTC  Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West perform at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 8, 2015. Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West perform at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 8, 2015.Robert Gauthier—LA Times/Getty Images by [Tara John](https://time.com/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John May 24, 2016 12:20 PM UTC The former Beatles’ member Paul McCartney fondly referred to Kanye West as “a monster” while discussing a recent collaboration with the hip-hop artist. “I love Kanye, people say he’s eccentric which you would have to agree with but he is a monster… he is a crazy guy who comes up with great stuff” McCartney told an audience, [which included Brad Pitt](https://twitter.com/johnwilson14/status/730414191450984448), at a Mastertapes [session at the BBC](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36367060). Speaking of [their collaborations](http://time.com/3844634/paul-mccartney-kanye-west/?iid=sr-link1), McCartney revealed that Oprah Winfrey warned him to not be associated with West’s track _All Day_— which has a melody written by McCartney inspired by a Picasso painting— due to its repeated use of the N-word. “People like Oprah, who’s a little conservative about that stuff, said, ‘You shouldn’t do it, even black people shouldn’t use that word. I said, ‘Yeah, but it’s Kanye,” McCartney told the BBC. “And he’s talking about an urban generation that uses that word in a completely different way.’ It’s the context. So I was actually pleased with it.” A filmed version of Radio 4’s Mastertapes with Paul McCartney is available on [the Radio 4 website](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07dbf4r). The full, extended interview will then broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on May 28, 10-11am. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4346122/why-kanye-west-is-a-monster-according-to-paul-mccartney/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4346122/why-kanye-west-is-a-monster-according-to-paul-mccartney/"},"headline":"Why Kanye West Is 'a Monster', According to Paul McCartney","datePublished":"2016-05-24T12:20:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:47:33.876Z","description":"\"He is a crazy guy who comes up with great stuff\"","url":"https://time.com/4346122/why-kanye-west-is-a-monster-according-to-paul-mccartney/","keywords":["celebrities","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt120e4e0ee129510f/69889491e20a877b19a90f63/paul-mccartney-kanye-collab.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt120e4e0ee129510f/69889491e20a877b19a90f63/paul-mccartney-kanye-collab.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paul McCartney, Rihanna and Kanye West perform at the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA. 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