Kanye West Secret Tape: Taylor Swift Rant Sounds Staged, Friend Says

Kanye West allegedly went on a secretly taped rant touching on race and Taylor Swift shortly after his VMA debacle in 2009, but a friend of the rapper said the whole thing sounds fishy.

A tipster shared audio of the tape with Gawker, claiming it was secretly recorded at Corner Bistro in New York, where Kanye was eating with friends shortly after the 2009 VMAs. On the tape Kanye (or someone who sounds like him) is heard continuing his rant against Swift, saying that Beyonce was snubbed for the best video award.

When a friend asked why he was so angry, West replied: “Because my mother got arrested for the f–kin’ sit-ins. My mother died for this fame sh-t! I moved to f–kin’ Hollywood chasing this sh-t. My mother died because of this sh-t. F–k MTV.”

Kanye would later continue on about Taylor Swift, saying:

“Taylor Swift cannot win over Beyoncé! Because I wrote my verse [to “Run This Town”] in two days, Taylor Swift cannot beat Beyoncé. As long as I’m alive! And if I’m alive, kill me then! Kill me then! As long as I’m alive, you gon’ have to deal with it. ‘Cause there ain’t gonna be no more motherf–king Elvises with no James Browns.”

Kanye West originally apologized to Taylor Swift, but later said he was only giving in to peer pressure and stood by his decision to interrupt her on stage.

On the tape, Kanye then shifted his anger to Pink, saying he didn’t know why she was asked to perform at the awards show while he had the most popular song at the time in “Heartless.”

But now some doubt is being cast on the authenticity of the tape. A friend of West told The Huffington Post that the clip “sounds staged,” though the friend could not confirm or deny that it was actually Kanye West on the tape.

The full Kanye West rant can be heard here (with some NSFW language):