Rapper Kanye West Once Praised His 'Hard Working' Family, Said the Kardashians Motivate Him in His Career

The Praise God rapper has plenty to 'praise God' for. Despite this, Kanye West feels highly motivated to push boundaries in his musical career, and he credited that to his ex-wife and his family, aka the Kardashians. The 46-year-old sang praises of his "omnipresent" family while speaking at a panel where his then-wife Kim Kardashian was on stage with her mother Kris Jenner. 

The Yeezy founder spoke in admiration about his family's work ethics at The New York Times DealBook Conference in 2019. He also credited the Kardashians for keeping the fire in him to succeed alive. West showed his gratitude to his family as Kim and Kris while he discussed their family's legacy, social media, and much more. 

He said laughing, "I think if my family wasn't so … if they didn't work so hard and they weren't so omnipresent, maybe I would just rest on my laurels of just being the greatest artist of human existence, and that would just be enough." He added, "But that's shown that that is not enough," per People. 

The singer elaborated, "You have to hit the gym, you have to communicate — it's a modern-day Medici or Rome," continuing, "It's an era that people will remember for all of human existence." West married ex-wife Kim in May 2014, and the couple welcomed four kids - 10-year-old North, 7-year-old Saint, 5-year-old Chicago, and 4-year-old Psalm West. 

The Kardashian clan consists of five sisters and a brother who all have successful business ventures. Although the family first rose to fame with their late father, Robert Kardashian's high-profile case for O.J Simpson, the family debuted on TV with their own reality drama, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 

The family didn't just capitalize on their reality drama; they moved on with their careers, mainly as entrepreneurs. Kim's shapewear brand, SKIMS, is a billion-dollar company; Kourtney also ventured into health and wellness brands like POOSH and Lemme. Khloe initially starred in another reality show, Revenge Body, but she now owns her own clothing brand, Good American. Their half-sister Kendall Jenner is a supermodel, while Kylie Jenner's cosmetic company hailed her as the youngest self-made billionaire on Forbes. Meanwhile, their 'momager' Kris Jenner, is a renowned American socialite and businesswoman.

The Heartless rapper also launched his new project, which involved an 'innovation community' centered around his church, per Daily Mail. 

Upon asking what he's the most proud of at the moment, West said, "Looking at my daughters and looking at my family, and as we are starting this church and this innovation community where we're doing education." He also addressed the concerns around social media and fan's perceptions. 

"I've done interviews often that if I post 100 posts, they're like, 'He needs to go to a hospital, he's going crazy,'" said West. "But Instagram and different social media- they have the likes come back at a slower speed. They have a certain amount of posts that you should do to look normal." 

In his interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the proud father raved about his daughter North. "I love the fact that my daughter loves to go to church." Kim and West called it quits in November 2022, and Kim is the primary caregiver of their four kids. However, West is "present" for his kids despite getting re-married to his architect wife, Bianca Censori.