An Interview with Alana Massey

by The Awl

Do you consider yourself a genius?

Because I’m making a sincere and concerted effort to take more cues from Kanye West, I want to say, “Yes. Absolutely.” In reality, I go back and forth between thinking, “You are a goddamn fucking genius, Alana” and “You are ordinary in every way, destined to die alone and be buried in a potter’s field, Alana.” There is no middle ground.

Can you elaborate a little on why you’re taking cues from Kanye?

I’ve always passively loved Kanye’s music but last year, I went through a really rough patch personally and professionally where I just wanted to give up on everything. One of my best friends who is this amazing 21-year-old Kanye disciple made me go out and I was kind of sulky and she launched into this earth-shattering monologue where she was like, “Kanye wouldn’t give up when people said he couldn’t do something! Kanye would go home and make FAT. BEATS.” I honestly wish I had the whole thing on video. She was so fired up, it was like watching Edward Norton in the mirror in The 25th Hour or Bill Paxton on the back of a truck in Independence Day. You know, CLASSICS.

So I ended up doing a deep dive into the archive of his media appearances and he’s not only always had this unflinching confidence but he’s had this sort of eerie ability to predict his own success for the future too. He also works insanely hard, which makes it possible for him to produce so much incredible work that actually qualifies him for the genius label. So many people are busy quietly believing in their own genius and waiting for others to say the word, Kanye was like “Fuck the middle man, I’m a genius,” and he works hard all the time to keep it true. I admire that a lot.

Read the rest at The Awl.