Joe Rogan reveals why interviewing Kanye West was so difficult for him: "A crazy person who..."
One big reason for Joe Rogan's success is that he isn’t a typical interviewer. However, before becoming a podcast host, Rogan was on sitcoms and reality shows. Now, his unique way of having conversations has gained him so many listeners that he can even turn down $100 million deals. His candid style is why he’s had moments like upsetting Taylor Swift's fans and defending Justin Bieber. Similarly, when Rogan sat down with Kanye 'Ye' West, there was plenty to unpack—from his past jobs to his high-profile divorce. But even for Rogan, getting Kanye to open up was no easy feat, as per The Things.
In October 2020, Kanye appeared on episode #1554 of Joe’s podcast. That interview stuck with Rogan so much that he mentioned it again years later. On June 11, 2024, during episode #2162 with guest Tim Dillon, Rogan explained what made interviewing Kanye a challenge. In a video shared on the r/JoeRogan subreddit, Rogan described Kanye’s behavior during their conversation. "There was [sic] moments when I was talking. Kanye was like [shaking his head]. He has so much to say." That kind of energy can make an interviewer feel pressured. However, even while describing the challenge, Rogan had a big smile on his face.
However, Rogan quickly moved on to praising Kanye's music. "I mean, listen, that madness inside of him was why his f*****g songs are bangers. They're just banger after banger." Rogan didn’t stop there, he also talked about how much he loved Kanye’s latest album at the time. "His f*****g new album's amazing. It's amazing, dude." He then told Dillon that he listens to Kanye’s music all the time. "We play in the green room all the time. In all my Spotify playlist, I think there's more Kanye songs than anything," as per the Tribune.
Kanye appeared on Rogan's podcast on October 20, 2020. A month later, on November 20, Tom Green was a guest on 'The Joe Rogan Experience'. During Tom’s episode, Rogan admitted that he had been nervous about interviewing Kanye. Green asked Rogan how he decided what questions to ask Kanye. Instead of answering directly, Rogan revealed that he had been worried about how Kanye might come across, "Well, with Kanye, we had talked about doing a podcast for a long time. But I was worried [about how] he was gonna come off in a negative way."
Rogan said, "He talks sometimes in these streams where they don't end. He goes from one subject to the next subject. And so I was curious about how I was gonna talk to him, and I wanted to make sure that we can do it in a way where other people are gonna appreciate there's a great value in the way he thinks." Rogan also shared what he liked about their conversation, adding, "That was one of the things that I thought was really good about the interviews. You do get a chance to see, like, this is not just a crazy person who buys his own b******t."