Kanye West Intelligence Boast

American hip hop don Kanye West has hit new heights in his well known love of bragging - claiming to be the most intelligent rapper in the world.

Kanye West struts across the hip hop landscape as a colossus. The rapper combines commercial nous with critical acclaim, challenging his own boundaries as he cracks the charts. Recent album '808s And Heartbreak' saw the artist largely abandon rapping in favour of some Autotune aided singing.

Enduring criticism from his peers, the technique has nonetheless caught on like wildfire with musicians across the world of hip hop rushing to get hold of the device.

As good as everyone else thinks he is, no amount of praise can equal the esteem Kanye West clearly holds himself in. The rapper's well known boasting has prompted beefs with other rappers, arguments that West claims he will never be defeated in.

In a new interview West claimed "I feel like if a rapper disses me, they're just trying to get a rise out of me and get me to play in their field to find some way that they can beat me. I feel like there are a lot of rappers that can beat me in ignorance."

"So why would I play a sport that I'm not particularly trying to get better at or beaten in? There's a lot of rappers that can beat me in ignorance, but there's only a few that can play with true intellect."

In the interview with Complex, the star went on to claim he would only collaborate with people possessing "genius".

"The fact that I love to collaborate with people, I think, is a very non-arrogant thing. I absorb information, and I want people to know where the information is coming from so those people can be in a position for people to listen to them and capitalise off of the genius they bring to the table - because I only surround myself with geniuses."