← Kanye West

Practices

9 entries, with sources

01

The 12 Hawaii Studio Commandments

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Kanye West·2010

A strict set of 12 studio rules printed and posted on the walls of Avex Honolulu Studios during the recording of 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', used to eliminate outside distractions and enforce total focus.

Collaborators including Pusha T and studio engineers recounted the rules taped to the walls, which included 'No tweeting', 'No hipster hats', 'All laptops on mute', 'No acoustic guitar in the studio', 'No negative blog viewing', and 'Total focus on this project in all studios'.

02

Formal Studio Dress Code

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2010

A daily requirement that everyone entering the studio dress in black-tie or tailored suits, instituted at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu to elevate the seriousness of the sessions.

Pusha T, RZA, and Kid Cudi confirmed that West mandated bespoke black suits and formal wear for all studio attendees and engineers during the 2010 Honolulu sessions.

03

Morning Basketball Rituals at the Honolulu YMCA

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2010

A mandatory morning basketball game at a local YMCA used as a physical and mental reset before long studio sessions during the MBDTF recording.

Engineers and collaborators including Noah Goldstein, Pusha T, and Consequence documented playing pickup games around 8 AM before heading into the studio during the sessions.

04

Barnes & Noble Architecture Magazine Browsing

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c. 1990s

A formative youth habit of spending hours in Chicago bookstores studying architecture and design magazines he could not afford to buy, later cited as the root of his interest in space and design.

In dialogue with Jacques Herzog and Hans Ulrich Obrist, West stated: 'I would go to Barnes and Noble down the street... get to architecture magazines... just sit at the Barnes and Noble and look at whatever I could see, whether it was Architectural Digest or Dwell.'

05

Graph Paper Ideation and Spatial Sketching

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Ray West·c. 1980s-present

A drawing habit passed down by his father, using grid paper rather than blank sketchbooks to map out designs and layouts.

West explained: 'My father encouraged me. He always had graph paper around for me to scribble on.'

06

One-Hour Color Palette Debates

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c. 2018-2020

A studio ritual at his Yeezy atelier of spending an hour or more discussing and testing minute variations of monochromatic and earth-toned swatches, described by West as his equivalent of a relaxing walk outdoors.

In a 2020 GQ profile, West described his routine: 'Colors are my fresh air. And I get to talk about a color palette for one hour.'

07

Paris Flea Market Design Archaeology

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c. 2005-present

A recurring habit of scouring the Paris flea markets and European design fairs to personally examine and acquire original 20th-century design pieces, which led to acquisitions like a Jean Royère sofa.

West described becoming a 'habitué of the Paris flea markets and international design fairs', directly linked to his acquisition of pieces such as the Jean Royère Polar Bear sofa.

08

Polyphasic Power Napping

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c. 2010-2021

An irregular sleep pattern of brief naps taken across 24-hour studio cycles instead of consolidated overnight sleep, observed during marathon album sessions in Hawaii, Wyoming, and at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Collaborators described West operating on around-the-clock schedules with intermittent naps on couches or studio floors while engineers rotated shifts, though no single detailed first-person account quantifies the nap intervals.

09

Spiritual Fasting During Jesus Is King Sessions

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2019

A claimed practice of asking collaborators to join periods of fasting and personal consecration during the finalization of 'Jesus Is King', framed as a way to keep the creative environment spiritually aligned.

Reports describe West requesting fasting and consecration from his team during the album's completion, though the claim lacks a direct first-person quote or detailed sourcing.