Kanye West serious about presidential run

Kanye West is serious about his bid to become president in 2020 thanks to the reaction to his announcement of leadership ambitions at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

The rapper closed his rambling Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award acceptance speech at the ceremony by declaring his interest in politics. He might not have been super-serious at the time, but now he's determined to follow through on his presidential pledge.

He tells Vanity Fair, "As soon as I said that, it was like, 'Wait a second, we would really be into that, because actually if you think about it, he's extremely thoughtful. Every time he's ever gotten in trouble, he was really jumping in front of a bullet for someone else. He's probably the most honest celebrity that we have'.

"I didn't approach that because I thought it would be fun. It wasn't like, 'Oh, let's go rent some jet skis in Hawaii.' No, the exact opposite."

And Kanye insists he's going to be the perfect candidate by the time the 2020 election comes around, adding, "I sit in clubs and I'm like, 'Wow, I've got five years before I go and run for office and I've got a lot of research to do, I've got a lot of growing up to do'. My dad has two masters degrees. My mom has a PhD... I think it's time."

The rapper won't be giving up his fashion and music pursuits to run for office, claiming he's a clearer thinker when he's being creative.

The Gold Digger hitmaker states, "I have to stay creative. The whole point is to have someone (in office) that's creative, that's around amazing creatives. This is my theory: I think the world can be helped through design, so it's very important that I stay around creative, forward thinkers. It's very important that I continue to design, to be in practice of trying to make the best decisions possible."