Kanye: 'Come on, man, I love Beck. But....'

Imma Let You Finish, Beck... — (Image credit: Vine/Dave Itzkoff)

Kanye West may be the best thing that happened to Sunday night's Grammy Awards (as Scott Meslow argues), but he irritated a lot of people when he suggested that Beck is an inartistic hack who had no business beating Beyoncé for best record. On Monday, West clarified his remarks a bit, telling TMZ he wasn't saying Beck isn't an artist, but rather criticizing the Grammys organization.

He stood by his assertion that Beck didn't deserve the the top album Grammy, though. "Beck knows that Beyoncé should have won; you know that." And when the TMZ reporter asked if he'd heard of Beck before the award ceremony, Kanye verbally rolled his eyes: "Come on, man. I love Beck! But he didn't have the Album of the Year."

The respect is mutual, in a passive-aggressive Hollywood sort of way. After the Grammys, Beck agreed with Kanye that Beyoncé should have won ("Come on, she's Beyonce!") and even said he was "excited" that West charged the stage. As for Kanye's critique of his artistry, Beck shrugged: "You can't please everybody. I still love him and think he's genius.... I aspire to what he does. How many great records has he put out in the last five years, right?"

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.