Madonna first appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in November 1984. More than 30 years later, the reigning "Queen of Pop" is on the latest cover as she is set to release her new album Rebel Heart next week. As usual, she had a lot to say, first taking aim at Lady Gaga and now she has advice for embattled superstar Kanye West.
"Don't go to awards shows looking for justice," Madonna advised Kanye in the interview, who co-produced a number of tracks on her new album. "That's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Just go and have fun. I never get too engaged with who wins awards or not, because I don't honestly think that's important. So that part of him I can't relate to. Like, what's the point of fighting for somebody to ... like, 'This person should have got it?' ... I think sometimes he takes things too seriously."
Madonna is alluding to Kanye West's recent rant over Beck claiming the Grammy for Album of the Year over Beyoncé, and previously his MTV Music Awards slighting of Taylor Swift, which has helped produce thousands of memes. For the record, West has apologized to Beck in the time since.
Despite not agreeing with Kanye on his awards show etiquette, Madonna had praise — with thinly-veiled criticism — for his talents as a producer and musician.
"It's really hard to describe Kanye in one sentence, so I may have to use several," Madonna said. "He's a brilliant madman. He can't help himself. Like, he doesn't have the same filters other people have. He has to blurt things out — he's always saying inappropriate stuff.
"But he also has brilliant ideas, if you can get him to pay attention long enough, working with him in the studio. He would come and go. He would drive me bonkers, because he's got so many things going on in his life. And this seemed to be the theme of my record, working with people who can't get off their phone, can't stop tweeting, can't focus and finish a song. It drove me crazy. But when they did pay attention, it was brilliant."
It's sort of ironic that Madonna has such an issue with people being glued to technology, given her stance on ageism, which she recently compared to racism and homophobia.
Earlier on Monday, Madonna announced her Rebel Heart tour dates, set to begin in August.
