Katy Perry Praises Kanye West: 'He's One of the Greatest MCs'

Katy Perry shook up the pop world when she recruited Kanye West for her out-of-this-world record “E.T.” Following the sci-fi video’s premiere, the pop singer had nothing but positive things to say about her collaborator.

Perry explained why she called upon the hip-hop star to rap on her No. 1 hit, which appears on her Teenage Dream album. “I always felt like I wanted someone to give this song just another dimension,” she told MTV News. “And it’s like he’s one of the greatest, to me, one of the greatest MCs of our generation and I think we will look back in time at Kanye and recognize, even though he may be multi-dimensioned in so many different ways, that it’s hard to understand it and grasp our mainstream minds around it.”

But her praise didn’t stop there. “I think we’ll look back and we’ll be like there’s a guy who always tried and strived to give us a beautiful piece of artwork. He doesn’t care about any of the haters and he just really approaches things with a beautiful kind of innocence. We sat down and talked when he showed up to the music video set and he’s just so enthusiastic about music and art and visuals and making his tour into the best tour that anybody’s ever seen. He’s really always pushing himself and I admire that.”

When asked if she would be open to having Kanye produce for her in the future, she was more than game. “Why not? That’s where he comes from. He’s got like a bajillion Grammys for producing records and writing songs. That’s where he started and I admire his work, whether it’s with Jay-Z or with Rihanna or with Nicki Minaj. I like all the different angles and approaches. I mean, he brought Bon Iver and La Roux—just like the strangest—not the strangest, but you wouldn’t expect it and then put them on a song. He’s got some wild style.”