Before Kanye West proclaimed himself a god he just wanted to be a kvetching middle aged man.
Back in 2008 West produced and starred in an improv comedy show along the lines of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” for HBO and yesterday Consequences of Found uncovered a 5-minute clip from the show’s ill-fated pilot.
In the clip, West, who plays himself, visits a little boy from the Make-A-Wish Foundation accompanied by a female handler who is video taping the action.
“Jalil could you put the PSP down maybe and talk to Kenny for a little bit,” the handler says as way of introduction.
“KANYE,” West says, correcting her.
“I’m sorry?” the handler asks confused.
“KANYE,” West says again.
“Oh, I’m from Ohio, we say ‘Kenny’ that’s how we pronounce it,” the handler explains.
“Well I don’t care where you’re from, you pronounce my name ‘Kanye’,” West says.
It turns out that neither the handler nor the Make-A-Wish kid have any idea who Kanye is.
“I was on [the cover of] Time magazine,” West explains, exasperated.
“I just didn’t think they’d put you on the cover,” the handler says.
“You didn’t have to THINK they’d put me on the cover because they DID,” West says. “It didn’t have to be in your THOUGHTS, it was in your REALITY.”
While West was the star of the show, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Borat” producer Larry Charles helped put the show together.
“It was really good, but … I think it was too hardcore for HBO,” Charles told MTV in 2008.
“What Kanye West said to me the first time, he said, ‘I’m the black Larry David.’ That’s the first thing he said to me … He’s so much funnier than people realize.”