The last time Kanye West put out an album, he did almost no press,
preferring to speak to his fans and followers through his blog. But
after taking time off following the 2009 Taylor Swift incident at the
MTV Video Music Awards, the braggadocious MC has come back a seemingly
chastened man, sitting down with a number of media outlets, owning up to
some of his past mistakes and trying to keep his infamously healthy ego
in check.

On Tuesday night, however, West flew into one of his old-school rages,
lashing out at the “Today” show and host Matt Lauer for an interview
that morning in which the rapper felt he was being put on blast. The
incident that apparently sparked his rage was a segment in which West
was asked about his comment about former president George W. Bush, who
Kanye famously called out during a Hurricane Katrina telethon with the
line “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

West has spoken out in the past week about the incident, which Bush has
called one of the lowest points of his presidency during media rounds to
promote his new Oval Office memoir, “Decision Points.” Though he’s
tried to express his empathy with Bush over the incident, West said he
was thrown under the bus by Lauer during their interview.

“I went up there to express how I was empathetic to Bush because I
labeled him a racist and years later I got labeled as a racist,” West
tweeted Tuesday night, referring to the criticism he received for the
Swift incident.

Though the full interview does not appear to have aired yet, in an
excerpt played on the “Today” show, Lauer shows Bush a clip of West
saying, “I would tell George Bush in my moment of frustration I didn’t
have the grounds to call him a racist. But I believe that in a situation
of high emotion like that, we as human beings don’t always choose the
right words.” Bush appeared to accept West’s apology, but in his Twitter
screed, the Chicago MC was livid that “Today” producers coupled his
contrition with images of the Swift bum rush.

“While I was trying to give the interview they started playing the ‘MTV’
under me with audio!!!!!!!,” he wrote, before firing off a string of
emotionally charged tweets about his hurt feelings. “I don’t mess with
Matt Lauer or the Today Show … and that’s a very nice way for me to
put it! … HE TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME
THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT … I feel very alone very used very
tortured very forced very misunderstood very hollow very very misused
… I don’t trust anyone but myself! Everyone has an agenda. I don’t do
press anymore. I can’t be everything to everybody anymore … I can’t be
everybody’s hero and villain savior and sinner Christian and anti
Christ! … I can’t take anymore advice!!! I create, I’m creative, I
have a good heart, everyone will see and understand one day.”

The rant continued for half a dozen more tweets, during which he
tweet-hollered that “Everything sounds like noise
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” again lamenting that he can’t trust anyone
and saying he felt “very judged,” scrutinized and criticized. “I want
everyone to know I have lows all the time but I make it through them!”

He continued lashing out at Lauer, asking if he “thought that sh– was
cool … He played clips of Bush and asked me to look at his face while I
was trying to talk to him. I wish Michael Jackson had twitter!!!!!!” he
wrote, following up with a suggestion that like the late pop icon,
Yeezy feels like the media is setting him up.

“This is rock and roll life my people … you can’t stop the truth you
can’t stop the music and I have to be strong or ‘they’ win!!!!” he
concluded.

A spokesperson for the “Today” show could not be reached for comment at press time. (Via MTV News)