No more rants: Kanye West promises to take a vow of silence in 2014

West, who once referred to himself as the “number one rock star on the planet”, made the promise during the last leg of his Yeezus Tour

West, who once referred to himself as the “number one rock star on the planet”, made the promise during the last leg of his Yeezus Tour (AP)

He’s well known for speaking his mind, but Kanye West is heading into the new year with a vow to stop his controversial rants for “six months at least”.

West, who once referred to himself as the “number one rock star on the planet”, made the promise during the last leg of his Yeezus Tour in Toronto on 23 December.

According to Radar Online, the 36-year-old rapper told the audience: “Everything I’m saying that’s not allowed, soak it in right now.

“This might be the last time y’all hear me talk sh*t for a long time. Might be another like six months. At least. You’re just gonna have to run back the [past] interviews and sh*t if you wanna hear some realness!”

West, who has a six-month-old daughter, North West, with fiancé Kim Kardashian, referred to some of his recent controversies, including his tirade against Nike, who replaced him as spokesperson, and his criticism of the Grammy Awards voting committee for only giving his latest record two nominations at next year's ceremony, despite it being one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year.

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During his 27-minute speech, Kanye said: “I’m gonna tell y’all right now that all of the ideas, what they call the rants, the streams of consciousness that I express, I told y’all, save those tapes and everything because I’ve decided to completely focus everything in 2014, on new ideas and on creative outlets.

“I’m not [going to] ever bring up Nike again and the only way I’ll bring them up is in a positive light … I’ll never bring up the Grammys again in a negative light, because I actually appreciate the 21 Grammys that I did win.”

Kanye West was recently forced to respond to ‘fake’ quotes that suggested he likened himself to Nelson Mandela.

Blasting the false claims on Twitter, the rapper posted: “Despite recent media reports, I've never said anything to dishonor or trivialize the life or transition of one of the most inspiring leaders.[sic]”

He added: “At a young age my mother taught me the importance of his work. Mandela sacrificed his life for the betterment of mankind.”

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The news, first published on satirical website the Daily Current, indicated that the rapper had likened himself to the late South African president during an interview with WGCI radio in Chicago.

“I am the next Nelson Mandela,” the blog quoted West as saying. “I'm only 36 years old, and when I look at everything I've accomplished, it's the only comparison that makes any sense. By the time I'm 95, I'm going to be a bigger hero than he ever was.

”Nelson Mandela did a lot of good work, don't get me wrong. But I think I'm on track to do something even bigger. I liberate minds with my music. That's more important than liberating a few people from apartheid or whatever.

“Not to say Mandela wasn't for real. I have mad respect. I just think we need to keep things in perspective here. Anyone can be replaced. And I think I'm well on my way towards being the next great black leader. I'm already worshiped around the world. And there's more to come.”

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The spoof remarks – which initially seemed plausible, given that West had likened himself to God, Picasso and Steve Jobs in the past – quickly sparked outrage on Twitter.

Two South African websites also misinterpreted the story as real, and reported on it.

Further confusion emerged connected to comments Kanye West allegedly made on stage in Tampa, Florida at the start of last week. According to theTampa Tribune, the rapper compared himself to Mandela shortly before storming off stage mid-performance.

Read more on that story here, and see exactly what/who Kanye West has compared himself to in the past in the gallery below.