Rapper Cassper Nyovest has responded to criticism he received following his interview on popular US radio show Sway In The Morning last week.

Cassper drew criticism when he told host Sway Calloway that he is known as the Kanye West of South Africa. He was also criticised, including by musician Ntsiki Mazwai, for gushing over the American culture and saying he wanted to be an American. Ntsiki said that his comments left her ashamed to be called South African.
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Despite the social media storm his comments created, Cassper remained silent on the issue. But following his arrival back in South Africa on Wednesday afternoon, Cassper took to Facebook Live to rant about the criticism he has been receiving lately.
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He said that his comments were taken out of context and shot down suggestions that he had not prepared for the interview and performance he gave.
He also defended his comments about Kanye West, saying there are many who have compared him to the US rapper.
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“I’ve been compared to Kanye so many times. So many times. Friends have said ‘yo, you remind me Kanye’, ‘you like the Kanye West of South Africa’... Even when I filled up the Dome, Sizwe tweeting saying the production at Fill Up The Dome was better than Kanye's, but that’s not the point. The question (on Sway) was how important is America in Africa, or South Africans. I explained that it’s so important, it’s such a big deal, that they call me the Kanye West of South Africa. That is an actual compliment. In South Africa, it’s a compliment. So much that when I said it on Sway, for them (people) it was such a big deal. You can’t even say that. Because Kanye is Kanye and you are Cassper Nyovest,” he said.
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He added that he was not trying to impress anyone on Sway and was just being honest.
“When you watch TV: America! America! America! To a point where we’ve programmed our mind to think America is better than us. But they are not better than us, they just have influence. So, why are you going to hate on your fellow South African who is trying to represent you in an honest way? I was very honest. I didn’t go to Sway and say, when he asked me how important America is, ‘No, you guys. You are nothing, man’. I was just being honest. That’s all it is, bro,” he said.
And even though he joked that fans should call him Kanye Nyovest, he says he is just himself.
"I’m not trying to be the Kanye West of South Africa. I’m trying to be Cassper Nyovest,” he said.
Watch his full message to fans here.