Obama still thinks singer Kanye West is a jackass

Melbourne, Apr 13 (ANI): US President, Barack Obama has revealed that he prefers rapper Jay-Z to Kanye West, insisting that though West is "very talented," he still thinks the entertainer is a jackass.

Obama had told 'The Atlantic' "I like Kanye ... He's a Chicago guy. Smart. He's very talented," at a New York fundraiser in January, in an article published on Thursday.

But when the host reminded Obama of his comments from 2009, when the president called the rapper a jackass for interrupting singer Taylor Swift's speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Obama had made the statement against West in off-the-record comments during an interview in August 2009, leaked by an ABC News reporter.

"He is a jackass," Obama said when asked by show's host of his previous critique of West, but conceded, "he's talented," the Daily Telegraph reported.

Obama has said he listens to Jay-Z on his iPod and the superstar's wife Beyonce sang for the Obamas' first dance at an inaugural ball. (ANI)