Kanye West Apparently Not That Big Of A Rilo Kiley Fan

Kate Richardson | September 17, 2008 10:00 am

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In addition to making hit records and wearing funky sunglasses, Kanye West is also very good at helping other celebrities gauge just how famous they are. It’s called the Kanye Famous Test, and it’s quite simple: if Kanye West sees you in a public place, mistakes you for an innocent civilian, and forces you to listen to his new material (presumably to get the commoner perspective), you are not yet Kanye Famous. Jenny Lewis? Apparently not Kanye Famous.

Now comes word that the rapper is testing out new material on strangers he happens to meet in airport lounges. So says Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis, who bumped into the rap megastar at an airport a couple of weeks back while she was en route to performing at the Democratic Convention. “We missed our flight and had to wait a couple of hours in the lounge,” says Lewis, whose second solo album, Acid Tongue, is scheduled for release on Sept. 23. “I noticed Kanye West was waiting for the same flight. He looked over and said, ‘Excuse me, would you mind listening to my new track?’ And so he put his headphones on my head and I listened to two of his new songs. He had no idea who I was. I guess he was doing research.”

The most surprising thing about this whole story? Kanye West was flying commercial.

Kanye West’s airport encounter…with Jenny Lewis? [Hollywood Insider]