'It hurt people's feelings': Kanye West delivers emotional apology for controversial slavery comments

Kanye West has opened up to a radio station about his controversial comments about slavery. Photo / AP

Rapper Kanye West has given an emotional apology for his controversial comments about slavery.

Speaking to a US radio station, West said: "I don't know if I properly apologised for how that slave comment made people feel".

"And it's not something for me to overly intellectualise," he told Chicago radio WGCI.

"This is something about the fact that it hurt people's feelings and the way that I presented that piece of information.

"I could present in a way more calm way, but I was ramped up. And I apologise."

The Yikes rapper, 41, also touched on his battle with bipolar disorder, which dominated his recent album, Ye.

"That happens sometimes when people are — I'm not blaming mental health, but I'm explaining mental health," West added.

He also referenced the effect wearing a pro-Donald Trump "Make America Great Again" cap had.

"I'm sorry for the one-two effect of the MAGA hat into the slave comment, and I'm sorry for people that felt let down by that moment," West said.

"And I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to talk to you about the way I was thinking and what I was going through."

In May, West was slammed for referring to slavery as a "choice" during an interview with gossip site, TMZ.

"You can live through an a** whipping. Probably the idea is to beat sense into me," West told TMZ at the time.

"But when you hear about slavery for 400 years. For 400 years? That sounds like a choice."

Meantime, West also addressed the beef between rappers Pusha-T and Drake.

"It hits me in a really sensitive place … because you, like, hang around people and they come to your house and be around your family and this and that, and then they get mad about a beat and then send you purple demon emojis," West told the radio station, according to Esquire.

"We all got love for Drake. We understand that he got upset about (diss track, The Story of Adidon).

"I feel that it was insensitive for him to, in any way, stress me out in any way after TMZ, while I'm in Wyoming healing, pulling all the pieces together, working on my music."