Kanye West has hit the studio to start work on the follow-up to 2008's '808s & Heartbreak'.

In a typically egotistical blog post, the rapper compared himself to a “true poet” whose records are constantly getting better.

Kanye also likened himself to Maya Angelou, Gill Scott Herron and Nina Simone, stating “their work improved with time.”

He continued: “They documented what was happening in culture. That is our responsibility as the modern day artists and poets, to accurately represent what is happening now.”

His full post, including trademark capitals, is as follows:

"FIRST OF ALL, I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR CONSTANT LOVE AND SUPPORT OVER THESE PAST 6 YEARS! I'M SO HAPPY TO BE BACK IN THE STUDIO MAKING NEW MUSIC. I WILL BRING YOU THE BEST I HAVE TO OFFER WITH THE SAME DEDICATION THAT KOBE HAS ON THE COURT. IT'S FUNNY HOW SO MANY RAPPERS GET WORSE AS THEIR CAREERS STRETCH OUT BUT TRUE POETS GET BETTER. WE WILL FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MAYA ANGELOU, GILL SCOTT HERRON AND NINA SIMONE. THEIR WORK IMPROVED WITH TIME. THEY DOCUMENTED WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN CULTURE. THAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS THE MODERN DAY ARTISTS AND POETS, TO ACCURATELY REPRESENT WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW, SO WHEN THE POWERS THAT BE TRY TO REWRITE HISTORY YOU CAN ALWAYS LOOK AT OUR WORKS AND FIND TRUTH AND SINCERITY IN A WORLD OF PROCESSED INFORMATION. LET US SOAK IN POSITIVE FORCES AND LOOK DOWN ON UPON THOSE WHO MASQUERADE AS TRUTH TELLERS AND OBJECTIVE FACT GIVERS WHEN IN REALITY EVERYTHING THAT IS PROJECTED HAS AN AGENDA OF BRAINWASHING US, THE "CONSUMER", THE PUBLIC, TO BELIEVE WHAT THEY WANT US TO. LET US LOOK PAST HEADLINES AND DEAL WITH JUST A BIT OF REALITY IN THIS NEW DECADE. WE HAVE OUR OWN OUTLETS NOW. WE DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE EVERYTHING ANYMORE. NOW I'LL FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE THAT RYHME LOL!!!"

(by Scott Colothan)