Chance the Rapper has been proudly holding it down as Kanye West's number-one fan for ages now, and although his own career is flourishing, not much has changed between him and his mentor, save from finally getting in the studio together on The Life of Pablo.

To kick off 2017 on a proper footing, the rapper is gracing the cover of the new  GQ magazine, and much to no one's surprise, Ye's name came up during his interview, with Chance further elaborating why he'll always defend him, no matter what.

Within the first couple of moments during his sit-down with GQ, Chance reflected on how he thought West embodied the true definition of a rapper and artist alike.

"...I thought Kanye West was the smartest man in the world," he says, when reflecting on his own moniker and identifying with being more than a rapper. "The best poet in the world. The freshest-dressed in the world. That’s what a rapper was to me, and I wanted everybody to feel that way about the word 'rapper.' And 'rapper,' to me, is pretty much synonymous with the word 'Black.'"

From there, the conversation shifts gears, touching on the Chicago rapper's romantic personal life and being a father, before refocusing further on West's influence.

"I don’t think I ever wanted to be like Kanye in personality, though," Chance said. "I think I definitely want to, have always wanted to, have his boldness or assurance in myself. But I’ve definitely seen Kanye do things where I was like, 'I’d never do that.' I’ve always been able to defend Kanye. When everybody’s like, 'Kanye’s a nut, Kanye’s a nut,' I’m one of those guys saying, 'No, he’s saying some real s**t.'" 

He then dove in deeper, saying that, surprisingly, West actually does hold a filter when in the public eye, as opposed to when he's in private and among his peers.

"Being around Kanye, Kanye says crazier sh*t in private than he does in public, which is hard to believe because he says the craziest things in public," Chance said. "He does have a filter. He’s not a liar or somebody that is going to sugarcoat things when he does speak. But Kanye’s said some crazy sh*t to me where I respond, 'No, I don’t feel you at all.' I always wanted to be more of a person that people enjoy. Somebody that will make you laugh. I’m talking about just my personality, not necessarily how my music sounds. Because I believe I’m a disrupter like Kanye in a lot of ways."

We have to agree — being nominated for seven Grammy Awards without a label's backing definitely puts him in the category of "disruptive."

Take a look at GQ's cover story featuring Chance the Rapper in full here.