Rap superstar Kanye West railed against awards shows and announced he would run for president in 2020 as he collected MTV’s highest honour at the Video Music Awards.

Kanye received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award from Taylor Swift six years after he famously interrupted her acceptance speech for an award at the same ceremony.

Kanye West on stage at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles
Kanye West said he’s no politician – but will run for US President (Matt Sayles / AP)

In a long and rambling speech at the ceremony in Los Angeles, the Yeezus star admitted he had smoked something before arriving to calm his nerves.

Watched by his pregnant wife Kim Kardashian, he said: “I still don’t understand awards shows, I don’t understand how they get five people who work their entire life, sold records, sold concert tickets, to stand on a red carpet, to come and for the first time in their life stand on the chopping block and be considered a loser.

“I don’t understand it, I’m conflicted bro. I just want people to like me more but f*** that bro.”

Kanye West addresses the crowd at the MTV awards 2015
Kanye certainly knows how to make a memorable speech at the VMAs (Matt Sayles / AP)

In a speech that lasted over 10 minutes, Kanye continued: “I will die for the art, for what I believe in and the art ain’t always going to be polite. I bet they are thinking right now if I smoked something before this and the answer is yes, I rolled up a little something to take the edge off.”

After holding his head in his hands for an extended period of time, he added: “I don’t know what I am going to lose after this…It’s about ideas, people who believe in truth. And yes, as you probably could have guessed, I have decided in 2020 to run for president.”

Kanye received an extended standing ovation as he collected the award from Taylor and thanked her for “being so gracious”.

Taylor Swift hands the Vanguard award to Kanye West
Taylor Swift hands the Vanguard award to Kanye (Matt Sayles / AP)

Turning his fire on MTV, he claimed they had replayed his interruption of Taylor in 2009 repeatedly to “get them more ratings” and had done the same with their announcement that Taylor would present him with the Vanguard award.

Addressing Taylor, he said: “I often think back to the first day I met you. You know I think about it when I’m in the grocery store with my daughter and I have a really great conversation about fresh juice and they say to me, ‘Oh you’re not that bad after all’.”

MTV named Kanye as this year’s Vanguard winner for “years of releasing groundbreaking music and accompanying videos that have always pushed the envelope” and prophetically said “we’re just waiting to hear the undoubtedly amazing speech he’ll be giving when he hits the stage to accept”.

The MTV Video Music Awards will air on MTV UK at 8pm tonight.