Paul McCartney says some people think Kanye West 'discovered' him because they did a 2015 song together with Rihanna: 'And that's not a joke'

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Paul McCartney and Kanye West.

• Paul McCartney discussed his history of collaboration with Kanye West in a new GQ interview.
• The former Beatle joked about how social media users thought West "discovered" him in 2015.
• McCartney also touched on how he met West in 2008, and discussed the making of their 2015 hit single "Four Five Seconds."

Paul McCartney gave a wide-ranging interview to GQ for a recent feature, and his late-career collaborations with Kanye West were an extended topic of conversation in the piece.

In the interview, the former Beatle joked about how social media users thought West "discovered" McCartney following the release of the artists' first collaboration, West's single "Only One," in 2015.

"The great thing is, all sorts of hysterical things come out of it," McCartney said of his work with West. "I mean, there's a lot of people think Kanye discovered me. And that's not a joke."

McCartney also touched on the creation of "Four Five Seconds," his 2015 collaboration with Rihanna and West that would become his biggest hit single in 32 years.

McCartney told GQ that he didn't recognize his contribution to the finished product of "Four Five Seconds" until he reached out to West and learned that an acoustic guitar riff he had laid down in a studio session was "sped up and consequently raised in pitch" as the backing track.

McCartney also talked about his first time meeting West in 2008, when the former Beatle was coming off an acrimonious divorce from his second wife, Heather Mills, and West was going through the breakup that inspired his fourth album, "808s & Heartbreak."

"I'd just gone through my divorce, and I was kind of a little bit raw from it, and I said something to him about it, and he'd just broken up with someone," McCartney said. "And he just pulled out his phone and played this great little track-I don't even remember what it's called, but it's one of his famous ones. So I sort of liked him, and I liked this tune."

Read the GQ feature here.