Kanye West is planning to stay at the top of the rap charts by "keeping it real" and not boasting about his fortune.

The prolific THROUGH THE WIRE hitmaker insists he has albums worth of material ready to record but there's not one song about his growing wealth. West feels that when his peers start rapping about their financial rewards they lose touch with their fans - and start to disappear.

He says, "A lot of times where rappers mess up is they'll make more money and on their next album they'll rap about the money they made off the last album.

"I'm making a conscious decision to never start rapping about, 'I got this many cars, I got this much...' even when I get that."

West admits he feels more connected to RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS star ANTHONY KIEDIS' humble songwriting style than that of his rap peers.

He adds, "He says 'Standing in line...' and you know that Anthony Kiedis isn't standing in line nowhere but his fans relate to that. I've got to represent my fans."

01/04/2004 09:01