Kanye West has said that he purchased a house near to ex-wife Kim Kardashian in order to bring himself “solace”.

Last month, it was reported that West had bought a $4.5m (£3.3m) mansion in Los Angeles just weeks after Kardashian had requested a judge declare her “legally single”.

Speaking to Hollywood Unlocked, West said that he had moved to be near to his four children with the reality TV star, to whom he was married from 2014 to 2021.

“My solace comes from seeing my kids and getting a solid schedule – that’s why I even got the house,” the rapper, who recently changed his name to Ye, said. “They flipped it, the media, into there was something wrong with me getting a house next to my kids.

“Nothing with my career, with this rap, with this media, with none of that, that’s gonna keep me from my children. And that’s what I want everybody to know.”

He continued: “Don’t play with me, don’t play with my children. Ain’t no security gonna get in between me and my children. You ain’t finna gaslight me, you ain’t gonna run this narrative on me.”

West also said that he was inspired to make the move after his own father had failed to follow him to Atlanta when he was a kid.

Kardashian and West’s children are eight-year-old North, six-year-old Saint, four-year-old Chicago and two-year-old Psalm.

West is currently dating actor Julia Fox, but has made multiple public pleas asking Kardashian to return to him.

On Friday (14 January), audio leaked of an alleged new West song, in which the rapper could seemingly be heard threatening Kardashian’s new boyfriend, Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson.

“God saved me from that crash/ Just so I can beat Pete Davidson’s a**,” West rapped.