(Cover) - -No story type selected- - Kanye West says he threw a Molotov cocktail at his own career at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

The rapper famously stormed the stage during Taylor Swifts Best Female Video acceptance speech, claiming his friend Beyonc Knowles should have won the prize for her Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) video.

The event saw Kanye fall out of favour with the public, with even US President Barack Obama criticising the rappers actions.

One year on from the incident, Kanye says he instantly realised his actions had been lethal for his career, although in some ways he is thankful because it allowed him to reassess his life.

I had thrown a Molotov cocktail at my own career, and it gave me an opportunity, for the first time, to go away and find out who I was, he explained in a personally written article in XXL magazine describing the aftermath of the stunt.

The rapper has spoken in the past about how he had been in a dark place at the time of the 2009 awards as he had been struggling to cope with the death of his mother. Rather than deal with his emotions, the rap star focused on his music in the hope that his fans would forgive him if he released great records.

I knew I wasnt in a great spot publicly after the incident, but I would just block it out and work as hard as possible and let my work be my saving grace. Because I felt very alone, he explained.

Kanye was keen to clarify his protest had never been an issue of race, as some critics had claimed. He also insisted the attack was never a personal vendetta against Taylor. I stress that the incident wasnt about Taylor personally. And it definitely wasnt about race, he added. (C) Cover Media