Have you wondered why Kanye West never puts up a smile? The rapper has explained why smiling has never been part of him—and his revelation is pretty interesting.

According Kanye, 37, not smiling makes him smile—and when you see old paintings in a castle the people on them are not smiling, sort of comparing himself to such paintings.

Kanye made this revelation at the Fashion Los Angeles Awards, saying: “Back when I was working on Yeezus, I saw this book from the 1800s and it was velvet-covered with brass and everything. I looked at all these people’s photos, and they look so real and their outfits were incredible and they weren’t smiling.

People, you know the paparazzi, always come up to me, ‘Why you not smiling?’ and I think, not smiling makes me smile. When you see paintings in an old castle, people are not smiling because it just wouldn’t look as cool.”

Now you have it; why Kanye hardly smiles…