Mercurial rapper Kanye West used the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles to announce a run for the White House in 2020 after winning a career achievement award.

Cheered by his biggest fan, pregnant wife and reality star Kim Kardashian in a lace-up olive dress that left little to the imagination, he was greeted by an extended standing ovation.

"I have decided in 2020 to run for president," he bellowed into the microphone at the end of a rambling address in which he also appeared to confess to smoking marijuana before taking the stage.

"I will die for the art, for what I believe in and I ain't always gonna be polite," he said. The hip hop star joked that people would think he smoked "something" before stepping out for the evening.

"The answer is yes. I rolled up a little something. I got the answer," he said. "We're the millenials bro.

"This is a new mentality, we're not going to control our kids with brands. We're not going to teach low self-esteem and hate to our kids. We're gonna teach our kids that they can be something," he said.

MTV's Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award has previously been given to artists including Madonna, Michael Jackson and Beyonce.

"Trump you have my vote but now Kanye West," shouted shock pop diva Miley Cyrus, the host of Sunday's night show.

The 38-year-old boundary-pushing rapper also won best Video With a Social Message for "One Man Can Change the World" with Big Sean and John Legend.

Otherwise the night saw pop superstar Taylor Swift take an early lead, winning two of her whopping 10 nominations and burying the hatchet with rapper Nicki Minaj.

- Swift dominates -

Swift won Best Pop Video and Best Female Video for her hit "Blank Space," beating Beyonce in both categories and former foe Minaj in the second.

But if Minaj hugged and made up with Swift, then Minaj called out host Cyrus for telling The New York Times in a recent interview that Minaj was "not too kind" and "not very polite."

"This bitch that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press," she said on stage, after thanking her pastor for winning Best Hip Hop Video for "Anaconda."

Cyrus, who made MTV award history two years ago by twerking on stage with Robin Thicke in a flesh-colored bikini and cavorting around with a foam finger kept her response civil.

"We're all in the industry, we all do interviews, and we all know how they manipulate" what we say, she said.

In a surprise start to the awards show, Swift joined a resplendent Minaj, festooned in a red tribal-style headdress, at the end of her opening set when they broke into Swift's hit record "Bad Blood" and embraced.

They hit the headlines last month when Minaj's "Anaconda" was passed over for a Video of the Year nomination.

Minaj blamed the slight on bias against full-figured black women, saying the music industry preferred "very slim" women.

The very slim Swift, who is Sunday's most nominated star, responded to Minaj that "I've done nothing but love and support you" and invited her to share the stage if she wins for her video "Bad Blood."

Nearly two days later, Swift backtracked and apologized. Minaj said she wished that Swift had spoken out on portrayals of African American women.
Source: AFP