For “Fade,” Mr. Linnetz was given the most authority yet. “I just got an email from Kanye superlate at night,” Mr. Linnetz recalled Wednesday, “saying, ‘I want you to direct ‘Fade.’ Space, space, space. ‘Teyana Taylor dancing. Iman Shumpert.’” (The two are a couple, and their 8-month-old daughter also makes a cameo.) Then came the fun part, Mr. Linnetz said, “taking thousands of years of culture and throwing them into a single frame or moment. That’s our approach whether it’s ‘Famous’ or ‘Fade’ or fashion or the tour.”

On the phone from a “Saint Pablo” stop in Toronto, Mr. Linnetz detailed for the first time his role in executing Mr. West’s many ideas. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Tell me about your background.

When I was 15, I started working for David [Mamet], assisting him on Broadway. [We met] through temple. We ended up going to New York together and spending a lot of time in the theater on his show “Race.” That’s when I met Kanye. He was working on “Watch the Throne.” I was 17 at the time, and we ended up talking.

How does a 17-year-old meet the biggest rapper in the world?

Kanye had tweeted about starting [his creative agency] DONDA, and a friend of mine had emailed him. Kanye actually responded. I was brought into the mix, and we started working on a bunch of writing projects together. It sounds like I’m skipping some steps, but that’s kind of how it was — pretty surreal. Then I went back to U.S.C. and studied screenwriting. For my scholarship, I was working in the costume department, sewing clothing. So I was gathering these skills that ended up being perfect for a Kanye West environment.