Kanye West (born June 8, 1977) dropped out of college to pursue rap music. After initial success as a producer, his career exploded when he began recording as a solo artist.
He soon became the most controversial and recognizable figure in the field of hip-hop. His boasting of his talent was reinforced by the recognition of his musical accomplishments by critics and peers alike.
Childhood and youth of Kanye Omari West
Kanye West was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia to Dr. Donda S. Williams West and Ray West. His father was one of the former Black Panthers and the first black photojournalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mother was a professor of English at Clark University in Atlanta, as well as the head of the English department at Chicago State University. His parents divorced when he was only 3 years old and he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois.
West was brought up modestly and belonged to the middle class. He attended Polaris High School in Illinois. Later moved to Nanjing, China at the age of 10 when his mother was asked to teach at Nanjing University as part of an exchange program. He was creative from an early age. He wrote his first poems at the age of 5. He started rapping at the age of 5 and composing his own music by the time he was in seventh grade.
West became more and more involved with the hip-hop scene and when he was 17 he wrote the rap song "Green Eggs and Ham". He convinced his mother to give him some money so he could start recording in the studio. Although his mother did not want this for him, she began to accompany him to a small basement studio in the city. There, West met The Godfather of Chicago Hip-Hop, No. 1. He soon became West's mentor.
In 1997, West was offered a scholarship from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and he took it to study the art of painting, and then transferred to Chicago State University to study English literature. At the age of 20, he decided to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a rapper and musician, which was supposed to take up all his time. This greatly upset his mother.
Career as producer Kanye West
From the mid-90s to early 2000, West was involved in small musical projects. He made music for local artists and was also the ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. West got his long-awaited opportunity in 2000 when he became an artist producer for Roc-A-Fella Records. He has produced hit singles for famous singers such as: Common, Ludacris, Cam'Ron, etc. In 2001, world famous rapper and entertainment mogul Jay-Z asked West to release many tracks for his hit album "The Blueprint" .
Around this time, he continued to release tracks for singers and rappers such as: Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, etc. Subsequently, he became a successful producer, but his sincere desire was to become the same cool rapper. It became very difficult for him to get recognition as a rapper and sign a contract.
Solo career and Kanye West's first albums
In 2002, Kanye got a breakthrough in his music career. He had an accident while returning from a long recording session in Los Angeles when he fell asleep at the wheel. While in the hospital, he recorded the song "Through the Wire", which was recorded 3 weeks later by Roc-A-Fella Records and became part of his debut album "Death".
In 2004, West released his second album, The College Dropout, which became a hit for music lovers. It sold 441 copies in its first week. It reached number two on the Billboard 000. It has an number called "Slow Jamz" which featured Twista and Jamie Foxx along with West. It was voted best album of the year by two major music publications. Another track from the album called "Jesus Walks" showcased West's emotions about faith and Christianity.
In 2005, West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who co-produced many of the album's tracks, to work on West's new album Late Check-in.
Kanye West on the wave of success
He hired a string orchestra for the album and paid all the money he made from The College Dropout. It has sold 2,3 million copies in the United States. That same year, West announced that he would be releasing his Pastelle clothing line in 2006, but it was canceled in 2009.
In 2007, West released his third studio album Graduation. He released it at the same time that 50 Cent 'Curtis' came out. But "Graduation" and "Curtis" were by a huge margin and secured the singer a number one position on the US Billboard 200. He sold about 957 copies in his first week. The track "Stronger" became West's most popular single.
In 2008, West released his fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard charts and sold 450 copies in its first few weeks.
The inspiration for this album came from the sad passing of West's mother, Donna West, and the separation from his fiancé, Alexis Phifer. The album is said to have inspired hip-hop music and other rappers to take creative risks. That same year, West announced the opening of 10 Fatburger restaurants in Chicago. The first one was opened in Orland Park in 2008.
Fifth studio album: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
In 2010, West's fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was released and he topped the Billboard charts in his first few weeks. Music critics considered it a work of genius. It received rave reviews from all over the world and included hits like "All About Lights", "Power", "Monster", "Runaway", etc. This album went platinum in the States.
In 2013, West released his sixth album, Yeezus, and took a more non-commercial approach to making it. On this album, he collaborated with talents such as Chicago Drill, Dancehall, Acid House and Industrial Music. The album was released in June to rave reviews from music critics.
On February 14, 2016, Kanye West released his seventh album titled "Pablo's life".
He released his eighth album "Ye" on June 1, 2018. In August 2018, he released the non-album single "XTCY".
Kanye West began his weekly "Sunday Service" orchestration in January 2019. It included soul variations of West's songs and songs by other celebrities.
Kanye West Awards and Achievements
For his album The College Dropout, West received 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album. It won a Grammy for Best Rap Album. His album has been certified triple platinum in the United States.
In 2009, West teamed up with Nike to launch his own shoes. He called them "Air Yeezys" and released another version in 2012. That same year, he launched his new shoe line for Louis Vuitton. The event took place during Paris Fashion Week. West also designed shoes for Bape and Giuseppe Zanotti.
Family and personal life of rapper Kanye West
In November 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of heart disease. The tragedy happened right after she had plastic surgery. At that time she was 58 years old. This left West in dismay, as he was very close to his mother; before her death, she released a memoir titled Parenting Kanye: lessons from mother hip-hop superstar.
Kanye West had an ongoing relationship with designer Alexis Fifera for four years. In August 2006, the couple got engaged. The engagement lasted 18 months before the couple announced they were separating in 2008.
He was later in a relationship with model Amber Rose from 2008 to 2010.
In April 2012, West began dating Kim Kardashian. They got engaged in October 2013 and married on May 24, 2014 at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy.
West and Kim Kardashian have three children: daughters North West (born June 2013) and Chicago West (born January 2018 by surrogate pregnancy) and son St. West (born December 2015).
In January 2019, Kim Kardashian announced that she was expecting a child, a son.
In 2021, it was revealed that Kanye and Kim filed for divorce. It turned out that the couple had not lived together for more than a year. The couple entered into a marriage contract. This will simplify the division of property. By the way, the couple's capital is about $ 2,1 billion. Kim and West independently own and manage their own enterprises.
After a divorce from Kim, the rapper was credited with an affair with many famous beauties. In January 2022, actress Julia Fox confirmed that she is in a relationship with Ye.
Kanye West: Our Days
Back in 2020, the American rap artist “tormented” fans with the news about the release of the LP. In 2021, he dropped a studio album, which included as many as 27 tracks. We remind readers that this is Kanye West's 10th studio album. In early January 2022, Haitian-American producer Steven Victor announced a sequel to the record.
It soon became known that the artist decided to officially change his name to a new creative pseudonym. The artist wants to be called Ye now. The rapper said that personal problems prompted him to make such a decision.
On January 14, 2022, footage of the rapper beating a fan was leaked to the network. The annoying "fan" got it, and the rapper faces up to six months in prison. The incident took place outside the Soho Warehouse at 3 am.
