Kanye West (full name Kanye Omari West) was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977, and was properly raised in Chicago as the son of an English teacher and a photojournalist. He developed an interest in poetry and the visual arts over time, probably as a result of his parents, Ray and Donda West. As he found another appreciation for music in his initial teenagers, the kid began to invest a large portion of the energy blending his rhyming abilities with exploratory beats created through his console.
Kanye West developed his own distinct sound after working with the well-known Chicago producer NO I.D., who encouraged him to use sped up vocal loops and sweeping strings. When Jermaine Dupri used one of Kanye’s beats on his album “Life in 1472” in 1998, he had a good chance to get into the music business. His first success was due to the unusual rhythm, which attracted the attention of the hip-hop community.
Kanye decided to drop out of Columbia College in order to pursue a career as a music producer in light of his early success. He had worked on the albums of well-known singers like Trina & Tamara, Harlem World, The Madd Rapper, and Lil’ Kim between 1999 and 2000. However, he did not become popular until the following year, when he appeared on Jay-Z’s album “The Blueprint.” When “Takeover,” “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” and “Never Change” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 200, he immediately became one of the most sought-after producers by incorporating his beat-making style, which has since become his trademark.
He looked forward to starting a new career as a performer, indicating that this significant achievement did not satisfy him. Despite this, the process was not straightforward because he was turned down by numerous record labels due to his overall style and appearance.
Since 1978, Kanye has been supported by Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua and G. Roberson, who ran a production and management company called Hip-Hop. In the end, Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella signed Kanye as a recording artist. Unfortunately, on October 23, 2002, he was tragically killed before he could move on to finishing the materials for his debut album.
He was brought to the hospital with a broken jaw after almost losing his life in a car accident. His mouth had to be wired shut for some time because it was broken in three places. He used the terrible experience as the inspiration for “Through the Wire” despite being deeply traumatized by it.
This song was one of twenty that made up the album “The College Dropout,” and it features a sample from the classic song “Through The Fire” by Chaka Khan, which was released in 1984. Meanwhile, he continued to give commitment as a maker in Talib Kweli’s “Squeeze By”, Ludacris’ “Stand Up”, Jay-Z’s ” ’03 Bonnie and Clyde”, and Alicia Keys’ “You Don’t Have the foggiest idea about My Name”.
After an incessant postponement, “The School Dropout” advanced toward contact the market on February 10, 2004. This first album sold 440,000 copies in its first week, exceeding Kanye’s expectations and earning two Platinum certifications in addition to widespread praise from critics and fans. In addition, its three singles—”Through The Wire,” “Jesus Walks,” and “All Falls Down”—gloriously entered the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it quickly rose to the second spot on the Billboard 200.
He received ten nominations for this achievement at the beginning of 2005’s 47th Grammy Awards.
He went on to win three of them: Best Rap Album for “The College Dropout,” Best Rap Song for “Jesus Walks,” and Best R&B Song for writing “You Don’t Know My Name” for The Black Keys. In the same year, he collaborated with Twista and Jamie Foxx on the movie “Slow Jamz,” which was also a commercial success. The single shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after becoming a national smash hit.
“Late Registration” was Kanye’s return single on August 30, 2005. This sophomore album featured an impressive list of well-known artists, including Brandy, The Game, Jay-Z, and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. It sold more than 900,000 copies a week after its release. Reuniting with Foxx, he collaborated with the actor on the song “Gold Digger,” which went straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album did the same.
He was also known as the owner of a clothing line called Pastel Clothing and a record label called G.O.O.D Music, which had already signed some artists like Common, Keisha Cole, Farnsworth Bentley, GLC, and Consequence. He was extremely popular and adored as a rapper or a music producer. Additionally, the company was responsible for the release of John Legend’s platinum-selling debut album, “Get Lifted.”
In addition to his involvement in music, Kanye is well-known for his harsh criticisms, particularly those made in 2005. This African American rapper shared his perspective on AIDS’s origins when he performed on the Philadelphia bill of Live 8 on July 2, 2005. While criticizing politicians for “riding home in their Benzs and Bentleys while poor Africans starve,” he stated that the United States government created AIDS with the intention of eradicating Africans in Africa. Additionally, he said that homosexuals have been discriminated against in America, including in the hip-hop community, during one of his interviews with MTV.
He added to the controversy on September 2 when he made a statement at a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief that was broadcast by NBC, much to everyone’s surprise. He not only criticized the way the United States government dealt with the looters after the disaster, but he also said that George W. Bush didn’t know much about black people.
His utterance managed to spread across the East Coast, despite being later censored. Kanye finally provided an explanation for his actions several days later, after weighing the pros and cons. He said with sincerity, “I wasn’t trying to specifically diss anyone like that.”
In spite of the controversy he caused, the Chicago rapper continued to excel at prestigious music events, earning nominations and winning specific awards. He won the Best Rapper award at the 2003 VIBE Awards, which were held in November of that year. He continued to appear alongside Shakira, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, and Fall Out Boy in the lineup for MTV’s fourteenth annual New Year’s Eve broadcast.
At the beginning of 2006, he received double nominations at the BRIT Awards and four nominations at the 37th NAACP Image Awards, including Best Song and Album.
He also became one of the many nominees for the Soul Train Awards in 2006. After that, he was nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won three of them; At the 48th annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2006, “Gold Digger” won Best Rap Solo Performance, “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” won Best Rap Song, and “Late Registration” won Best Rap Album.
In 2007, Kanye worked on his third major release, titled “Graduation,” because he didn’t want to win awards without achieving more. Donda West called the album, which came out on September 11, 2007, “his best album ever-musically as well as lyrically.” He had given Chris Martin of Coldplay, John Mayer, Jessica Simpson, and Beyonce Knowles permission to collaborate on this record. A chart battle ensued with both singers “really up for it” because the release date coincided with that of 50 Cent’s “Curtis.”
Kanye partook in the progress of his subsequent single named “More grounded” that tested on Foolish Troublemaker’s “Harder Better Quicker More grounded”. It reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five and on the UK Singles chart at number one.
However, Kanye didn’t have as much luck at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in all five of his categories. He suggested that the fact that he was chosen to open the show over Britney Spears was because of his race. However, later that year, he won four Grammys, including Best Rap Solo Performance for “Stronger” from “Graduation” and Best Rap Album for “Graduation.”
Kanye West experienced a low point in his life in November 2007 when his mother, Dr. Donda West, passed away as a result of complications from cosmetic surgery that included a tummy tuck and breast reduction procedure. Many mainstream stations started playing the hit song “Hey Mama” from his album “Late Registration,” which was meant to be a tribute to his mother, while the authorities were looking into Dr. Jan Adams, the surgeon who operated on Donda. In the studio, Kanye channeled his grief by writing songs for his next album.
At the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye debuted his brand-new single “Love Lockdown” as the album’s lead single. “Heartless” served as additional material for the album, which came out in November 2008. Upon its delivery, “808s and Catastrophe” entered at number one, selling in excess of 450,000 duplicates in the main week.
During the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye hurt the feelings of another artist due to his reputation as a fiery individual and his personal dissatisfaction with MTV.
Kanye went on stage and grabbed the microphone as Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for “You Belong with Me.” He said that Beyonce Knowles’ video for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” which was also up for an award, was “one of the best videos of all time.” Beyonce was among the many individuals who criticized Kanye for this. He later apologized to Swift, claiming that he was unaware of the extent of his actions.
In the first half of 2010, Kanye West began working on his fifth studio album in Honolulu, Hawaii. On November 22, 2010, the album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” was released, featuring hits like “Power,” “Runway,” and “Monsters.” Even though Kanye was still working on the album’s promotion, he took some time to work on another full album, “Watch the Throne,” with Jay-Z, one of the biggest rappers of the time.
This album was released in August 2011 by Def Jam. With first-week sales of 436,000 copies in the United States, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Between October 2011 and June 2012, Kanye and Jay-Z embarked on the “Watch the Throne Tour” in support of the album.
“Cruel Summer,” Kanye’s second album with G.O.O.D Music artists Big Sean, Common, Kid Cudi, John Legend, and Pusha T, was released on September 14, 2012, and its singles included “Mercy,” “Cold,” and “Clique.” The compilation album sold 205,000 copies in its first week and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200.
He came back with a solo album titled “Yeezus” the following year. The LP’s recording sessions began earlier this year. When it finally did arrive in June 2013, critics gave it high marks. It started out at No. He reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200, his sixth consecutive No. 1 collection on the rundown notwithstanding posting his most reduced first-week deals.
Kanye West said at the end of 2013 that he had started working on and recording his next studio album, which he had planned to release in the middle of 2014. However, he didn’t release any of his own new music until December 2014, when he released the Paul McCartney-featuring single “Only One.” He performed “FourFiveSeconds” with Rihanna and the former The Beatles at the beginning of 2015, which was later reported to be the lead single from Rihanna’s own new album.
Kanye West also released “All Day” and “Wolves” in that year, but the album he promised, which he had announced as “So Help Me God” before changing it to “Swish,” never came out.
He stated in January 2016 that the album was finished and would be released on February 11. As per a tracklist he shared on Twitter, “Wolves” highlighting Vic Mensa and Sia Furler was the main melody he partook in 2015 that would show up on the record. Around a similar time, he changed the collection’s title again to “Waves”.
The title sparked a dispute between Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose, their mutual ex. Kanye announced just days before the album was scheduled to be released that he would no longer refer to it as “Waves” after they resolved their disagreement. In point of fact, he had not chosen a new name for it.
On February 14, Kanye finally made the album available exclusively on Tidal, renaming it “The Life of Pablo.” The effort made its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and music critics gave it high marks. In addition to being named one of the best albums of 2016 by a number of publications, “The Life of Pablo” became the first streaming-only album to go platinum.
Kanye West delivered the lead single off the work, “Renowned”, in April 2016. However, the song’s reference to his interruption of Taylor’s 2009 VMA acceptance speech sparked some controversy. Taylor denied Kanye’s claim that he had obtained Taylor’s approval for the lyric and branded the lyric “misogynistic” in a statement. In June, the track’s music video was made public.
In August, Kanye began a North American tour to promote the album. Following the robbery of his wife, Kim Kardashian, during Paris Fashion Week in October, he was forced to postpone several dates of his shows. The rapper then, at that point, dropped the leftover 21 dates of his visit following a dramatic implosion in November.
He was subsequently owned up to Ronald Reagan UCLA Clinical Center in Los Angeles after he apparently began acting “unpredictably.” A week later, he was given his freedom. Kanye withdrew from the public eye for eleven months following this episode.
After giving birth to Chicago West, his third child with Kim, in January 2018, Kanye returned to social media. He had been the talk of the town ever since. He also said that he would write a book about philosophy called “Break the Simulation.” He also said that he would release two new albums: a seven-track solo album called “Love Everyone” and one with Kid Cudi. June will see the release of both albums.
After that, he put out two songs with T.I., “Lift Yourself” and “Ye vs. the People.” On April 28, Kanye said that the cover of his solo album would feature Jan Adams, the surgeon who did the surgery that killed his late mother. In addition to working on his own album, Kanye sang on the track “Watch” from Travis Scott II’s upcoming album “Astroworld.”
However, Kanye’s return to social media wasn’t the only thing that made headlines. After declaring that “slavery was a choice” and expressing his support for Donald Trump, he faced backlash. “Once again I am being attacked for presenting new ideas,” Kanye wrote on Twitter in response to the backlash over his remarks about slavery.
Kanye continued to work on his eighth studio album, “Ye,” as well as several other albums he produced, including Pusha T’s “Daytona,” despite the outcry over his controversial remarks. The arrival of “Daytona” was met with discussion since Kanye paid $85,000 to utilize a photo of the late Whitney Houston’s restroom for the collection’s work of art. The album received positive reviews from reviewers despite the controversy.
Kanye released “Ye” the following week, on June 1, before releasing “Kids See Ghosts,” a joint album with Kid Cudi. His joint effort debuted at No. 1, whereas his solo album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. 2 on the week after week diagram. After the albums came out, the rapper didn’t stop making music.
At the 2018 Pornhub Awards, he directed a collaboration with Lil Pump called “I Love It.” Getting to No. The song peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was later included on Pump’s second studio album, “Harverd Dropout.”
Kanye West announced in late September that he would be releasing a new album titled “Yandhi.” He went to Uganda to re-produce the album in a dome-shaped studio, despite the fact that the album was supposed to be released on September 29. After that, Kanye stated that the album would be released on November 23, but he once more postponed its release without specifying a new date.
Instead, Kanye West started his own Sunday Service, which featured him and other musicians performing soulful takes on songs. At first, the service was only held in Los Angeles; however, as time went on, he started taking it to other cities and even to South Africa.
As Kanye West was occupied with the week by week administration, he likewise recorded his 10th studio collection “Jesus Is Top dog”. The record was initially scheduled to be released on September 29, but after a few delays, it was finally available for purchase on October 21. An experimental concert short film with the same name was released alongside the album.
Music critics gave “Jesus Is King” mixed reviews, but it still debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. This made Kanye’s ninth album in a row to debut at the top of the chart, matching Eminem’s previous record.