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The College Dropout is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records.

In the years leading up to the album, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded The College Dropout over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.

The album's production was primarily handled by West and developed his 'chipmunk soul' production style, which made use of sped-up, pitch shifted vocal samples from soul and R&B records, in addition to West's own drum programming, string accompaniments, and gospel choirs; it also features contributions from Jay-Z, Mos Def, Jamie Foxx, Syleena Johnson, and Ludacris, among others. Diverging from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop, West's lyrics concern themes of family, self-consciousness, materialism, religion, racism, and higher education.

The College Dropout debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 441,000 copies in its first week of sales. It was a massive commercial success, becoming West's best-selling album in the United States, with domestic sales of over 3.4 million copies by 2014. The album was promoted with singles such as 'Through the Wire', 'Jesus Walks', 'All Falls Down', and 'Slow Jamz', the latter two of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.

A widespread critical success, The College Dropout was praised for West's production, humorous and emotional raps, and the music's balance of self-examination and mainstream sensibilities. It earned the rapper several accolades including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. It has since been named by Time, Rolling Stone, and other publications as one of the greatest albums of all time.

• 6Critical reception
• 7Track listing
• 8Personnel
• 9Charts

Background[edit]

Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, making beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing a style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. For a time, he acted as a ghost producer for Deric 'D-Dot' Angelettie. Due to his association with D-Dot, West wasn't able to release a solo album, so he formed and became a member and producer of the Go-Getters, a late-1990s Chicago rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar.^[1][2] The group released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999.^[1] West came to achieve recognition and is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with his contributions to the rap mogul's influential 2001 album The Blueprint.^[3]The Blueprint has been named by Rolling Stone as the 252nd greatest album of all time and the critical and financial success of the album generated substantial interest in West as a producer.^[4] Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, West produced records for other artists from the label, including Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Cam'ron. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson.^[3][5][6][7]

Although he had attained success as a producer, Kanye West aspired to be a rapper, but had struggled to attain a record deal.^[6] Record companies ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time.^[8] After a series of meetings with Capitol Records, West was ultimately denied an artist deal.^[9] According to Capitol Record's A&R, Joe Weinberger, he was approached by West and almost signed a deal with him, but another person in the company convinced Capitol's president not to.^[9] Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella Records. Jay-Z, West's colleague, later admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that many saw him as a producer first and foremost, and that his background contrasted with that of his labelmates.^[8][10]

West's breakthrough came a year later on October 23, 2002, when, while driving home from a California recording studio after working late, he fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a near-fatal car crash.^[11] The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The accident inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to a hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant with his jaw still wired shut.^[11] The composition, 'Through the Wire', expressed West's experience after the accident, and helped lay the foundation for his debut album, as according to West 'all the better artists have expressed what they were going through'.^[12][13] West added that 'the album was my medicine', as working on the record distracted him from the pain.^[14] 'Through the Wire' was first available on West's Get Well Soon...mixtape, released December 2002.^[15] At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to 'make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.'^[16]

Recording[edit]

West began recording The College Dropout in 1999, taking four years to complete.^[17] Recording sessions took place at Record Plant in Los Angeles, California, but the production featured on the record took place elsewhere over the course of several years. According to John Monopoly, West's friend, manager and business partner, the album '...[didn't have] a particular start date. He's been gathering beats for years. He was always producing with the intention of being a rapper. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years.' At one point, West hovered between making a portion of the production in the studio and the majority within his own apartment in Newark, New Jersey. Because it was a two-bedroom apartment, West was able to set up a home studio in one of the rooms and his bedroom in the other.^[6]

West brought with him to the studio a Louis Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio, producing tracks in less than fifteen minutes at a time. He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date.^[6] However, West decided to use the opportunity to review the album, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. As a result, certain tracks originally destined for the album were subsequently retracted, among them 'Keep the Receipt' with Ol' Dirty Bastard and 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' with Consequence.^[18] West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, improved drum programming and new verses.^[6] On his personal blog in 2009, West stated he was most inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and listened to the album everyday while working on The College Dropout.^[19]

The song 'School Spirit' was censored for the album because Aretha Franklin would not allow the rapper to sample her music without censorship being promised.^[20] It was revealed by Plain Pat that there were around three other versions of the song, but West disliked them. Pat said in reference to the Franklin sample: 'That song would have been so weak if we didn't get that sample cleared.'.^[21] In 2011, an uncensored version of the track was distributed online.^[22]

West finished recording around December 2003, according to his older cousin and singer Tony Williams, who was recruited by the rapper two weeks before the album's deadline to contribute vocals. Williams had impressed West by singing improvisations to 'Spaceship' during one of their drives together. The singer later recounted recording with West at the Record Plant: 'I get in, go in the booth, start vibing out on 'Spaceship' and finished it up. At that point he was like, 'Ok, Well let me see what you do on this song.' I think that's when we did 'Last Call.' One song lead to another, and by the end of the weekend, I was on like five songs. Then we did the 'I'll Fly Away' joint.'^[23]

Music and lyrics[edit]

The College Dropout diverged from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical subjects for the lyrics.^[13] Throughout the album, West touches on a number of different issues drawn from his own experiences and observations, including organized religion, family, sexuality, excessive materialism, self-consciousness, minimum wage labor, institutional prejudice, and personal struggles.^[24][25][26] Music journalist Kelefa Sanneh wrote, 'Throughout the album, Mr. West taunts everyone who didn't believe in him: teachers, record executives, police officers, even his former boss at the Gap'.^[27] West explained, 'My persona is that I'm the regular person. Just think about whatever you've been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album.'^[28] The album was musically notable for West's unique development of his 'chipmunk soul' production style,^[29] in which R&B and soul musicsamples were sped up and pitch shifted.^[30][31]

The album begins with a skit featuring a college professor asking West to deliver a graduation speech. The skit is followed by 'We Don't Care' featuring West comically celebrating drug life with lines like 'We wasn't supposed to make it past 25, joke's on you, we still alive' and then criticizing its influence amongst children.^[27] The next track, 'Graduation Day', features Miri Ben-Ari on violin,^[32] and vocals by John Legend.^[33]

On 'All Falls Down', West wages an attack on consumerism.^[5][34] The song features singer Syleena Johnson and contains an interpolation of Lauryn Hill's 'Mystery of Iniquity'.^[33] West called upon Johnson to re-sing a vocal portion of 'Mystery of Iniquity', which ended up in the final mix.^[35] Gospel hymn with doo-wop elements 'I'll Fly Away' precedes 'Spaceship', a track with a relaxed beat containing a soulful Marvin Gaye sample. The lyrics are mostly critical of the working world, where West muses about flying away in a spaceship to leave his boring job, and guest rappers GLC and Consequence add comparisons to modern day retail environment with slavery.^[34]

On 'Jesus Walks', West professes his belief in Jesus, while also discussing how religion is used by various people and how the media seems to avoid songs that address matters of faith while embracing compositions on violence, sex, and drugs.^[34][36] 'Jesus Walks' is built around a sample of 'Walk With Me' as performed by the ARC Choir.^[33] Garry Mulholland of The Observer described it as a 'towering inferno of martial beats, fathoms-deep chain gang backing chants, a defiant children's choir, gospel wails, and sizzling orchestral breaks.'^[37] The first verse of the song is told through the eyes of a drug dealer seeking help from God, and it reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse.^[38]

'Never Let Me Down' is influenced by West's near-death car crash. The song features Jay-Z who rhymes about maintaining status and power given his chart success, with West commenting about racism and poverty.^[34][39] The song features verses by spoken word performer J. Ivy who offers comments of upliftment. 'Never Let Me Down' reuses a Jay-Z verse first heard in the remix of his song 'Hovi Baby'.^[34][40] 'Get Em High' is a collaboration by West with two socially conscious rappers, Talib Kweli and Common.^[41] 'The New Workout Plan' is a call to fitness to improve one's love life.^[34] 'Slow Jamz' features Twista and Jamie Foxx and serves as a tribute to classic smooth soul artists and slow jam songs.^[5] The song also appeared on Twista's album Kamikaze.^[5] On the song 'School Spirit', West relates the experience of dropping out of school and contains references to well-known fraternities, sororities, singer Norah Jones, and record label Roc-A-Fella Records. 'Two Words' features commentary on social issues and features Mos Def, Freeway, and the Harlem Boys Choir.^[42]

'Through the Wire' features a high-pitched vocal sample of Chaka Khan and relates West's real life experience with being in a car accident.^[11] The song provides a mostly comedic account of his difficult recovery, and features West rapping with his jaw still wired shut from the accident.^[11][33] The chorus and instrumentals sample a pitched up version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single 'Through the Fire'.^[5] 'Family Business' is a soulful tribute to the godbrother of Tarrey Torae, one of the many collaborators in the album.^[43] The song 'Last Call' is about West's transition from being a producer to a rapper, and the album ends with a nearly nine-minute autobiographical monologue that follows the song 'Last Call', however, is not a separate track.^[44]

Title and packaging[edit]

The album's title is in part a reference to West's decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.^[45] This action greatly displeased his mother, who was a professor at the university from which he withdrew. She later said, 'It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you.'^[46]

The artwork for the album was developed by Eric Duvauchelle, who was then part of Roc-A-Fella's in-house brand design team. West had already taken pictures dressed as the Dropout Bear - which would reappear in his later work - and Duvauchelle picked the image of him sitting on a set of bleachers, as he was attracted to the loneliness of what was supposed to be 'the most popular representation of a school'. The image is framed inside gold ornaments, which Duvauchelle found in a book of illustrations from the 16th-century and West wanted to use to 'bring a sense of elegance and style to what was typically a gangster-led image of rap artists'. The inside cover follows a college yearbook, with photos of the featured artists of the albums from their youth.^[47]

Release and promotion[edit]

The College Dropout was originally scheduled for release in August 2003, but West's perfectionist habits producing the album led to it being postponed three times. It was first delayed to October 2003, then to January 2004, before finally being released to stores on February 10, 2004.^[48][49]

In its first week of release, the album sold 441,000 copies and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, behind Norah Jones' Feels Like Home.^[50] It remained on the second spot behind Feels Like Home for two more weeks, with 196,000 units sold in the second week and 132,000 in the third week.^[51][52] In April, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating one million copies moved, and June 30 it was certified double Platinum.^[53] By June 2014, The College Dropout had become West's best-selling album in the US, with domestic sales of 3,358,000 copies.^[54][55] It has also sold over 4 million copies worldwide.^[56] In 2004, The College Dropout was ranked as the twelfth most popular album of the year on the Billboard 200.^[57]

Four of the singles released in promotion of the album became top-20 chart hits: 'Through the Wire', 'Slow Jamz', 'All Falls Down', and 'Jesus Walks'.^[58] 'The New Workout Plan' was the fifth and last single.^[59] 'Spaceship' was planned to be the sixth single, but Def Jam decided to move on from The College Dropout's promotional campaign to begin marketing West's next album, Late Registration.^[60] At one point, 'Two Words' was also intended to be released as a single, and a video for the song was filmed, and later uploaded by West online in 2009.^[41]

Critical reception[edit]

The College Dropout was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 25 reviews.^[61]

The record was hailed by Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times as '2004's first great hip-hop album'.^[27] Reviewing it for The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin observed in the music 'substance, social commentary, righteous anger, ornery humanism, dark humor, and even Christianity', calling it 'one of those wonderful crossover albums that appeal to a huge audience without sacrificing a shred of integrity'.^[70]Mojo said its exceptional hip hop production was miraculous during a time when hip hop's practice of sampling was becoming 'increasingly litigious',^[65] and URB deemed it 'both visceral and emotive, sprinkling the dancefloors with tears and sweat'.^[71] Dave Heaton from PopMatters found it 'musically engaging' and 'a genuine extension of Kanye's personality and experiences',^[34] while Hua Hsu of The Village Voice felt that his sped-up samples 'carry a humble, human air', allowing listeners to 'hear tiny traces of actual people inside'.^[72] Fellow Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote that 'not only does [West] create a unique role model, that role model is dangerous—his arguments against education are as market-targeted as other rappers' arguments for thug life'.^[69] In the opinion of Stylus Magazine's Josh Love, West 'subverts cliches from both sides of the hip-hop divide' while 'trying to reflect the entire spectrum of hip-hop and black experience, looking for solace and salvation in the traditional safehouses of church and family'.^[24]Entertainment Weekly's Michael Endelman elaborated on West's avoidance of the then-dominant 'gangsta' persona of hip hop:

West delivers the goods with a disarming mix of confessional honesty and sarcastic humor, earnest idealism and big-pimping materialism. In a scene still dominated by authenticity battles and gangsta posturing, he's a middle-class, politically conscious, post-thug, bourgeois rapper – and that's nothing to be ashamed of.^[63]

Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise. Rolling Stone's Jon Caramanica felt that 'West isn't quite MC enough to hold down the entire disc',^[66] while Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani observed 'too many guest artists, too many interludes, and just too many songs period' on what he considered a 'chest-beatingly self-congratulatory' yet humorous, deeply sincere, and affecting record.^[25] It was regarded by Pitchfork critic Rob Mitchum as a 'flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific album'.^[3]Rolling Stone was more receptive in a retrospective review, calling the album 'a demonstration that hip-hop—real, banging, commercial hip-hop—could be a vehicle for nuanced self-examination and musical subtlety.'^[73]

Accolades[edit]

The College Dropout was voted as the best album of the year by Rolling Stone and in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics.^[74][75]Spin ranked it number one on its list of 40 Best Albums of the Year.^[76] Comedian Chris Rock has attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his material.^[77] In 2005, Pitchfork named it No. 50 in their best albums of 2000–2004.^[78] In 2006, the album was named by Time as one of the 100 best albums of all time.^[79] In its retrospective 2007 issue, XXL awarded it a perfect 'XXL' rating, which had previously been given to only sixteen other albums.^[80] In its July 4, 2008 issue, Entertainment Weekly listed College Dropout as the fourth best album of the past 25 years.^[81] The magazine later listed it as the best album of the decade.^[82]

Newsweek placed The College Dropout among its Best Albums of the Decade list at number three.^[83]Rhapsody named it the seventh best album of the decade and the fourth best hip hop album of the decade.^[84][85]Rolling Stone ranked it number 10 on its list of the 100 Best Albums of the Decade and stated, 'Kanye expanded the musical and emotional language of hip-hop ... he challenged all the rules, dancing across boundaries others were too afraid to even acknowledge'.^[86]Consequence of Sound named it as the 16th best album of the decade.^[87]Phoenix New Times named it the second best rap album of the decade.^[88]Fact listed it as the 20th best album of the 2000s.^[89] In 2012 Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade,^[90] and the 20th best hip hop debut album ever.^[91] The same year Rolling Stone ranked The College Dropout number 298 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,^[92] and 19th on their list of debut records.^[93] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[94]

Awards[edit]

Track listing[edit]

• Information is adapted from the album's liner notes.^[33]
• All tracks produced by Kanye West, except 'Last Call' (co-produced by Evidence; additional production by Porse) and 'Breathe in Breathe Out' (co-produced by Brian 'All Day' Miller).

2005 Japanese special edition[edit]

Sample credits[edit]

• 'We Don't Care' contains samples of 'I Just Wanna Stop', written by Ross Vannelli and performed by The Jimmy Castor Bunch.
• 'All Falls Down' contains interpolations of 'Mystery of Iniquity', written and performed by Lauryn Hill.
• 'Spaceship' contains samples of 'Distant Lover', written by Marvin Gaye, Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Sandra Greene, and performed by Marvin Gaye.
• 'Jesus Walks' contains samples of 'Walk with Me', performed by The ARC Choir and '(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go', written and performed by Curtis Mayfield.
• 'Never Let Me Down' contains samples of 'Maybe It's the Power of Love', written by Michael Bolton and Bruce Kulick, and performed by Blackjack.
• 'Slow Jamz' contains samples of 'A House Is Not a Home', written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and performed by Luther Vandross.
• 'School Spirit' contains samples of 'Spirit in the Dark', written and performed by Aretha Franklin.
• 'Two Words' contains samples of 'Peace & Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement IV (Encounter)', written by Lou Wilson, Ric Wilson and Carlos Wilson, and performed by Mandrill.
• 'Through the Wire' contains samples of 'Through the Fire', written by David Foster, Tom Keane and Cynthia Weil, and performed by Chaka Khan.
• 'Family Business' contains samples of 'Fonky Thang', written by Terry Callier and Charles Stepney, and performed by The Dells.
• 'Last Call' contains samples of 'Mr. Rockefeller', written by Jerry Blatt and Bette Midler, and performed by Bette Midler.

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[33][101]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

References[edit]

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Bibliography[edit]

• Brown, Jake (2006). Kanye West in the Studio: Beats Down! Money Up! (2000–2006). Colossus Books. ISBN0-9767735-6-2.
• Hess, Mickey (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: an Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN0-313-33904-X.
• West, Donda; Hunter, Karen (2007). Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar. Simon & Schuster. ISBN1-4165-4470-4.

External links[edit]

• The College Dropout at Discogs

Kanye Omari West (/ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. His musical career has been marked by dramatic changes in styles, incorporating an eclectic range of influences including soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, synth-pop, industrial, and gospel. Over the course of his career, West has been responsible for cultural movements and progressions within mainstream hip hop and popular music at large.

Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing hit singles for recording artists such as Jay-Z, Ludacris and Alicia Keys. Intent on pursuing a solo career as a rapper, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to widespread critical and commercial success, and founded the record label GOOD Music. He went on to experiment with a variety of musical genres on subsequent acclaimed studio albums, including Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), and the polarizing but influential 808s & Heartbreak (2008). He released his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010 to further rave reviews, and has since succeeded it with Yeezus (2013), The Life of Pablo (2016) and Ye (2018), as well as full-length collaborations Watch the Throne (2011) and Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Jay-Z and Kid Cudi respectively.

West's outspoken views and life outside of music have received significant media attention. He has been a frequent source of controversy for his conduct at award shows, on social media, and in other public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, and race. His marriage to television personality Kim Kardashian has also been a source of substantial media attention. As a fashion designer, he has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and A.P.C. on both clothing and footwear, and have most prominently resulted in the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas beginning in 2013. He is the founder and head of the creative content company DONDA.

West is among the most critically acclaimed musicians of the 21st century and one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 135 million records sold worldwide.^[3] He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time and the most Grammy-awarded artist of his generation.^[4] Three of his albums have been included and ranked on Rolling Stone's 2012 update of the '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' list and he ties with Bob Dylan for having topped the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll the most number of times ever, with four number-one albums each. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015.

• 2Career
• 4Other ventures
• 5Controversies
• 6Personal life
• 11Tours
• 12Filmography

Early life

Kanye Omari West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia.^[5][6] After his parents divorced when he was three years old he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois.^[7][8] His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray West was later a Christian counselor,^[8] and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland with startup capital from his son.^[9][10] West's mother, Dr. Donda C. (Williams) West,^[11] was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University, before retiring to serve as his manager. West was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School^[12] in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois, after living in Chicago.^[13] At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she was teaching at Nanjing University as part of an exchange program. According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it.^[14] When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, 'I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'.'^[15]

West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old.^[16] His mother recalled that she first took notice of West's passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade.^[17] West started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.^[18] At age thirteen, West wrote a rap song called 'Green Eggs and Ham' and persuaded his mother to pay for time in a recording studio. Accompanying him to the studio and despite discovering it being 'a little basement studio' where a microphone hung from the ceiling by a wire clothes hanger, West's mother nonetheless supported and encouraged him.^[16] West crossed paths with producer/DJ No I.D., with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No I.D. soon became West's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first sampler at age 15.^[19]:557 After graduating from high school, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to study English. He soon realized that his busy class schedule was detrimental to his musical work, and at 20 he dropped out of college to pursue his musical dreams.^[20] This action greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university. She later commented, 'It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you.'^[19]:558

Career

1996–2002: Early work and Roc-A-Fella Records

Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, creating beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing a style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. His first official production credits came at the age of nineteen when he produced eight tracks on Down to Earth, the 1996 debut album of a Chicago rapper named Grav.^[21] For a time, West acted as a ghost producer for Deric 'D-Dot' Angelettie. Because of his association with D-Dot, West wasn't able to release a solo album, so he formed and became a member and producer of the Go-Getters, a late-1990s Chicago rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar.^[22][23] His group was managed by John 'Monopoly' Johnson, Don Crowley, and Happy Lewis under the management firm Hustle Period. After attending a series of promotional photo shoots and making some radio appearances, The Go-Getters released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999. The album featured other Chicago-based rappers such as Rhymefest, Mikkey Halsted, Miss Criss, and Shayla G. Meanwhile, the production was handled by West, Arrowstar, Boogz, and Brian 'All Day' Miller.^[22]

West spent much of the late 1990s producing records for a number of well-known artists and music groups.^[24] The third song on Foxy Brown's second studio album Chyna Doll was produced by West. Her second effort subsequently became the very first hip-hop album by a female rapper to debut at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release.^[24] West produced three of the tracks on Harlem World's first and only album The Movement alongside Jermaine Dupri and the production duo Trackmasters. His songs featured rappers Nas, Drag-On, and R&B singer Carl Thomas.^[24] The ninth track from World Party, the last Goodie Mob album to feature the rap group's four founding members prior to their break-up, was co-produced by West with his manager Deric 'D-Dot' Angelettie.^[24] At the close of the millennium, West ended up producing six songs for Tell 'Em Why U Madd, an album that was released by D-Dot under the alias of The Madd Rapper; a fictional character he created for a skit on The Notorious B.I.G.'s second and final studio album Life After Death. West's songs featured guest appearances from rappers such as Ma$e, Raekwon, and Eminem.^[24]

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-A-Fella Records. West came to achieve recognition and is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with his contributions to the rap mogul's influential 2001 album The Blueprint.^[25]The Blueprint is consistently ranked among the greatest hip-hop albums, and the critical and financial success of the album generated substantial interest in West as a producer.^[26] Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, West produced records for other artists from the label, including Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Cam'ron. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson.^[25][27]

Despite his success as a producer, West's true aspiration was to be a rapper. Though he had developed his rapping long before he began producing, it was often a challenge for West to be accepted as a rapper, and he struggled to attain a record deal.^[28] Multiple record companies ignored him because he did not portray the 'gangsta image' prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time.^[19]:556 After a series of meetings with Capitol Records, West was ultimately denied an artist deal.^[18]

According to Capitol Record's A&R, Joe Weinberger, he was approached by West and almost signed a deal with him, but another person in the company convinced Capitol's president not to.^[18] Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella Records. Jay-Z later admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that many saw him as a producer first and foremost, and that his background contrasted with that of his labelmates.^[19]:556[29]

West's breakthrough came a year later on October 23, 2002, when, while driving home from a California recording studio after working late, he fell asleep at the wheel causing a head-on crash with another car.^[30] The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The crash broke both legs of the other driver.^[31] The accident inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to the hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut.^[30] The composition, 'Through The Wire', expressed West's experience after the accident, and helped lay the foundation for his debut album, as according to West 'all the better artists have expressed what they were going through'.^[32][33] West added that 'the album was my medicine', as working on the record distracted him from the pain.^[34] 'Through The Wire' was first available on West's Get Well Soon...mixtape, released December 2002.^[35] At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to 'make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.'^[36]

2003–06: The College Dropout and Late Registration

West recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date.^[28] However, West decided to use the opportunity to review the album, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. As a result, certain tracks originally destined for the album were subsequently retracted, among them 'Keep the Receipt' with Ol' Dirty Bastard and 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' with Consequence.^[37] West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, improved drum programming and new verses.^[28] West's perfectionism led The College Dropout to have its release postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003.^[38][39]

The College Dropout was eventually issued by Roc-A-Fella in February 2004, shooting to number two on the Billboard 200 as his debut single, 'Through the Wire' peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks.^[40] 'Slow Jamz', his second single featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx, became an even bigger success: it became the three musicians' first number one hit. The College Dropout received near-universal critical acclaim from contemporary music critics, was voted the top album of the year by two major music publications, and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums by artists. 'Jesus Walks', the album's fourth single, perhaps exposed West to a wider audience; the song's subject matter concerns faith and Christianity. The song nevertheless reached the top 20 of the Billboard pop charts, despite industry executives' predictions that a song containing such blatant declarations of faith would never make it to radio.^[41][42]The College Dropout would eventually be certified triple platinum in the US, and garnered West 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and Best Rap Album (which it received).^[43] During this period, West also founded GOOD Music, a record label and management company that would go on to house affiliate artists and producers, such as No I.D. and John Legend. At the time, the focal point of West's production style was the use of sped-up vocal samples from soul records.^[44] However, partly because of the acclaim of The College Dropout, such sampling had been much copied by others; with that overuse, and also because West felt he had become too dependent on the technique, he decided to find a new sound.^[45] During this time, he also produced singles for Brandy, Common, John Legend, and Slum Village.^[46]

Beginning his second effort that fall, West would invest two million dollars and take over a year to craft his second album.^[47] West was significantly inspired by Roseland NYC Live, a 1998 live album by English trip hop group Portishead, produced with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.^[48] Early in his career, the live album had inspired him to incorporate string arrangements into his hip-hop production. Though West had not been able to afford many live instruments around the time of his debut album, the money from his commercial success enabled him to hire a string orchestra for his second album Late Registration.^[48] West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who served as the album's co-executive producer for several tracks.^[49] Although Brion had no prior experience in creating hip-hop records, he and West found that they could productively work together after their first afternoon in the studio where they discovered that neither confined his musical knowledge and vision to one specific genre.^[50]Late Registration sold over 2.3 million units in the United States alone by the end of 2005 and was considered by industry observers as the only successful major album release of the fall season, which had been plagued by steadily declining CD sales.^[51]

While West had encountered controversy a year prior when he stormed out of the American Music Awards of 2004 after losing Best New Artist,^[52] his first large-scale controversy came just days following Late Registration's release, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims. In September 2005, NBC broadcast A Concert for Hurricane Relief, and West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said, 'George Bush doesn't care about black people.'^[32][a] West's comment reached much of the United States, leading to mixed reactions; President Bush would later call it one of the most 'disgusting moments' of his presidency.^[53] West raised further controversy in January 2006 when he posed on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a crown of thorns.^[32]

2007–09: Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak, and VMAs controversy

Fresh off spending the previous year touring the world with U2 on their Vertigo Tour, West felt inspired to compose anthemic rap songs that could operate more efficiently in large arenas.^[54] To this end, West incorporated the synthesizer into his hip-hop production, utilized slower tempos, and experimented with electronic music and influenced by music of the 1980s.^[55][56] In addition to U2, West drew musical inspiration from arena rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in terms of melody and chord progression.^[56][57] To make his next effort, the third in a planned tetralogy of education-themed studio albums,^[58] more introspective and personal in lyricism, West listened to folk and country singer-songwriters Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash in hopes of developing methods to augment his wordplay and storytelling ability.^[48]

West's third studio album, Graduation, garnered major publicity when its release date pitted West in a sales competition against rapper 50 Cent's Curtis.^[59] Upon their September 2007 releases, Graduation outsold Curtis by a large margin, debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and selling 957,000 copies in its first week.^[60]Graduation continued the string of critical and commercial successes by West, and the album's lead single, 'Stronger', garnered his third number-one hit.^[61] 'Stronger', which samples French house duo Daft Punk, has been accredited to not only encouraging other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music, but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the late 2000s.^[62] Ben Detrick of XXL cited the outcome of the sales competition between 50 Cent's Curtis and West's Graduation as being responsible for altering the direction of hip-hop and paving the way for new rappers who didn't follow the hardcore-gangster mold, writing, 'If there was ever a watershed moment to indicate hip-hop's changing direction, it may have come when 50 Cent competed with Kanye in 2007 to see whose album would claim superior sales.'^[63]

West's life took a different direction when his mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast reduction in November 2007.^[64] Months later, West and fiancée Alexis Phifer ended their engagement and their long-term intermittent relationship, which had begun in 2002.^[65] The events profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter.^[66] Purportedly because his emotions could not be conveyed through rapping, West decided to sing using the voice audio processor Auto-Tune, which would become a central part of his next effort. West had previously experimented with the technology on his debut album The College Dropout for the background vocals of 'Jesus Walks' and 'Never Let Me Down.' Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks,^[67] West announced his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where he performed its lead single, 'Love Lockdown'. Music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record.^[68]

808s & Heartbreak, which features extensive use of the eponymous Roland TR-808 drum machine and contains themes of love, loneliness, and heartache, was released by Island Def Jam to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend in November 2008.^[69][70] Reviews were positive, though slightly more mixed than his previous efforts. Despite this, the record's singles demonstrated outstanding chart performances. Upon its release, the lead single 'Love Lockdown' debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a 'Hot Shot Debut',^[71] while follow-up single 'Heartless' performed similarly and became his second consecutive 'Hot Shot Debut' by debuting at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.^[72] While it was criticized prior to release, 808s & Heartbreak had a significant effect on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers to take more creative risks with their productions.^[73]

West's controversial incident the following year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was arguably his biggest controversy, and led to widespread outrage throughout the music industry.^[74] During the ceremony, West crashed the stage and grabbed the microphone from 'Best Female Video' winner Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech in order to proclaim that, instead, Beyoncé's video for 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)', nominated for the same award, was 'one of the greatest videos of all time'. He was subsequently withdrawn from the remainder of the show for his actions. West's Fame Kills tour with Lady Gaga was cancelled in response to the controversy.^[75]

2010–12: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and collaborations

Following the highly publicized incident, West took a brief break from music and threw himself into fashion, only to hole up in Hawaii for the next few months writing and recording his next album.^[76] Importing his favorite producers and artists to work on and inspire his recording, West kept engineers behind the boards 24 hours a day and slept only in increments. Noah Callahan-Bever, a writer for Complex, was present during the sessions and described the 'communal' atmosphere as thus: 'With the right songs and the right album, he can overcome any and all controversy, and we are here to contribute, challenge, and inspire.'^[76] A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T, as well as off-the-wall collaborations, such as with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.^[77]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom considered it his best work and said it solidified his comeback.^[78] In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess.^[44] The record included the international hit 'All of the Lights', and Billboard hits 'Power', 'Monster', and 'Runaway',^[79] the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name directed by and starring West.^[80] During this time, West initiated the free music program GOOD Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday, a portion of which were included on the album. This promotion ran from August 20 – December 17, 2010. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States,^[81] but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a 'snub' by several media outlets.^[82]

2011 saw West embark on a festival tour to commemorate the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy performing and headlining numerous festivals including; SWU Music & Arts, Austin City Limits, Oya Festival, Flow Festival, Live Music Festival,The Big Chill, Essence Music Festival, Lollapalooza and Coachella which was described by The Hollywood Reporter as 'one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time',^[83] West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in August 2011. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak.^[84][85] 'Niggas in Paris' became the record's highest charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.^[79] The co-headlining Watch the Throne Tour kicked off in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012.^[86] In 2012, West released the compilation albumCruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. Cruel Summer produced four singles, two of which charted within the top twenty of the Hot 100: 'Mercy' and 'Clique'.^[79] West also directed a film of the same name that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens.^[87]

2013–15: Yeezus and Adidas collaboration

Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel.^[88] Determined to 'undermine the commercial',^[89] he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music.^[90] Primarily inspired by architecture,^[88] West's perfectionist tendencies led him to contact producer Rick Rubin fifteen days shy of its due date to strip down the record's sound in favor of a more minimalist approach.^[91] Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances.^[92][93]Yeezus, West's sixth album, was released June 18, 2013, to rave reviews from critics.^[94] It became his sixth consecutive number one debut, but also marked his lowest solo opening week sales.^[95] Def Jam issued 'Black Skinhead' to radio in July 2013 as the album's lead single.^[96]

In September 2013, Kanye West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar accompanying him as supporting act.^[97][98] The tour was met with rave reviews from critics.^[99]Rolling Stone described it as 'crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers.'^[99] Writing for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for 'taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop,' describing the show as 'overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but [it] excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in a way that just isn't common for mainstream musical acts of late.'^[100]

In June 2013, West and television personality Kim Kardashian announced the birth of their first child, North, and their engagement in October to widespread media attention.^[101] In November, West stated that he was beginning work on his next studio album, hoping to release it by mid-2014,^[102] with production by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip.^[103] In December 2013, Adidas announced the beginning of their official apparel collaboration with West, to be premiered the following year.^[104] In May 2014, West and Kardashian were married in a private ceremony in Florence, Italy, with a variety of artists and celebrities in attendance.^[101] West released a single, 'Only One', featuring Paul McCartney, in December.^[105]

'FourFiveSeconds', a single jointly produced with Rihanna and McCartney, was released in January 2015. West also appeared on the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special, where he premiered a new song entitled 'Wolves', featuring Sia Furler and fellow Chicago rapper, Vic Mensa. In February 2015, West premiered his clothing collaboration with Adidas, entitled Yeezy Season 1, to generally positive reviews. This would include West's Yeezy Boost sneakers.^[106] In March 2015, West released the single 'All Day' featuring Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom and Paul McCartney.^[107] West performed the song at the 2015 BRIT Awards with a number of US rappers and UK grime MC's including: Skepta, Wiley, Novelist, Fekky, Krept & Konan, Stormzy, Allan Kingdom, Theophilus London and Vic Mensa.^[108] He would premiere the second iteration of his clothing line, Yeezy Season 2, in September 2015 at New York Fashion Week.^[109]

Having initially announced a new album entitled So Help Me God slated for a 2014 release, in March 2015 West announced that the album would instead be tentatively called SWISH.^[110] On May 11, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture, officially making him an honorary DFA.^[111][112] The next month, West headlined at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, despite a petition signed by almost 135,000 people against his appearance.^[113] Toward the end of the set, West proclaimed himself: 'the greatest living rock star on the planet.'^[114] Media outlets, including social media sites such as Twitter, were divided on his performance.^[115][116]NME stated, 'The decision to book West for the slot has proved controversial since its announcement, and the show itself appeared to polarise both Glastonbury goers and those who tuned in to watch on their TVs.'^[116] The publication added that 'he's letting his music speak for and prove itself.'^[117]The Guardian said that 'his set has a potent ferocity – but there are gaps and stutters, and he cuts a strangely lone figure in front of the vast crowd.'^[118] In September 2015, West performed 808s & Heartbreak in its entirety two nights in a row to rave reviews at Hollywood Bowl. The performance featured a 60-person orchestra, a live band, guests from the album and 70 plus dancers.^[119] In December 2015, West released a song titled 'Facts'.^[120]

2016–17: The Life of Pablo and tour cancellation

West announced in January 2016 that SWISH would be released on February 11, and later that month, released new songs 'Real Friends' and a snippet of 'No More Parties in LA' with Kendrick Lamar. This also revived the GOOD Fridays initiative in which he releases new singles every Friday. On January 26, 2016, West revealed he had renamed the album from SWISH to Waves, and also announced the premier of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line at Madison Square Garden.^[121] In the weeks leading up to the album's release, West became embroiled in several Twitter controversies^[122] and released several changing iterations of the track list for the new album. Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo.^[123] On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line.^[124] Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying the track list once more before its release to the public,^[125] and further delayed its release to finalize the recording of the track 'Waves' at the behest of co-writer Chance the Rapper. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016, following a performance on SNL.^[126][127] Following its official streaming release, West continued to tinker with mixes of several tracks, describing the work as 'a living breathing changing creative expression'^[128] and proclaiming the end of the album as a dominant release form.^[129] Although a statement by West around The Life of Pablo's initial release indicated that the album would be a permanent exclusive to Tidal, the album was released through several other competing services starting in April.^[130]

In February 2016, West stated on Twitter that he was planning to release another album in the summer of 2016, tentatively called Turbo Grafx 16 in reference to the 1990s video game console of the same name.^[131][132] In June 2016, West released the collaborative lead single 'Champions' off the GOOD Music album Cruel Winter, which has yet to be released.^[133][134] Later that month, West released a controversial video for 'Famous', which depicted wax figures of several celebrities (including West, Kardashian, Taylor Swift, businessman and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, comedian Bill Cosby, and former president George W. Bush) sleeping nude in a shared bed.^[135] In August 2016, West embarked on the Saint Pablo Tour in support of The Life of Pablo.^[136] The performances featured a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling.^[136] West postponed several dates in October following the Paris robbery of several of his wife's effects.^[137] On November 21, 2016, West cancelled the remaining 21 dates on the Saint Pablo Tour, following a week of no-shows, curtailed concerts and rants about politics.^[138] He was later admitted for psychiatric observation at UCLA Medical Center.^[139][140] He stayed hospitalized over the Thanksgiving weekend because of a temporary psychosis stemming from sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration.^[141] Following this episode West took an 11 month break from Twitter, and the public in general.^[142]

2017–present: Ye, Yandhi, and further collaborations

It was reported in May 2017 that West was recording new music in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a wide range of collaborators.^{[143][144][145]} In April 2018, West announced plans to write a philosophy book entitled Break the Simulation,^[146] later clarifying that he was sharing the book 'in real time' on Twitter and began posting content that was likened to 'life coaching'.^[147] Later that month, he also announced two new albums, a solo album and self-titled collaboration with Kid Cudi under the name Kids See Ghosts, both of which would be released in June.^[148] Additionally, he revealed he would produce upcoming albums by GOOD Music label-mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor, as well as Nas.^[149] Shortly thereafter, West released the non-album singles 'Lift Yourself', a 'strange, gibberish track' featuring nonsensical lyrics, and 'Ye vs. the People', in which he and T.I. discussed West's controversial support of Donald Trump.^[150]

Pusha T's Daytona, 'the first project out of Wyoming', was released in May to critical acclaim, although the album's artwork – a photograph of deceased singer Whitney Houston's bathroom that West paid $85,000 to license – attracted some controversy.^[151][152] The following week, West released his album, Ye. West has suggested that he scrapped the original recordings of the album and re-recorded it within a month.^[153] The week after, West released a collaborative album with Kid Cudi, titled Kids See Ghosts, named after their group of the same name. West also completed production work on Nasir and K.T.S.E..

In August 2018, West released the non-album single 'XTCY' which was originally slated to be included in Ye. On September 7, 2018, West released a collaboration with American rapper Lil Pump titled 'I Love It'. On September 9, 2018, West announced via Twitter that Watch the Throne 2 would be coming soon.^[154] Later that month, West also announced his ninth studio album Yandhi to be released by the end of the month and a collaborative album with Chicagoan rapper Chance the Rapper titled Good Ass Job. West also announced in September that he would be changing his stage name to 'Ye'.^[155]Yandhi was originally set for released on September 29, 2018 but was postponed to November 23, 2018. West later postponed the album again in November 2018 with no new release date set.

Later in 2018, West began collaborating with other new acts besides Lil Pump. West appeared as a guest feature on the tracks 'Kanga' and 'Mama' with Nicki Minaj on American rapper 6ix9ine's debut album Dummy Boy. West is also the sole feature on XXXTentacion's first posthumous album Skins. 6ix9ine and XXXTentacion are both slated to be included on Yandhi. In January 2019, West pulled out of headlining the years Coachella festival, after negotiations broke down due to discord regarding stage design.^[156]

On January 6, 2019, West started his weekly 'Sunday Service' orchestration which includes soul variations of both West's and others' songs attended by multiple celebrities including the Kardashians, Charlie Wilson, and Kid Cudi.^[157] West previewed new song, 'Water' at his 'Sunday Service' orchestration performance at weekend 2 of Coachella.^[158]

Musical style

West's musical career has been defined by frequent stylistic shifts and different musical approaches.^[32] In the subsequent years since his debut, West has both musically and lyrically taken an experimental approach to crafting hip-hop music while maintaining pop sensibilities.^[159][160] He has incorporated new musical elements into his sonic palette with each album and explored a variety of music genres encompassing soul, baroque-pop, stadium rock, electro, house-music, indie rock, synth-pop, progressive rock, industrial, punk and gospel.^[161] He also surveys and analyzes lyrical trends in the evolving landscape of hip-hop culture, often changing his approach to rhyming couplets for his songwriting and delivery.^[162] West's early sound was largely influenced by 1990s hip-hop music, particularly that of East Coast.^[163] West claims that he used to make tracks reminiscent of record producer DJ Premier, with an emphasis on looped samples and dense drum beats or percussion channeled through modern record production.^[164][163] He subsequently developed a hip-hop production style driven by melodic and rhythmic hooks derived from samples of classic soul records.^[165] West incorporates live instruments, manipulated vocal samples and dramatic arrangements to supplement his beats.^[166] Later musical works increasingly relied on the application of digital audio workstations and computerized synths, bass, and drums.^[166][167]

Lyrically, West admits his rapping ability is not as dexterous as peers Jay-Z, Eminem and Nas, so he compensates with subject matter. He elaborates, 'the songs offer melody and message. That's the main goal. I saw it as a simple math project: If I can rap 70 to 80 percent as good as the beats are, I'll be successful.'^[160] West drew influence from mainstream rappers such as Mase and his Roc-A-Fella labelmates Jay-Z and Cam'ron in conjunction with underground hip-hop artists like Mos Def, Talib Kweli and dead prez. Kanye stated that dead prez in particular helped him discover a style of making 'raps with a message sound cool.'^[163] West imparts that he's conscious of the circumstances of his surroundings and strives to speak in an inclusive manner in which groups from different racial and gender backgrounds can comprehend his lyrics, saying he desired to sound 'just as ill as Jadakiss and just as understandable as Will Smith.'^[169]

Asked about his early musical inspirations in 2008, he named artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, George Michael, LL Cool J, Phil Collins and Madonna.^[170] Other musicians West has invoked as general inspirations include David Bowie, Miles Davis and Gil-Scott Heron.^[171][172] West was formatively mentored by Chicago producer No I.D., who introduced him to hip hop production in the early 1990s, allowing a teenage West to sit in on recording sessions.^[173] West has cited Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA as a prominent influence on his style.^[13] He stated, 'Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that.'^[174] On his part, RZA has responded favorably to comparisons between him and West. He said, 'All good. Kanye West, I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings. He had a lot to say about things I did. ... It's like when I met Isaac Hayes. For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.'^[175]

Early in his career, West pioneered a style of hip-hop production dubbed 'chipmunk-soul'^[176][165] His method of sampling technique is reminiscent of record production from the 1990s, involving the manipulation of tempo in order to chop and stretch pitched-up samples from soul songs.^[177] This is done on an Akai MPC or an Ensoniq ASR-10 and combined with his own instrumentation.^[178] West further developed his style on his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004). On the album, West formed the constitutive elements of his style: intricate hip-hop beats, topical subject matter, and inventive wordplay. His songwriting and vocal delivery places an emphasis on lyricism laden with transformative and slant rhymes, often altering the pronunciations of his words.^[159] After a rough version was leaked, West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, and improved drum programming.^[28] The album saw West diverge from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical lyrical subjects^[33] including higher education, materialism, self-consciousness, minimum-wage labor, institutional prejudice, family, sexuality, and his personal struggles in the music industry.^[179][180]

For his second album, Late Registration (2005), he collaborated with film score composer Jon Brion and drew influence from non-rap influences such as English trip hop group Portishead.^[48] Blending West's primary soulful hip hop production with Brion's elaborate chamber pop orchestration, the album experimentally incorporated a wide array of different genres and prominent orchestral elements, including string arrangements, piano chords, brass flecks, and horn riffs,^[49] amid a myriad of foreign and vintage instruments.^[181] Critic Robert Christgau wrote that 'there's never been hip-hop so complex and subtle musically.'^[182] With his third album, Graduation (2007), West moved toward a more atmospheric, rock-tinged, electronic-influenced style,^[183] drawing on European Britpop and Euro-disco, American alternative and indie-rock, and his native Chicago house.^[184][185] West retracted much of the live instrumentation that characterized his previous album and replaced it with distorted, gothic synthesizers,^[186]house beats, electro-disco rhythms, and a wide array of modulated electronic noises and digital audio-effects.^[55][185] In addition, West drew musical inspiration from arena rock bands such as The Rolling Stones, U2, and Led Zeppelin.^[56][57] In comparison to previous albums, Graduation is more introspective, exploring West's own fame and personal issues.^[187]

West's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008), marked a radical departure from his previous releases.^[188] He largely abandoned rapping over hip-hop beats in favor of emotive, melodic singing and a stark synth-driven electropop soundscape.^{[189][190][191]} On 808s, West juxtaposed Auto-Tuned sung vocals and the distorted Roland TR-808 drum machine with droning synthesizers, lengthy strings, somber piano, and tribal rhythms.^[192][193] Prior to its release, West cited inspiration from 1980s synthpop artists such as Phil Collins, Gary Numan, and Boy George and confessed an affinity with the work of post-punk and new wave groups such as Joy Division, The Police and TJ Swan.^[194][195] He would later described 808s & Heartbreak as 'the first black new wave album.'^[163] Discussing the album's subsequent influence on popular music, journalist Matthew Trammell for Rolling Stone described 808s as 'Kanye's most vulnerable work, and perhaps his most brilliant.'^[196] West recorded his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), with a wide range of collaborators. The album engages with themes of excess, celebrity, and decadence,^[197] has been noted by writers for its maximalist aesthetic and its incorporation of elements from West's previous four albums.^{[198][199][200]}Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson noted that such elements 'all recur at various points', namely 'the luxurious soul of 2004's The College Dropout, the symphonic pomp of Late Registration, the gloss of 2007's Graduation, and the emotionally exhausted electro of 2008's 808s & Heartbreak.'^[199] In a positive review, Andy Gill of The Independent called it 'one of pop's gaudiest, most grandiose efforts of recent years, a no-holds-barred musical extravaganza in which any notion of good taste is abandoned at the door'.^[201]

Describing his sixth studio album Yeezus (2013) as 'a protest to music,'^[202] West embraced an abrasive style that incorporated a variety of unconventional influences. Music critic Greg Kot described it as 'a hostile, abrasive and intentionally off-putting' album that combines 'the worlds of' 1980s acid-house and contemporary Chicago drill music, 1990s industrial music, and the 'avant-rap' of Saul Williams, Death Grips and Odd Future.^[90] The album also incorporates elements of trap music,^[203] as well as dancehall, punk, and electro.^{[203][204][205]} Inspired by the minimalist design of Le Corbusier^[163] and primarily electronic in nature, Yeezus also continues West's practice of eclectic and unusual samples.^[206]Rolling Stone called the album a 'brilliant, obsessive-compulsive career auto-correct'.^[207] West's seventh album The Life of Pablo was noted for its 'raw, occasionally even intentionally messy, composition' in distinction to West's previous album.^[208]Rolling Stone wrote that 'It's designed to sound like a work in progress.' Carl Wilson of Slate characterized the album as creating 'strange links between Kanye's many iterations—soul-sample enthusiast, heartbroken Auto-Tune crooner, hedonistic avant-pop composer, industrial-rap shit-talker.' West initially characterized the release as 'a gospel album.' Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote in his review of The Life of Pablo, 'West's version of gospel touches on some of those sonic cues — heavy organ, soaring choirs — but seems more preoccupied with gospel text and the notion of redemption.'^[209]

Other ventures

Fashion

Early in his career, West made clear his interest in fashion and desire to work in the clothing design industry.^[32][88] In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006, claiming 'Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring.'^[210] The line was developed over the following four years – with multiple pieces teased by West himself – before the line was ultimately cancelled in 2009.^[211][212] In 2009, West collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, the Air Yeezys, with a second version released in 2012. He became the first non-athlete to be given a shoe deal with Nike.^[213] In January 2009, he introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week. The line was released in summer 2009.^[214] West has additionally designed shoewear for Bape and Italian shoemaker Giuseppe Zanotti.^[215] In fall 2009, West moved to Rome and did an internship at Italian fashion brand Fendi where he gave ideas for the men's collection.^[216] In March 2011, West collaborated with M/M Paris for a series of silk scarves featuring artwork from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[217]

On October 1, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West^[218] at Paris Fashion Week. He received support from DSquared2 duo Dean and Dan Caten, Olivier Theyskens, Jeremy Scott, Azzedine Alaïa, and the Olsen twins, who were also in attendance during his show. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews,^[219] ranging from reserved observations by Style.com^[220] to excoriating commentary in The Wall Street Journal,^[221]The New York Times,^[222] the International Herald Tribune, Elleuk.com, The Daily Telegraph, Harper's Bazaar and many others.^{[223][224][225]} On March 6, 2012, West premiered a second fashion line at Paris Fashion Week.^[226][227] The line's reception was markedly improved from the previous presentation, with a number of critics heralding West for his 'much improved' sophomore effort.^[228]

On December 3, 2013, Adidas officially confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West.^[104] After months of anticipation and rumors, West confirmed the release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts. In 2015, West unveiled his Yeezy Season clothing line, premiering Season 1 in collaboration with Adidas early in the year.^[229] The line received positive critical reviews, with Vogue observing 'a protective toughness, a body-conscious severity that made the clothes more than a simple accessory.'^[230] The release of the Yeezy Boosts and the full Adidas collaboration was showcased in New York City on February 12, 2015, with free streaming to 50 cinemas in 13 countries around the world.^[231] An initial release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts was limited to 9000 pairs to be available only in New York City via the Adidas smartphone app; the Adidas Yeezy Boosts were sold out within 10 minutes.^[232] The shoes released worldwide on February 28, 2015, were limited to select boutique stores and the Adidas UK stores. He followed with Season 2 later that year at New York Fashion Week.^[106] On February 11, West premiered his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line at Madison Square Garden in conjunction with the previewing of his album The Life of Pablo.^[124] In June 2016, Adidas announced a new long-term contract with Kanye West which sees the Yeezy line extend to a number of stores and enter sports performance products.^[233] The Yeezys will be seen in basketball, football, soccer, and more.^[233]

In February 2017, West unveiled the Yeezy Season 5 collection to favorable responses from critics.^[234] In May 2017, West, alongside wife Kim Kardashian, launched a clothing line for children titled 'Kids Supply'.^[235] A second collection was released in July 2017.^[236] In February, West tweeted 'Yeezy is no longer a fashion company we should be referred to as apparel or clothing or simply YEEZY.'^[237]

West's Yeezy shoe line is considered one of the most influential sneaker brands in the world.^[238]

Business ventures

West founded the record label and production company GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG, shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout. John Legend, Common, and West were the label's inaugural artists.^[239] The label houses artists including West, Big Sean, Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Yasiin Bey / Mos Def, D'banj and John Legend, and producers including Hudson Mohawke, Q-Tip, Travis Scott, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker, and S1. GOOD Music has released ten albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T the new president of GOOD Music.^[240]

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago.^[241] Ultimately, in 2009, only two locations actually opened. In February 2011, West shut down the Fatburger located in Orland Park.^[242] Later that year, the remaining Beverly location also was shuttered.^[243]

On January 5, 2012, West announced his establishment of the creative content company DONDA, named after his late mother Donda West.^[244] In his announcement, West proclaimed that the company would 'pick up where Steve Jobs left off'; DONDA would operate as 'a design company which will galvanize amazing thinkers in a creative space to bounce their dreams and ideas' with the 'goal to make products and experiences that people want and can afford.'^[245] West is notoriously secretive about the company's operations, maintaining neither an official website nor a social media presence.^[246][247] In stating DONDA's creative philosophy, West articulated the need to 'put creatives in a room together with like minds' in order to 'simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see, taste, touch, and feel.'.^[245] Contemporary critics have noted the consistent minimalistic aesthetic exhibited throughout DONDA creative projects.^{[248][249][250]}

On March 30, 2015, it was announced that West is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal. The service specialises in lossless audio and high definition music videos. Jay-Z acquired the parent company of Tidal, Aspiro, in the first quarter of 2015.^[251] Sixteen artist stakeholders in Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, Chris Martin, Nicki Minaj co-own Tidal, with the majority owning a 3% equity stake.^[252] The idea of having an all artist owned streaming service was created by those involved to adapt to the increased demand for streaming within the current music industry, and to rival other streaming services such as Spotify, which have been criticised for their low payout of royalties.^[253] 'The challenge is to get everyone to respect music again, to recognize its value', stated Jay-Z on the release of Tidal.^[254]

On June 6, 2016, West announced the Yeezy Season 2 Zine. The Adidas Yeezy Boost 750 sneakers were released to retailers the following week, on June 11.^[255] They are high-top shoes with a glow in the dark sole.^[255] In an interview with Vogue, he stated that there will be Yeezy stores, with the first located in California.^[256]

In an interview with Fader in September 2018, West announced that he was considering plans of opening an automobile factory in Chicago with the focus of developing a flying car with the help of Tesla alums.^[257]

Philanthropy

West, alongside his mother, founded the 'Kanye West Foundation' in Chicago in 2003, tasked with a mission to battle dropout and illiteracy rates, while partnering with community organizations to provide underprivileged youth access to music education.^[258] In 2007, the West and the Foundation partnered with Strong American Schools as part of their 'Ed in '08' campaign.^[259][260] As spokesman for the campaign, West appeared in a series of PSAs for the organization, and hosted an inaugural benefit concert in August of that year.^[261]

In 2008, following the death of West's mother, the foundation was rechristened 'The Dr. Donda West Foundation.' ^[258][262] The foundation ceased operations in 2011.^[263] Kanye West and friend, Rhymefest, also founded 'Donda's House, Inc'. Got Bars is the Donda's House signature music/lyric composition and performance program. Participants are selected through an application and audition process. Got Bars is a free music writing program with the goal of helping at-risk Chicago youth. It is aimed at students between 15 and 24, and includes lessons on how to write and record music. Their curriculum is based on the teaching philosophy and pedagogy of Dr. Donda West with a focus on collaborative and experiential learning.^[264]

West has additionally appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, a Hurricane Sandy benefit concert, and an MTV special helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home.^[265]

In January 2019, West donated $10 million towards the completion of the Roden Crater by American artist James Turrell.^[266]

Acting and filmmaking

West made cameo appearances as himself in the films State Property 2 (2005) and The Love Guru (2008),^[267][268] and in an episode of the television show Entourage in 2007.^[269] West provided the voice for 'Kenny West', a rapper, in the animated sitcom The Cleveland Show.^[268] In 2009, he starred in the Spike Jonze-directed short film We Were Once a Fairytale (2009), playing himself acting belligerently while drunk in a nightclub.^[270] West wrote, directed, and starred in the musical short film Runaway (2010), which heavily features music from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.^[80] The film depicts a relationship between a man, played by West, and a half-woman, half-phoenix creature.^[271] In 2012, West wrote and directed another short film, titled Cruel Summer, which premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens constructed for the film. The film was inspired by the compilation album of the same name. West made a cameo appearance in the comedy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013) as a MTV News representative in the film's fight scene.^[272] In September 2018, West announced starting of film production company named Half Beast, LLC.^[273]

Architecture

West expressed interest in starting an architecture firm in May 2013, saying '“I want to do product, I am a product person, not just clothing but water bottle design, architecture ... I make music but I shouldn't be limited to once place of creativity'^[274][275] and then later in November 2013, delivering a manifesto on his architectural goals during a visit to Harvard Graduate School of Design.^[276] In May 2018, West announced he was starting an architecture firm which will act as an arm of his already successful Yeezy fashion label.^[277] West announced the decision on his Twitter account, tweeting 'we’re starting a Yeezy architecture arm called Yeezy home. We’re looking for architects and industrial designers who want to make the world better.'^[278][279]

In June 2018, the first Yeezy Home collaboration was announced by designer Jalil Peraza, teasing an affordable concrete prefabricated home as part of a social housing project.^[280][281]

Politics

In September 2015, West announced that he intended to run for President of the United States in 2020.^{[282][283][284]} He later implied on Twitter that he intends to run for President in 2024 due to Donald Trump's win in the 2016 elections.^[285][286] West later confirmed this in an interview in September 2018,^[287] saying that his main political concern is health care in the United States.^[288] On December 13, 2016, West met with President-elect Trump.^[289] According to West, 'I wanted to meet with Trump today to discuss multicultural issues. These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence in Chicago. I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future President if we truly want change.'^[290]

West previously stated he would have voted for Trump had he voted.^[291] In February 2017, however, West deleted all of his tweets about Trump in purported dislike of the new president's policies, particularly the travel ban.^[292] West reassured his support for Donald Trump in April 2018 in a text to Ebro Darden where he said 'I love Donald Trump... I love Donald Trump.'^[293] West also posted a picture wearing a Make America Great Again hat alongside a series of tweets defending President Trump.^[294] Trump later retweeted several of West's tweets.^[295]

Following his return to Twitter in April 2018, West tweeted 'I love the way Candace Owens thinks.'^[296] Owens, who promotes black conservatism, praised President Trump as the savior of the Free World and criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. The tweet was met with controversy among some of West's fans.^[297]

In May 2018, West said in an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God that he had been asked by a friend 'What makes George Bush any more racist than Trump?'^[298] — possibly alluding to his previous controversial condemnation of Bush as not caring about black people.^[32] West said 'racism isn't the deal breaker for me. If that was the case, I wouldn't live in America.'^[298]

During an interview with Fader in September 2018, West said he was visiting Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel to possibly start a school building project.^[257]

On October 11, 2018, West visited the Oval Office for a meeting with President Trump to discuss a range of issues. He and several other musicians watched Trump sign the Music Modernization Act.^[299] His support for Trump led to the creation of a 'Donye' parody by famous artist Lushsux who painted Kanye with Trump's hair.^[300] Later in October 2018, West and his wife visited the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, a noted Trump supporter, and said they held 'fruitful discussions' about promoting tourism and the arts.^[301]

The same month, West donated $73,540 to progressive Chicago mayoral candidate Amara Enyia. The donation was the exact amount Enyia needed to pay a fine she received for not filing campaign finance reports during her abbreviated 2015 mayoral run.^[302]

In October 26, President Trump praised West during his speech at the Young Black Leadership Summit, adding 'I think Kanye may be the most powerful man in all of politics', referring to a story on West's effect on African-Americans.^[303][304]

In October 2018, West was reported to have given his support to the Blexit movement, a campaign by Owens to encourage black Americans to abandon the Democratic Party and register as Republicans. Media reports suggested West had advised on the design of the campaign's logo, and branded merchandise, including T-shirts.^[305][306] However, West denied being the designer and disavowed the effort.^[307]

In January 2019, West re-affirmed his support for President Trump.^[308]

Controversies

General media

West has been an outspoken and controversial celebrity throughout his career, receiving both criticism and praise from many, including the mainstream media, other artists and entertainers, and two U.S. presidents.^[32][88] On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC (A Concert for Hurricane Relief), he deviated from the prepared script to criticize the media's portrayal of, and the federal response to, black victims of the hurricane. He criticized President George W. Bush for not 'car[ing] about black people'.^{[309][310][311]} Bush stated in an interview that the comment was 'one of the most disgusting moments' of his presidency.^[53] In November 2010, in a taped interview with Matt Lauer for the Today show, West expressed regret for his criticism of Bush. Reactions were mixed, but some felt that West had no need to apologize. 'It was not the particulars of your words that mattered, it was the essence of a feeling of the insensitivity towards our communities that many of us have felt for far too long,' argued Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons.^[312]

In 2008 he said he will go down in history as 'the voice of this generation', a comment that was widely ridiculed, notably in the South Park episode 'Fishsticks'.^{[313][314][315]}

In September 2013, West was widely rebuked by human rights groups for performing in Kazakhstan, which has one of the poorest human rights records in the world, at the wedding of authoritarian President Nursultan Nazarbayev's grandson.^[316] Other notable Western performers, including Sting, have previously cancelled performances in the country over human rights concerns.^[317][318] West was reportedly paid US$3 million for his performance.^[318] West had previously participated in cultural boycotts, joining Shakira and Rage Against the Machine in refusing to perform in Arizona after the 2010 implementation of stop and search laws directed against potential illegal aliens.^[319]

During a November 26, 2013, radio interview, West explained why he believed that President Obama had problems pushing policies in Washington: 'Man, let me tell you something about George Bush and oil money and Obama and no money. People want to say Obama can't make these moves or he's not executing. That's because he ain't got those connections. Black people don't have the same level of connections as Jewish people...We ain't Jewish. We don't got family that got money like that.' In response to his comments, the Anti-Defamation League stated: 'There it goes again, the age-old canard that Jews are all-powerful and control the levers of power in government.'^[320] On December 21, 2013, West backed off of the original comment and told a Chicago radio station that 'I thought I was giving a compliment, but if anything it came off more ignorant. I don't know how being told you have money is an insult.'^[321]

In February 2016, West again became embroiled in controversy when he posted a tweet seemingly asserting Bill Cosby's innocence in the wake of over 50 women making allegations of sexual assault directed at Cosby.^[322]

In May 2018, West caused controversy when he said, 'When you hear about slavery for 400 years ... for 400 years? That sounds like a choice. You were there for 400 years and it's all of y'all. It's like we're mentally imprisoned.' during an appearance on TMZ.^[323] West responded to the controversy on Twitter stating, 'Of course I know that slaves did not get shackled and put on a boat by free will. My point is for us to have stayed in that position even though the numbers were on our side means that we were mentally enslaved' and 'The reason why I brought up the 400 years point is because we can't be mentally imprisoned for another 400 years. We need free thought now. Even the statement was an example of free thought. It was just an idea. Once again I am being attacked for presenting new ideas'.^[324] Later on August 29, 2018, West offered up an emotional apology for his slavery comment during a radio interview with 107.5 WGCI Chicago.^{[325][326][327]}

Over the course of his career, West has been known to compare himself to various influential figures and entities in art and culture, including Kurt Cobain, Leonardo da Vinci, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Google, Jimi Hendrix, Thierry Hermès, Howard Hughes, Michael Jackson, Steve Jobs, Ralph Lauren, Michelangelo, Jim Morrison, Nike, Pablo Picasso, Axl Rose, William Shakespeare, Socrates, David Stern, Donald Trump, William Wallace, Andy Warhol, Anna Wintour, and Willy Wonka.^{[328][329][330]}

Award shows

In 2004, West had his first of a number of public incidents during his attendance at music award events. At the American Music Awards of 2004, West stormed out of the auditorium after losing Best New Artist to country singer Gretchen Wilson. He later commented, 'I felt like I was definitely robbed [...] I was the best new artist this year.'^[52] After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would 'really have a problem' if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, 'I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt – you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff.'^[331] On November 2, 2006, when his 'Touch the Sky' failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for 'We Are Your Friends' and argued that he should have won the award instead.^[332][333] Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane.^[334] He later spoofed the incident on the 33rd-season premiere of Saturday Night Live in September 2007.^[335]

On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had something to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, 'Maybe my skin's not right.'^[336] West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all five awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song 'Stronger' that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears has not had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.^[337]

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for 'You Belong with Me', West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)', nominated for the same award, was 'one of the best videos of all time'. He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions.^{[74][338][339]} When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for 'Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)', she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech.^[338] West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst,^{[74][340][341][342]} and by President Barack Obama, who called West a 'jackass'.^{[343][344][345][346]} In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and 'tweets' with the 'Let you finish' photo-jokes.^[347] He posted a Tweet soon after the event where he stated, 'Everybody wanna booooo me but I'm a fan of real pop culture... I'm not crazy y'all, I'm just real.'^[348] He then posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident, and the other the following day, when he also apologized during an appearance on The Jay Leno Show.^[341][349] After Swift appeared on The View two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology.^{[350][351][352]} In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including 'Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that' and concluding with 'I'm sorry Taylor.' He also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she did not accept the song, he would perform it himself.^[353] However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, he seemed to recant his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as 'selfless' and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created.^[354][355]

On February 8, 2015, at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, West walked on stage as Beck was accepting his award for Album of the Year and then walked off stage, leaving the audience to think he was joking. After the awards show, West stated in an interview that he was not joking and that 'Beck needs to respect artistry, he should have given his award to Beyoncé'.^[356] On February 26, 2015, he publicly apologized to Beck on Twitter.^[357] On August 30, 2015, West was presented with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the MTV Video Music Awards. In his acceptance speech, he stated, 'Y'all might be thinking right now, 'I wonder did he smoke something before he came out here?' And the answer is: 'Yes, I rolled up a little something. I knocked the edge off.'^[358] At the end of his speech, he announced, 'I have decided in 2020 to run for president.'^[359][360] At the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, West was given four minutes to do 'whatever he wanted'. He chose to debut his new music video for 'Fade', but first, delivered a speech in which he discussed recent shootings in Chicago, why he included Ray J and Donald Trump in his 'Famous' video, the Taylor Swift situation, his love of Beyoncé and Steve Jobs amongst others.^[361]

Petitions

Music fans have turned to Change.org around the globe to try and block West's participation at various events. The largest unsuccessful petition has been to the Glastonbury Festival 2015 with 133,000+ voters stating they would prefer a rock band to headline.^[362]On July 20, 2015,^[363] within five days of West's announcement as the headlining artist of the closing ceremonies^[364] of the 2015 Pan American Games, Change.org user XYZ collected over 50,000 signatures for West's removal as headliner,^[365] on the grounds that the headlining artist should be Canadian. In his Pan American Games Closing Ceremony performance, close to the end of his performance, West closed the show by tossing his faulty microphone in the air and walked off stage.^[366]

Personal life

Relationships and family

Kanye West Graduation Download

West began an on-and-off relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2002, and they became engaged in August 2006. The pair ended their 18-month engagement in 2008.^[367] West subsequently dated model Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010.^[368] In April 2012, West began dating reality star and longtime friend^[369]Kim Kardashian.^[370] West and Kardashian became engaged in October 2013,^[371][372] and married on May 24, 2014, at Fort di Belvedere in Florence, Italy.^[373] Their private ceremony was subject to widespread mainstream coverage, with West taking issue with the couple's portrayal in the media.^[374] They have four children: North 'Nori' West (born June 2013),^[375][376] Saint West (born December 2015),^[377] Chicago West^[378] (born January 2018 of a surrogate pregnancy),^[379] and Psalm West (born May 2019 of a surrogate pregnancy).^[380][381] In April 2015, West and Kardashian traveled to Jerusalem to have North baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church at the Cathedral of St. James.^[382][383]

The couple's high-profile status and respective careers have resulted in their relationship becoming subject to heavy media coverage; The New York Times referred to their marriage as 'a historic blizzard of celebrity.'^[384]

In September 2018, West announced that he will be permanently moving to Chicago and will establish his Yeezy company headquarters in the city.^[385][386]

Mother's death

On November 10, 2007, West's mother Donda West died at age 58.^[387][388] In January 2008 the Los Angeles County coroner's office said that West had died of coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors from, or as a consequence of, liposuction and mammoplasty'.^[389]

West played his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of 'Hey Mama', as well as a cover of Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin', to his mother, and did so on all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour.^[390]

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger subsequently signed the 'Donda West Law', legislation which makes it mandatory for patients to receive medical clearance through a physical examination before undergoing elective cosmetic surgery.^[391]

Legal issues

In December 2006, Robert 'Evel' Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for 'Touch the Sky'. Knievel took issue with a 'sexually charged video' in which West takes on the persona of 'Evel Kanyevel' and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit claimed infringement on Knievel's trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claimed that the 'vulgar and offensive' images depicted in the video damaged his reputation. The suit sought monetary damages and an injunction to stop distribution of the video.^[392] West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, 'I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman.'^[393]

In 2014, after an altercation with a paparazzo at Los Angeles Airport, West was sentenced to serve two years' probation for a misdemeanor battery conviction, and was required to attend 24 anger management sessions, perform 250 hours of community service, and pay restitution to the photographer.^[394]

Religious beliefs

After the success of his song 'Jesus Walks' from the album The College Dropout, West was questioned on his beliefs and said, 'I will say that I'm spiritual. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. And I will say that I fall short every day.'^[395] In a 2008 interview with The Fader, West stated that 'I'm like a vessel, and God has chosen me to be the voice and the connector.'^[396]

In a 2009 interview with online magazine Bossip, West clarified that he believed in God, but 'would never go into a religion,' explaining that 'I feel like religion is more about separation and judgment than bringing people together and understanding. That's all I'm about.'^[397] However, in 2014, West referred to himself as a Christian during one of his concerts.^[398] In 2019, West re-affirmed his Christian faith on Twitter.^[308]

Mental health

In his song 'FML' and his featured verse on Vic Mensa's song 'U Mad', he refers to using the antidepressant medication Lexapro, and in his song 'I Feel Like That', which has not been officially released, he mentions feeling many common symptoms of depression and anxiety. These songs had all been recorded during West's recording sessions for The Life of Pablo.^[399]

On November 20, 2016, soon before abruptly ending a concert prematurely, he said, 'Jay-Z—call me, bruh. You still ain't called me. Jay-Z, I know you got killers. Please don't send them at my head. Please call me. Talk to me like a man.'^[400] The following day, he was committed to the UCLA Medical Center with hallucinations and paranoia. Contrary to what early reports said, however, West was not actually taken to the hospital involuntarily; he was persuaded to do so by authorities.^[401] While the episode was first described as one of 'temporary psychosis' caused by dehydration and sleep deprivation, West's mental state was abnormal enough for his 21 cancelled concerts to be covered by his insurance policy;^[402] he was reportedly paranoid and depressed throughout the hospitalization,^[403] but remains formally undiagnosed.^[404] Some have speculated that the Paris robbery of his wife may have triggered the paranoia.^[405] On November 30, West was released from the hospital.^[406]

In an interview in 2018, West declared that he became addicted to opioids when they were prescribed to him after he got liposuction. The addiction may have contributed to his nervous breakdown in 2016.^[407]

West said he often has suicidal ideation.^[408] In a 2019 interview with David Letterman, West stated he has bipolar disorder.^[409]

Name 'Ye'

In September 2018, West announced on Twitter that being 'formally [sic] known as Kanye West,' he was now 'YE.' He had been using that name for some time as a nickname and as an album title.^{[155][410][411]}

Legacy

— Jon Caramanica, The New York Times^[88]

West is among the most critically acclaimed artists of the twenty-first century, receiving praise from music critics, fans, fellow musicians, artists, and wider cultural figures for his work.^[412][413] Over the course of his career, West has been responsible for cultural movements and musical progressions within mainstream hip-hop and popular music at large.^[161] Erik Nielson, a University of Richmond professor who teaches courses on hip-hop culture, opines that West is a 'mediocre rapper, but an extraordinary producer.'^[414] Nielson states, 'He is willing and able to experiment in ways that many people either don't or can't. He will take a concept to an extreme, and flesh it out and explore it in some sort of depth,' with a 'broad, eclectic range of sounds that he draws on that has opened up new possibilities for artists who came after him.'^[414] In 2013, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of Spin described West as fronting a 'new art-pop era' in contemporary music, in which musicians draw widely on the visual arts as a signifier of both extravagant wealth as well as creative exploration.^[415]

West's middle-class background, flamboyant fashion sense, outspokenness, and ability to reinvent himself on each of his albums set him apart from other hip-hop artists.^{[32][88][414]}Rolling Stone encapsulated West by calling him 'as interesting and complicated a pop star as the 2000s produced—a rapper who mastered, upped and moved beyond the hip-hop game, a producer who created a signature sound and then abandoned it to his imitators, a flashy, free-spending sybarite with insightful things to say about college, culture and economics, an egomaniac with more than enough artistic firepower to back it up.'^[416]AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier writes of his impact, 'As his career progressed throughout the early 21st century, West shattered certain stereotypes about rappers, becoming a superstar on his own terms without adapting his appearance, his rhetoric, or his music to fit any one musical mold.'^[32] Early in his musical career, he was among the first rappers to publicly criticize the preponderance of homophobia in hip-hop culture.^[417] Meanwhile, he maintained a preppy fashion sense that helped expand hip-hop's definition of masculinity.^[414] Nielsen concedes that West 'definitely made it OK to be a little bit of a weirdo. He said when he came out that he wasn't a thug. He was the kid who went to school, his mom was a college professor. He definitely challenged some of the authenticity that had to be there at the moment.'^[414]

Rolling Stone credited West with transforming hip-hop's mainstream, 'establishing a style of introspective yet glossy rap.'^[416] West has been attributed to the commercial decline of the gangsta rap that once dominated mainstream hip-hop.^[418] The outcome of a highly publicized sales competition between rapper 50 Cent's Curtis and West's Graduation marked a turning point in the music industry.^[419] With its emotive raps and confessional details, the album altered the direction of hip hop and helped pave the way for new rappers who did not follow the hardcore-gangster mold find wider mainstream acceptance.^{[420][421][422][63]} West's victory proved that rap music did not have to conform to gangsta-rap conventions to be commercially successful.^[422] According to Ben Detrick of XXL magazine, West effectively led a new wave of artists, including Kid Cudi, Wale, Lupe Fiasco, Kidz in the Hall, and Drake, who lacked the interest or ability to craft lyrical narratives about gunplay or drug-dealing.^[63] Rosie Swash of The Guardian deemed the sales competition a historical moment in hip-hop, because it 'highlighted the diverging facets of hip-hop in the last decade; the former was gangsta rap for the noughties, while West was the thinking man's alternative.'^[423] It was West's fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak (2008), that may stand as his most influential work.^[414] According to Billboard senior editor Alex Gale, 'That album is the equivalent of (Bob) Dylan going electric, and you still hear that all the time, in hip-hop and outside of hip-hop.'^[414] Though 808s & Heartbreak polarized listeners upon release, the album was a commercial success and impacted popular music stylistically.^[32] It laid the groundwork for a new wave of artists who generally eschewed typical rap braggadocio for confessional, intimate subject matter and introspection, including Drake, Frank Ocean, Future, J. Cole, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino, and The Weeknd.^{[424][414][425][426]}

A substantial number of artists and other figures have professed admiration for West's work, including hip hop artists Rakim,^[427]RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Chuck D of Public Enemy,^[428] and DJ Premier of Gang Starr.^[429][430]Velvet Underground founder and experimental-rock pioneer Lou Reed said of West that 'the guy really, really, really is talented. He's really trying to raise the bar. No one's near doing what he's doing, it's not even on the same planet.'^[431] Musicians such as Paul McCartney^[432] and Prince^[433] have also commended West's work. Famed Tesla Motors CEO and inventor Elon Musk complimented West in a piece for Time's 100 most influential people list, writing that:

Kanye West would be the first person to tell you he belongs on this list. The dude doesn't believe in false modesty, and he shouldn't [...] He fought for his place in the cultural pantheon with a purpose. In his debut album, over a decade ago, Kanye issued what amounted to a social critique and a call to arms (with a beat): 'We rappers is role models: we rap, we don't think.' But Kanye does think. Constantly. About everything. And he wants everybody else to do the same: to engage, question, push boundaries. Now that he's a pop-culture juggernaut, he has the platform to achieve just that. He's not afraid of being judged or ridiculed in the process. Kanye's been playing the long game all along, and we're only just beginning to see why.^[434]

Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Uzi Vert and Casey Veggies have acknowledged being influenced directly by West.^{[435][436][437][438]} He has been cited as a direct influence by artists and musical groups outside of hip-hop including English singer-songwriters Adele and Lily Allen,^[439][440]R&B singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar,^[441] New Zealand pop artist Lorde,^[442] American electropop singer Halsey,^[443] English rock band Arctic Monkeys,^[444]Sergio Pizzorno of English rock band Kasabian^[445] and the American indie rock bands MGMT,^[446] the Yeah Yeah Yeahs,^[447] and Fall Out Boy^[448] have cited West as an influence. Experimental and electronic artists such as James Blake^[449]Daniel Lopatin,^[450] and Tim Hecker^[451] have also cited West's work as an inspiration.

Village Voice Media senior editor Ben Westhoff dubbed West the greatest hip-hop artist of all time, writing, 'he's made the best albums and changed the game the most, and his music is the most likely to endure.'^[452]Billboard senior editor Alex Gale declared West 'absolutely one of the best, and you could make the argument for the best artist of the 21st century.'^[414] Sharing similar sentiments, Complex called West the twenty-first century's 'most important artist of any art form, of any genre.'^[453]Atlantic writer David Samuels labeled West, 'America's Mozart.'^[427] He commented, 'Kanye's power resides in his wild creativity and expressiveness, his mastery of form, and his deep and uncompromising attachment to a self-made aesthetic that he expresses through means that are entirely of the moment: rap music, digital downloads, fashion, Twitter, blogs, live streaming video. He is the first true genius of the iPhone era, the Mozart of contemporary American music, intent on using his creative and emotional gifts to express the heartbreaks and fantasies of his audience.'^[427]The Guardian compared West to David Bowie within the 'modern mainstream' while arguing that 'there is nobody else who can sell as many records as West does [...] while remaining so resolutely experimental and capable of stirring things up culturally and politically.'^[454]Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said that West has been 'a frequent lightning rod for controversy, a bombastic figure who can count rankling two presidents among his achievements.'^[88] Nieson elaborates, 'He is talented enough that he has made the calculation that you can dislike him and you will still listen to his music. That's kind of a rarified space for a mainstream musician: someone who can almost willfully turn his fan base off at some moments and still know that in all likelihood, they will be there for his next release.'^[414]

Achievements

All of West's studio albums have gone platinum, and he holds the record for having the most consecutive studio albums to debut at number one on the Billboard 200.^[455] His albums have received numerous awards and courted consistent critical acclaim.^[412] Additionally, West holds the record for most appearances on MTV's Hottest MCs in the Game list as well as the most wins. West has had six songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of December 2012 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade.^[456][457] West has the fourth most RIAA singles certificates in history with 68 and is the highest selling rapper in the Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum list's.^[458] On top of that he has sold over 50 million singles in the United States making him the second highest male and sixth highest selling artist of all time in singles sales.^[459]

As of 2017, West has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards making him eleventh in the list of most awarded artists of all time and sixth for most grammy nominations with 68. West is one of five artists to receive three consecutive Grammy nominations for Album of the Year along with Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Barbra Streisand and Lady Gaga. Additionally, West and Gaga are the only solo artists to receive this nomination for their first three albums. In 2015, West became only the second rapper after LL Cool J to be presented the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for his lifetime contributions to MTV culture through performing arts.

About.com ranked West eighth on their 'Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers' list.^[460]Billboard ranked him third on their list of Top 10 Producers of the Decade.^[461] West is tenth on the list of most Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits.^[462] Furthermore, he is tied with Bob Dylan for having topped the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll the most number of times ever, with four number-one albums each.^[463][464] West has also been included twice in the Time 100 annual lists of the most influential people in the world as well as being listed in a number of Forbes annual lists.^[465] In 2014, NME named him the third most influential artist in music, and was only rapper to make the top 30.^[466]

In its 2012 list of '500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone included three of West's albums: The College Dropout at number 298,^[467]Late Registration at number 118,^[468] and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy at number 353.^[469]Pitchfork ranked My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as the world's best album of the decade 'so far'—between 2010 and 2014—on August 19, 2014, while Yeezus was ranked in the eighth position of a list of 100 albums. During the same week, the song 'Runaway' was ranked in the third position in the publication's list of the 200 'best tracks' released since 2010.^[470][471] According to Acclaimed Music, a site which aggregates critics' reception, West is the 15th most celebrated artist in popular music history and its seventh most celebrated solo artist.^[472] In 2017, West became the first recording artist to have an album go Platinum and Gold in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively from streaming alone with The Life of Pablo.^[473][474]

Discography

Studio albums

• The College Dropout (2004)
• Late Registration (2005)
• Graduation (2007)
• 808s & Heartbreak (2008)
• My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
• Yeezus (2013)
• The Life of Pablo (2016)
• Ye (2018)
• Yandhi (TBD)

Collaborative albums

• Watch the Throne(with Jay-Z) (2011)
• Kids See Ghosts(with Kid Cudi as Kids See Ghosts) (2018)

Compilation albums

• Cruel Summer(as GOOD Music) (2012)

Videography

College Dropout Full Album Download

• The College Dropout Video Anthology (2004)
• Late Orchestration (2006)
• VH1 Storytellers (2010)

Tours

Headlining tours

• School Spirit Tour (2004)
• Touch The Sky Tour (2005)
• Glow in the Dark Tour (2008)
• Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga (cancelled) (2009–10)
• Watch the Throne Tour (with Jay-Z) (2011–12)
• The Yeezus Tour (2013–14)
• Saint Pablo Tour (2016)

Supporting tours

• Truth Tour(with Usher) (2004)
• Vertigo Tour(with U2) (2005–06)
• A Bigger Bang(with The Rolling Stones) (2006)

Filmography

Film

Television

Bibliography

• Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar (2007)
• Thank You and You're Welcome (2009)
• Through the Wire: Lyrics & Illuminations (2009)
• Glow in the Dark (2009)

Notes

1. ^I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food.' And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black. And even for me to complain about it, I would be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away from the TV because it's too hard to watch. I've even been shopping before even giving a donation, so now I'm calling my business manager right now to see what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was down there, and those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help—with the way America is set up to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, the Red Cross is doing everything they can. We already realize a lot of people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way—and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us!

References

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Further reading

• Kanye in Oxford: The #YeezOx highlights. Retrieved April 27, 2015

External links

• Official website
• Kanye West at AllMusic
• Kanye West on IMDb
• Kanye West discography at MusicBrainz
• Kanye West on Twitter
• Appearances on C-SPAN