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"Kanye" redirects here. For other uses, see Kanye (disambiguation).

Kanye West

Kanye West Lollapalooza Chile 2011 2.jpg

West performing at Lollapalooza in 2011

Born Kanye Omari West

June 8, 1977 (age 37)

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Occupation

Rapper songwriter record producer fashion designer entrepreneur

Years active 1996–present

Home town Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Spouse(s) Kim Kardashian (m. 2014)

Children 1

Musical career

Genres Hip hop

Instruments

Vocals keyboards sampler percussion synthesizer piano

Labels

Very GOOD Beats Roc-A-Fella Def Jam

Associated acts

2 Chainz Big Sean Charlie Wilson Child Rebel Soldier Common Go-Getters Jay-Z Kid Cudi Mike Dean Mos Def No I.D. Paul McCartney Rihanna Talib Kweli The Game Vic Mensa

Website

Official website

Kanye Omari West (/ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records; he achieved recognition for his work on rapper Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001), as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used high-pitched vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. He later broadened his influences to include 1970s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, house, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, industrial, and classical music.

West was raised in a middle-class household in Chicago, Illinois, and began rapping in the third grade, becoming involved in the city's hip hop scene. West attended art school for one semester before dropping out to pursue music entirely in the late 1990s. Although his real desire was to become a rapper, record executives did not take West seriously, viewing him as a producer first and foremost. After being signed to Roc-A-Fella in 2002, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to commercial and critical acclaim. The baroque-inspired Late Registration followed in 2005, and Graduation in 2007. West switched rapping for singing on his emotive 2008 effort 808's & Heartbreak, and embraced maximalism on 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Following several collaborations, West released his abrasive sixth album, Yeezus, in 2013.

West is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 21 million albums and 100 million digital downloads.[1] 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 age.[2] Time named West one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005, 2011 and 2015. He has also been included in a number of Forbes annual lists.[3] Three of his albums rank on Rolling Stone's 2012 "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list; two of his albums feature at #8 and #1 in Pitchfork Media's The 100 Best Albums of 2010–2014.[4]

West's background and style, from his debut album, deviated from the then-dominant "gangsta" persona in hip hop, and he would later alter the genre stylistically as rappers adopted his alternative aesthetic. An outspoken and controversial celebrity, West has often been a source of controversy due to his appearances at award shows and his various television and radio interviews. West has collaborated on multiple occasions with brands Nike, Louis Vuitton, Adidas and A.P.C.. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music and has directed several short films.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

2 Music career

2.1 1996–2002: Career beginnings

2.2 2003–06: The College Dropout and Late Registration

2.3 2007–09: Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak

2.4 2010–12: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and collaborations

2.5 2013–present: Yeezus and SWISH

3 Musical style

4 Other ventures

4.1 Business ventures

4.2 Fashion

4.3 Philanthropy

5 Personal life

5.1 Relationships

5.2 Mother's death

5.3 Legal issues

6 Controversies

6.1 General media

6.2 Award shows

7 Legacy

8 Accolades

9 Discography

9.1 Studio albums

9.2 Collaboration albums

10 Videography

11 Filmography

11.1 Film

11.2 Television

12 Bibliography

13 Further reading

14 References

15 External links

Early life

West moved to Chicago, Illinois at age three and became involved in its hip hop scene as a teen.

Kanye Omari West was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia.[5][6] His parents divorced when he was three and he and his mother moved 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]

Kanye West's mother, Dr. Donda C. (Williams) West,[11][12] 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[13] in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.[14] 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.[15] When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'."[16]

West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old.[17] His mother recalled that she first took notice of West's passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade.[18] Growing up in the city, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.[19] At age thirteen, West wrote a rap song called "Green Eggs and Ham" and began to persuade his mother to pay $25 an hour for time in a recording studio. It was a small, crude basement studio where

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