Kanye West is a veteran multiple Grammy award-winning rapper, record producer and fashion designer.
He was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. His father, Ray, was a photojournalist for the Atlanta Journal newspaper and was also political activist in the Black Panthers and his mother, Donda, a renowned teacher and Professor of English at Chicago State University. She was also West’s manager before she sadly died of heart disease after cosmetic surgery in 2007.
Kanye West’s Educational Background
Kanye West graduated from Polaris High School. He was given a scholarship to study at Chicago’s American Academy of Art, but dropped out of college to make a career in music, an act that eventually influenced the title of his first solo album years later.
Kanye West Music Career
Kanye West kick-started his journey into the music industry as a producer for leading artists.
He made his first debut as a rapper with his 2004 debut, ‘College Dropout’, an album that was finally released in February 2004 and sold about 2.6 million copies and made West a superstar.
The ‘College Dropout’ peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart, and West received 10 Grammy nominations, winning three awards including Best Rap Song for “Jesus Walks” and Best Rap Album.
Shortly after the album was released, West founded his record label, GOOD music — an acronym for Getting Out Our Dreams — in conjunction with Sony BMG.
West later released a hit hip hop world via such chart-topping albums as Late Registration (2005), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Yeezus (2013) and Ye (2018) respectively.
Kanye West has so far won over twenty Grammy Awards. He has also won several awards in the fashion world.
As Music Producer
Kanye West is a prolific producer with several productions to local and international stars. He developed a signature style, dubbed “chipmunk soul,” characterized by sped-up soul samples.
In 2001, West got a big break in handling the production for the Jay-Z track, “This Can’t Be Life,” which appeared on the 2000 album Dynasty: Roc La Familia. The following year he successfully produced four songs on Jay Z’s The Blueprint, widely regarded as one of the greatest rap albums of all time.
West has since produced for other stellar talents, including the rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Ludacris, and the singers Alicia Keys and Beyoncé.
The highly creative and talented rapper has never had a dull moment in his music career. He made spectacular progress, adding another three Grammy wins — Best Rap Album again, plus Best Rap Song for “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” and Best Rap Solo Performance for “Gold Digger.”
Late Registration debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 — a feat West would repeat with every subsequent solo album release.
West made another groundbreaking with the album Graduation. West’s album sold 957,000 copies in its first six days, going straight to No. 1.
Aside music, Kanye West is also a fashion designer. He took a break from music to focus on fashion. He launched his own cloth spring in 2006 and developed it for a period of four years, 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively with giant designers like Nike, Air Yeezys, Louiss Vulton Gluseppe Zanotti.
On December 3, 2013, Adidas officially confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West. After months of anticipation and rumors, West confirmed the release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts.
In 2015, West unveiled a Yeezy clothing line, premiering in collaboration with Adidas early that year.
In June 2016, Adidas announced a new long-term contract with Kanye West that extended the Yeezy line to a number of stores, planning to sell sports performance products like basketball, football, and soccer, although Adidas terminated the partnership with West in October 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks.
In May 2023, West signed a 10-year deal linking Yeezy with GAP to create Yeezy Gap, however, in September 2022, West announced that he was ending the deal.
The versatile and exceptionally creative West collaborated with labels including A Bathing Ape and Nike on limited-edition sneaksince 2006. He launched his first collection in Paris in 2011 — but it was widely panned.
After his second collection a year later received a lukewarm reception, West announced he would no longer be showing in Paris.
He collaborated with the French label APC on a capsule collection in 2013 and signed a $10 million deal with German active wear brand, Adidas, launching his first apparel collection Yeezy Season 1, with the brand in October 2015.
Over the years, West has worked with a number of brands including Nike and Louis Voitton respectively.
In 2010, West made a comeback to music with his fifth album, widely acclaimed the greatest hit topping the music chart.
West and his old sparring partner Jay Z then released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne in 2011 — it yielded seven singles including “Otis” and “Niggas in Paris”; and added three more Grammy wins to West’s and Jay Z’s respective hauls.
His Marriage
In 2012, West entered into a relationship with the reality-TV star Kim Kardashian, which began in April. They got engaged in October 21, 2013 and eventually married on May 24, 2014, in the historic Fort di Belvedere in Italy.
The couple is blessed with four children named North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.
In February 2023, Kardashian filed for divorce from West.
Kanye West Net Worth
Kanye West is unarguably the current richest and most influential black entertainer in US with an estimated net worth of over $6.6 billion dollars.
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