Who is Kanye West?

Kanye Omari West, better known as Kanye West, is an American rapper, singer, designer and music producer.
He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, on June 8, 1977. West first became known as a producer for
Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s; but then became known as a solo singer in 2004.

Signified from Kanye West's name

Kanye West took his nickname musical of his birth name.

Kanye West's Childhood, Youth and Family Life

He grew up as a child in Chicago, Illinois, where he moved with his mother at the age of three, then would
later live in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Kanye is the son of Ray and Donda West. Ray West was working as a photojournalist (becoming award-
winning) when Kanye was born, and currently works as a pastoral marriage counselor. Donta West chaired the
English Department at the University of Chicago, until she retired to be her son's representative.

Kanye West's Beginnings in Music

After attending the International Academy of Art and Design and Technology, a Chicago school of fine arts, and
later the University of Chicago, West dropped out of everything and began his musical career. West himself
was working on his solo album for a long period, but the release of the album had to be delayed repeatedly.

Kanye West became one of the best hip hop producers after the recording of  Jay-Z's highly acclaimed album,
selling more than 85 million copies of his album stronger The Blueprint, which featured four songs produced
by Kanye. Because of his overall look and style, West worked hard to create his own voice and musical style on
his recordings. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-a-Fella Records was unwilling to support West as a rapper at first, as
they saw him as a producer first and foremost.

A car accident on October 23, 2002, while falling asleep while driving home from the studio, fractured his jaw
into three parts and nearly ended his life. This opened his eyes to the meaning of life. This accident was the
inspiration for his first solo single, "Through the Wire", which he recorded two weeks after the crash, when he
still had his mouth closed with wires.

Kanye West music genre

His production style originally employed vocal samples drawn from soul music songs, along with his own
samples of drums and other instruments. In the following productions he progressively expanded his spectrum
of influences, encompassing samples of R&B from the 1970s, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk,
electronic, synth pop and classical music.

Kanye West's Career and Legacy

West released his debut album, "The College Dropout", in 2004; following with "Late
Registration", 2005; "Graduation", 2007; "808s & Heartbreak", 2008; "My Beautiful Dark Twisted
Fantasy", 2010; "Watch the Throne" (with Jay-Z), 2011; and "Cruel Summer" (with GOOD Music) in 2012.
In 2013 he released his sixth solo studio album, "Yeezus", receiving numerous awards, including 21 Grammys,
making him the rapper who has won the most awards. All have been very successful commercially, becoming
808s & Heartbreak their third number one album in the United States after its release. West also runs his own
production company, GOOD Music, a label of artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi.

He later released his next album "The Life of Pablo", released by G.O.O.D. Music, Roc-A-Fella Records and Def
Jam Recordings in February 2016. The album is partially inspired by the life and work of the Apostle St. Paul.
From the album are released the albums "Feedback", "Low Lights", "FML", "Real Friends", "30
Hours" and "FACTS", among others.

He then released the album "Ye", from 2018, with which he quickly obtained a wide impact. In 2019 he
released the album "Jesus Is King", released through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam.

"Jesus Is King" ranked as West's ninth consecutive album to debut at the top of the US Billboard 200. With the
release, West became the first artist to take the top ten spots on the U.S. Christian and Gospel Song Charts.

Kanye West's Personal Life

West began a relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2002 and they got engaged in August 2006. The couple
ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. He then began a relationship with model Amber Rose from 2008 to
summer 2010.

Some time later, Kanye began dating Kim Kardashian in April 2012, who is currently his wife.

Controversial

At the 2009 MTV VMA Awards, singer Taylor Swift was named the winner of the Best Female Video award in
which she was nominated along with Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Pink and Kelly Clarkson, however, when
Taylor was saying her thank you speech, Kanye West took the stage, took the microphone and addressed the
crowd saying "Sorry Taylor, I'll let you finish (the speech), but listen... Beyoncé made one of the best videos of
all time" insinuating that Beyoncé deserved to win the award, leaving the audience and Taylor Swift herself
stunned. It was revealed that he apologized to Taylor and that she accepted them.

A year after the controversial event with Taylor Swift at the MTV 2009 VMAs, Kanye appeared again at the
2010 VMA Awards to perform a song at the end of the gala. Taylor also performed "Innocent," a song
dedicated to West in which he accepts his apology and puts an end to the event.