Kanye Omari West, born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta , Georgia, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, producer, director, and designer from Chicago, Illinois.
West’s mother, Dr. Donda C. (Williams) West is a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University. West was raised in a middle-class family, and attended Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, after moving to Chicago.
At age 10, West moved with her mother to Nanjing , China, where she became a professor at Nanjing University on an exchange program. According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but he adapted quickly by speaking Chinese, which he has since forgotten. West says he was a good student in high school.
West devoted himself to art early; he devoted himself to poetry at the age of 5. His mother remembers having seen him devote himself to drawing and music when he was in . West is also and particularly involved in the hip-hop scene. He started composing music in , and sold his works to other artists.
Biography of Kanye West
West was noted in his early days as a producer on the Roc-a-Fella label , for his work on rapper Jay-Z ‘s 2001 album ” The Blueprint ” , as well as for his work with artists. of international renown such as Ludacris , Alicia Keys or Janet Jackson .
His production style is often based on high-pitched vocal samples from soul songs mixed with his own compositions. A real jack-of-all-trades, he later extended his influences to different musical styles such as RnB, baroque pop, trip hop, alternative rock, folk, electronica, industrial music, or even classical music.
West was raised in a middle-class family in Chicago and began rapping in high school, becoming involved in the city’s hip-hop culture. Kanye West attended art school in Chicago for six months before dropping out of school to pursue music in the late 1990s. seriously by his label which confines him to the role of producer.
Career
In , Kanye West announced his intention to create his own line of streetwear clothing, called Pastelle Clothing for spring 2006. However, just after Kanye West presented his brand’s first lookbook in 2009, he announced that it would not be released. never.
Kanye West is known to be a fashion victim . Brands very quickly grasped that it had significant image capital. In July 2009, Louis Vuitton released sneakers in collaboration with Kanye West. Quite sober sneakers, less loaded with colors and rhinestones than other sneakers signed by rappers like Lil Wayne .
In the same year, he released in collaboration with Nike , the “Air Yeezy” model. The success of this pair of sneakers is dazzling. The “Nike Air Yeezy 2” was released in June 2012 and its success was just as dazzling since the pair sold around in 2015 when its initial price was ten times lower.
Nike sneakers aren’t his only approach to footwear; he spent two years with the shoemaker Giuseppe Zanotti to learn the basics of the luxury shoe industry. On Saturday October 2011, on the sidelines of the Paris Fashion Show Week , the rapper presented to around fifty guests his first collection of 23 women’s ready-to-wear creations that he had designed.
This first fashion show received many negative reviews; Anna Wintour of American Vogue magazine , when asked her opinion on this collection, will answer “Ask someone else”; overall, apart from this parade, the reception from the fashion world also remains negative. Despite everything, Riccardo Tisci, artistic director of Givenchy , Azzedine Alaïa , Carine Roitfeld , Spades & Co. or Anna Dello Russo are among his supporters.
In March 2015 Kanye West presents his first collaboration with the Adidas brand including fifty looks. This collaboration is called Yeezy Season 1 and mainly includes pieces oriented towards the military style such as parkas with camouflage patterns or loose sweaters with holes. He has also collaborated with the French brand APC . And produced two collections for it in 2013 and 2014.
After signing in 2002 to Jay-Z’s label, Roc-a-Fella Records, he released his debut album, ” The College Dropout ” in 2004, which met with commercial and critical success. The rapper continues with ” Late Registration ” , an album with baroque sounds, in 2005,” Graduation ” in 2007.
Kanye West stops rapping for a while and takes on the role of singer on “808s and Heartbreak” , an album where the artist shows a more sensitive side than before. He returned to rap in 2010 with his album ” My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ” , once again to critical acclaim. After various collaborative albums, Kanye West returned solo in 2013 with the release of ” Yeezus ” .
Kanye West is one of the biggest selling records in the music industry, with over 32 million copies sold and 100 million downloads worldwide. He is also one of the most awarded artists, 21 times at the Grammy Awards , making him one of the artists with the most victories, and the youngest with such a large track record.
The magazines ” Time ” and ” Forbes ” rank him among the 100 most influential personalities in the world. Three of his albums are among Rolling Stone ‘s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.”. Kanye West changes his style regularly during his career, going from so-called baroque-influenced gangsta rap to experimental music with a background of electronic music.
West is known for his outspokenness, which has sparked controversy on many occasions, including during award ceremonies. His eccentric fashion tastes, excesses, and relationship with Kim Kardashian owe him the attention of the gossip media. West heads his own label, GOOD Music , and has made several short films.
Debut 1996–2003
After making a name for himself on Jermaine Dupri ‘s album , ” Jermaine Dupri Presents: Life in 1472 ” , in 1998, the producer became the beatmaker for artists on the Roc-A-Fella Records label (Jay-Z, Patrick Herve Bird, Beanie Sigel , Memphis Bleek , Freeway ).
Subsequently, Kanye West worked on albums by Talib Kweli , DMX , Ludacris, Scarface , Monica , Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Twista , Brandy , Jay-Z, Mos Def , T-Pain , Dilated Peoples, Mariah Carey , Miri Ben-Ari , John Legend , Common , Keri Hilson , Ne-Yo , JWA (Lord.E, MICH and K.Sleep) and even The Acapella Boyz (Jeedee and Mike SZ).
It was as a producer, and with his adoptive brother Duncan B. Obert, that he began to make a name for himself. He is notably behind certain hits by Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Brandy ( Talk About Our Love ), Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, Ludacris and John Legend. Kanye West is making a name for himself in producing hip-hop music following the success of Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint” album. On this album, he produced four songs, including “Izzo (HOVA)” .
A car accident, which occurred on October 23, 2002, fractured his jaw in three places. This ordeal opens his eyes to the meaning of his own life. It is this event that inspired him for his track Through the Wire , drawing his inspiration from soul and taking up a sample of “Through the Fire” by Chaka Khan .
He recorded this song six weeks after the accident, while his mouth was still stitched together. He also apologizes in the song: “I apologize for my voice man, if it’s not clear at all… They closed my mouth for I don’t know how long, the doctor has says something like six weeks”. “Through the Wire”is the lead single from his debut solo album, ” The College Dropout ” .
“The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” 2004–2006
“The College Dropout” was released in early 2004. The album notably contains Slow Jamz , with Twista and Jamie Foxx , which pays homage to the soul of Marvin Gaye or Luther Vandross and Never Let Me Down , in collaboration between Jay-Z and Saul Williams . “All Falls Down” , with Syleena Johnson , depicts a world where image and appearance are kings.
This title has very pronounced soul chords and covers a piece by Lauryn Hill , whom Kanye West had asked to sing the piece with him again. The ex-member of the Fugeeshaving refused and it is therefore the voice of Syleena Johnson that we hear on the piece. School Spirit , whose sample is from Aretha Franklin ‘s “Spirit in the Dark” album , was censored because the latter did not want foul language on this song. Nominated for ten Grammy Awards , The College Dropout won three.
The album was crowned album of the year by The New York Times and Time Magazine , which ranked Kanye West among the “100 most influential people on the planet” and, in December 2009, Entertainment Weekly magazinenamed it “Best Album of the Decade”.
In , Kanye West released his second album titled Late Registration . The first two singles taken from the album are Diamonds From Sierra Leone (which samples Shirley Bassey ‘s Diamonds Are Forever on the James Bond soundtrack Diamonds Are Forever ) and Gold Digger (which features Jamie Foxx ).
The album garnered eight Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year for “Gold Digger” . In , he recorded in London eleven of his songs with a symphony orchestra. Recording takes place at Abbey Road Studios and is available on the Late Orchestration CD – DVD , released in . In 2006, he appeared in Michel Gondry ‘s musical documentary , Dave Chappelle’s Block Party .
“Graduation” and “808s and Heartbreak” 2007–2009
On September 11, 2007|in music, he released “Graduation” , which was the best-selling album in the United States since 50 Cent’s ” The Massacre ” (1.14 million albums sold in one week) in 2005 This third album features the French group Daft Punk , with the title ” Stronger ” , which covers their track ” Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger ” .
The title is judged as the best featuring of the year. Kanye West is notably on the cover of Spin Magazine with the two Daft Punk robots on the cover and we notice their first TV appearance on CBSfor the Grammy Awards for performing “Stronger” . In 2008, Kanye West participated in the anniversary reissue of ” Thriller 25 ” , Michael Jackson ‘s album . He remixes one of Jackson’s hits, ” Billie Jean ” . He also makes a guest appearance on Madonna ‘s song Beat Goes On , produced by Pharrell Williams .
His fourth album, “808s and Heartbreak” , was released on November 25, 2008|with music. It ranked number seven in sales in the United States, with 1,023,000 copies sold in 2008. The first single from the album, Love Lockdown , was performed at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2008|to music. The second single is titled Heartless . West chooses to use Auto-Tune , voice modulating software popularized by T-Pain . The sounds of the album tend more towards R’n’B and Pop of the 1980s.
In 2009, he burst onto the stage at the “MTV Video Awards”, to say that Beyoncé deserved the prize for best video for a female artist much more than the young winner, Taylor Swift .
“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” 2011–2012
On May 28, 2010|in music, he unveiled the first single, ” Power ” , from his fifth studio album, ” My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ” , previously entitled “Good Ass Job” , which is scheduled for release on November 22, 2010 |in music. In , he released a mixtape, “Good Ass Mixtape” , in collaboration with Perajok.
From , he launched ” GOOD Fridays ” on the Internet where, every Friday, he published a new title. He thus presents songs with Jay-Z, RZA , Pete Rock , Pusha-T , Bon Iver , Common,Curtis Mayfield , Charlie Wilson and many more. In September, he also presented the second single from his album, Runaway featuring Clipse ‘s Pusha-T .
He himself made a 35-minute film for this song, where he also presents other titles from his album. In 2011, he released ” Watch the Throne ” , a joint album with Jay-Z, originally planned as a single EP . The first single, ” HAM ” , is presented on the Internet on January 11, 2011 in music.
Also at the start of the year, his music video All of the Lights was accused of plagiarizing the film ” Enter the Void ” . The clip reuses the aesthetic of Gaspar Noé ‘s film’s opening credits almost identically . Kanye West takes up the principle of “GOOD Fridays” to promote the release of his album in collaboration with the artists of his label GOOD Music. He directed another film for this album, presented at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in unofficial competition (the film being projected on seven screens simultaneously).
“Yeezus” and “The Life of Pablo” 2013–2017
On June 21, 2013|en musique released his sixth album, Yeezus , in France . It contains ten tracks including many collaborations including KiD CuDi , Frank Ocean , Assassin, Bon Iver , Charlie Wilson , Tony Williams , Chief Keef and Justin Vernon.
In December 2013, he was the subject of controversy, accused of anti-Semitism by the Anti-Defamation League , for having declared: “Black people do not have the same relationships as Jews. Blacks don’t have the same relationships as oil people. “. He was then defended by the co-founder of the Nation of Islam , Louis Farrakhan .
His seventh studio album, ” The Life of Pablo ” , was released exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016. Although already released, the album is regularly modified by its author, which is a first, including for a digital format. In November 2016, the rapper decided to cancel a concert of his tour The Saint Pablo Tour only three hours before the start of it.
The following day, representatives for West reported that the star has decided to end his Saint Pablo tour and that ticket holders will be refunded. He had about twenty performances left in North America .and Kanye West has never commented on the news himself. The rapper reportedly had a psychotic attack and entered the UCLA medical center in Los Angeles on November 21, 2016. He was released on November 30.
Ye and “Kids See Ghosts” since 2018
On Friday June, he released his eighth studio album, Ye . A week later, he released ” Kids See Ghosts ” , a joint album with Kid Cudi .
In 2017, Forbes estimated Kanye West’s personal fortune at US$22 million.
During a gala in support of the victims of Katrina broadcast live on television by presenter Andréa Miguel, Kanye West declares (“ George W. Bush doesn’t care about blacks”). Mike Myersbegins by reading a text on a teleprompter emphasizing the importance of remaining united in times of crisis.
When Kanye West’s turn arrives, he ignores the imposed text and begins to comment on two images relayed by the media around the world during the day. “Next to a photo showing a white man, arms full of groceries, the caption says he found food. Next to the same photo showing a black man, the caption says he stole them. The control room cuts off immediately and goes on to a country singer tuning his guitar.
When the single “Diamonds are Forever” was released in May 2005, the lyrics refer to his disappointment at having left the American Music Awards empty-handed , one of the musical high masses in the United States. A month later, a remix of the renamed song “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” was released , with radically different lyrics.
Kanye West talks this time about the hidden side of the diamond trade, working conditions in African mines, and attacks the bling-bling culture. In , he took part in a campaign calling for a boycott of Arizona because of a controversial new law extending the practice of identity checks in the context of the fight against the
In November 2016, he stated that had he voted in the US presidential election, he would have supported Donald Trump.
Discography
- 2004: The College Dropout
- 2005: Late Registration
- 2007: Graduation
- 2008: 808s and Heartbreak
- 2010: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
- 2011: Watch the Throne (with Jay Z )
- 2013: Yeezus
- 2016: The Life of Pablo
- 2018: Yes
- 2018: Kids See Ghosts (with Kid Cudi )
Tours
- 2005: Touch The Sky Tour
- 2008: Glow in the Dark Tour
- 2011-2012: Watch The Throne Tour (with Jay Z )
- 2013-2014: The Yeezus Tour
- 2016: The Saint Pablo Tour
Director
- 2005: “text=The College Dropout Video Anthology” (documentary)
- 2010: Runaway (short film)
- 2012: Cruel Summer (short film)
Kanye West Net Worth
“Kanye has a lot of success in both music and fashion with his Yeezy clothing line, and both efforts earn him a ton of money every year. But billionaire? No. No. No, ”reports the publication. The rumor originated in a misguided comment by West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, to Jimmy Kimmel.
Jimmy asked Kim about the (entirely fabricated) Forbes article that (mistakenly) claimed younger sister Kylie was a billionaire (she’s not). Jimmy sheepishly asked Kim if she was a billionaire, to which Kim replied, “I would say my husband is, so that makes me one, right? By proximity. The correct phrase she was looking for was “by proxy”…but I digress. So based on that throwaway line on Kimmel, a thousand websites ran a thousand articles with headlines like “Kanye West is a Billionaire,” giving no evidence at all.
Private life
In 2002, he began dating stylist Alexis Phifer, the two would experience several breakups before becoming engaged in August 2006. They separated in 2008. He then had a relationship with model Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer 2010.
Since April 2012, he has been in a relationship with his longtime friend, media personality Kim Kardashian . After getting engaged in October 2013, they married on May 24, 2014 in Florence , Italy . The ceremony takes place at Forte Belvedere .
On December 30, 2012, he announced that Kim Kardashian was pregnant during her concert in Atlantic City . She gave birth to a baby girl named North West on June 15, 2013. On May 31, 2015, Kim Kardashian announced that they were expecting their second child, a boy. Kanye West and Kim Kardashian welcomed their son, Saint West, on December 5, 2015. On January 15, 2018, the couple welcomed their third child, a baby girl named Chicago West born through a surrogate mother.
