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Kanye West

Kanye Omari West, can suck my dick. OOOOOOOOH (pronounced /'kɑn.je(ɪ)/) (born June 8, 1977), is a six-time Grammy Award-winning American record producer and rapper. He has released his debut album The College Dropout, his sophomore album Late Registration, and is working on a third album coming out in 2007 called Graduation. Both The College Dropout and Late Registration have received numerous awards. Kanye West also runs his own record label, G.O.O.D. Music.

Biography

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with both of his parents. At the age of three his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. Kanye's mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye's manager. Unlike most rappers he came from a upper middle class background.[1] After attending The American Academy of Art, a Chicago art school, West attended Columbia College Chicago, but eventually dropped out in order to begin working on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip-hop/R&B artists, including Common, Jadakiss, The Game, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, Memphis Bleek, Beanie Sigel, Cam'Ron, Janet Jackson, Hugh "MC Son" Ryan, Brandy, Eminem, Talib Kweli, Keyshia Cole, Dilated Peoples, Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco, and John Legend. He also "ghost-produced" for his once mentor Deric Angelettie according to his song "Last Call", many speculators and the credits of Nas' "Poppa Was a Playa."

West's style of production utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. The first major label song he produced featuring vocal samples was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z's "Dynasty: Roc La Familia". Kanye admitted that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style,[2] and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all time favorites. He has also admitted that he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his original drums on "This Can't Be Life".[3]

2001

Kanye's sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically-acclaimed album The Blueprint, released September 11 2001. His work was featured on the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the famous diss record against Nas & Mobb Deep called Takeover. West soon became a major name in hip-hop production following the release of the album, but struggled to find a way to get a record deal. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies pushed him aside because he was not the stereotypical hip-hop artist. Companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers that portray the "street image" that is prominent in hip-hop. Also, apparently in 2001 he produced a song for then Jay-Z's hip-hop rival Nas that was called "You Can't Stop Me" which was mean't for Stillmatic but it failed to make the final cut. The song has yet to been released.

2002-2004

On October 23, 2002, Kanye was involved in a car crash after falling asleep at the wheel while driving home from the recording studio. The crash left his jaw fractured in three places, and he barely survived.[citation needed] Although faced with many adversities and therapy, Kanye was inspired by life itself and what it now had to offer. The crash also provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire." Following his recovery, Kanye became a born again Christian, crediting Jesus for his quick recovery.[citation needed] West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including clever wordplay and creative sampling.

Kanye was involved in a financial dispute over Royce da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions. Kanye maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again.[4]

2005

On August 30, 2005, Kanye West released his second album Late Registration. Reviews were mostly favorable: "Late Registration is an undeniable triumph" (Rolling Stone), "As ornate and bloated as West's ego". (Spin September 2005, p.99). With the help of producer [[samples in different ways along with compositions of strings and other sounds. The record earned the number one spot on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics poll of 2005.[5] The first two singles from Late Registration were "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (which features vocals from Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever") and "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx (which contains an interpolation of Ray Charles's "I Got a Woman") to sell over 904,000 copies in its first week,[citation needed] and earned him eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the song "Gold Digger".

In September 2005, West announced that he will release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006.[6] Even months after its speculated release, the current status of this project is unknown.

2006

In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. Later that month, he suggested in Playboy that if a bible were written in the present day, he is famous and important enough to be included in it. "I throw up historical subjects in a way that makes kids want to learn about them." West claimed, "[I'm] definitely in the history books already."

In February 2006, Kanye performed live at the 2006 Brit Awards in London, England. He performed GoldDigger with hundreds of professional female dancers, all of them dressed head-to-toe in gold outfits. Four of these were the UK Pop Rock band RockerBaby.

After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released West said he would "really have a problem" if he didn't win the Album of the Year award because of the comments, 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." [1]. West won several Grammy awards, including Best Rap Album, but did not win the Album of the Year Award. The award instead went to U2's How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. Ironically, in November 2006, West was the opening act for U2 during the 5th leg of their Vertigo Tour in Australia and New Zealand.

On August 5, 2006 Kanye headlined the second day of the Lollapalooza music festival in his hometown of Chicago. Later that month, People magazine reported that Kanye became engaged to his girlfriend Alexis while spending two weeks overseas with her.[7]

On November 2, 2006, when "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.[8] Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst.[9] On November 7, 2006 Kanye apologized for this outburst. He did this publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane, Australia.

In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued Kanye West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel is taking 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 filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video.[10]

2007

In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14, 2007: “I wouldn’t do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It’s a situational half-hour comedy. It’s fictional, and loosely based on my life."[11] West recently collaborated with Japanese hip hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.", a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.." It is rumored that West's introductory lines preceding his verse are a thinly-veiled jab at producer/rapper Danny!, who was mercilessly compared to West in the beginning of his career.

Kanye is also working on his new artist Jazz Cartier' ,Jazz Cartier's album, Cool, Calm & Cartier', is set to be released in December. Jazz Cartier' is signed under Def Jam/G.O.O.D Music

Kanye is slated to appear on Timbaland's solo LP Timbaland Presents Shock Values. According to Tim, Kanye appears on a track with Missy Elliott.

In the middle of February, Kanye released a remix of Fall Out Boy's new #1 hit song This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race from their newly released album Infinity On High. In the remix he congratulates FOB for their recently huge success and their #1 hit also adding that he wants the #1 spot also (The Arms Race made them raise their arms and race straight to the top, who knew? Right now they've got the #1 spot, do ya want that... me too) It is also rumored that Fall Out Boy will be releasing a remix of one of West's songs off his new album later this year.

Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007 West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's". West's version became extremely popular because of the different stance he took. The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'. The video for the remix can be seen here.[2]

Kanye was also featured in a new song, called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)." It was believed to be a single from his upcoming album, Graduation, because of him being the main rapper, Nike quickly explained that it was for their Nike Air Force One's Anniversary.

It was meant only to be an exclusive track. Management/production firm Hip-Hop Since 1978 has entered into an exclusive partnership with Bryant Management to represent rapper Lil’ Wayne.

Gee Roberson and Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua of Hip-Hop Since 1978 will work together with Lil’ Wayne’s longtime manager Cortez Bryant as they take on all facets of Lil’ Wayne’s career including music, television, and film.

Roberson and Joshua also manage superstar rapper Kanye West, who will lend his production talent to Lil' Wayne's upcoming release, Tha Carter 3.

“I’m excited to bring Hip-Hop Since 1978 onto the team,” said Lil’ Wayne’s manager Cortez Bryant in a press release. “I’m positive their combined experience, expertise, and well-cultivated relationships will help us take Wayne’s career to the next level.”[citation needed]

Political views

On July 2, 2005, West appeared on the Philadelphia bill of Live 8, using the global platform to refer to "man-made diseases placed in African communities", a reference to the OPV AIDS hypothesis.[12]

In the song "Crack Music", he raps, "How [did] we stop the Black Panthers?/Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer", a reference to the allegation that the Reagan administration intentionally placed crack cocaine in the ghettos of the United States. In the second verse, he raps, "Who gave Saddam anthrax?/George Bush got the answer", a reference to the allegation that he sold chemical weapons to Iraq in the 1980s and '90s.

In the song "Roses", West raps about his belief that the government controls the spread of AIDS by rapping, "if Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS / and all the broke mothafuckas passed away/ you telling me if my grandma was in the NBA/ Right now she would be okay?" This is also a reference to Magic Johnson's unlikely recovery and highly publicized battle with the virus.

Demonstrating his views against George W. Bush, in a 2006 live orchestral performance of "All Falls Down" (later released on the "Late Orchestration" mixtape), West replaced "the White man gets paid off of all of that", with "George Bush gets paid off of all of that".

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special All Eyes on Kanye West aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in Hip-Hop, claiming that hip hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said, regarding this experience, "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He went on to say that "not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates against gay people." He concluded by saying "I wanna just come on TV, and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it.'" He also drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement.[13]

The following year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities:

I think in the daily life of a black male, we gay-bash way more than we disrespect women. We would call a gay guy a fag to his face. But if we walked up to a woman and said Aiight, bitch! we would know that was disrespectful. I remember five years ago I was in this clothing store in Greenwich Village with my old girlfriend. I said the word fag kind of loud and there were some gay dudes in the store. My girlfriend was like, Yo, c'mon, step into the new millennium. Well, my level of consciousness has since raised. And I actually think that standing up for gays was even more crazy than bad-mouthing the president. In the black community someone could label you gay and bring your career down. But that was me showing what black people are really about today, or at least what we need to be about.

Hurricane Katrina fundraiser controversy

File:Kanyebush.jpg
Kanye West denounces the response of President Bush and the American media to Hurricane Katrina at relief telethon as a stunned Mike Myers stands nearby.

On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker. Controversy arose when West was presenting, as he deviated from the prepared script:[3]

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 teacher, 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's, what is the biggest amount I can give, and just to imagine if I was, if I was down there, and those are, those are my people down there. So anybody out there that wants to do anything that we can help — with the set up, the way America is set up to help, the uh, uh, the poor, the black people, the, uh, the less well-off, as slow as possible. I mean, this is, 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!

Mike Myers, whom West was paired with to present, spoke next and continued as normal by reading the script, though through obvious discomfort. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he delivered the controversial phrase:

George Bush doesn't care about black people.

Although the camera quickly cut away to Chris Tucker, West's comments still reached all of the U.S.

Kanye West and Mike Myers met again on a brief sketch on Saturday Night Live, in which Myers joked that since the telethon, the government has stripped him of his American citizenship ("still got my Canadian citizenship to fall back on", Myers joked), and placed him under heavy government surveillance.

Discography

Studio Albums

Album cover Album information
File:College Dropout fix.jpg The College Dropout
File:Late-registration.jpg Late Registration
Graduation

Live Albums

Album cover Album information
Late Orchestration

Mixtapes

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Pop R&B Rap UK AUS
2004 Slow Jamz
(Twista feat. Jamie Foxx) 		1 - 1 1 3 1 Kamikaze
2004 Talk About Our Love
(Brandy feat. Kanye) 		36 6 Afrodisiac
2004 Through the Wire 15 - 8 4 9 - The College Dropout
2004 All Falls Down
(feat. Syleena Johnson) 		7 - 4 2 10 - The College Dropout
2004 Jesus Walks 11 - 2 3 18 33 The College Dropout
2004 The New Workout Plan - - 59 - - - The College Dropout
2004 Selfish
(Slum Village feat. John Legend) 		- - - - - - Detroit Deli
2005 Diamonds from Sierra Leone 43 40 21 11 8 39 Late Registration
2005 Go
(Common feat. Kanye) 		79 - 31 21 79 - Be
2005 Gold Digger
(feat. Jamie Foxx) 		1 1 1 1 2 1 Late Registration
2005 Heard 'Em Say
(feat. Adam Levine) 		26 34 17 12 22 27 Late Registration
2005 Number One
(John Legend feat. Kanye) 		- - - - 62 - Get Lifted
2005 Extravaganza
(Jamie Foxx feat. Kanye) 		- - 52 - 43 - Unpredictable
2006 Touch The Sky
(feat. Lupe Fiasco) 		42 41 23 10 6 10 Late Registration
2006 Drive Slow
(feat. Paul Wall & GLC) 		- - 42 - - - Late Registration
2006 Brand New
(Rhymefest feat. Kanye) 		- - - - 42 Blue Collar
2006 Grammy Family
(DJ Khaled & Consequence feat. John Legend) 		- - - - - - Listennn
2006 Number One
(Pharrell feat. Kanye) 		57 - 40 - 31 - In My Mind
2007 Wouldn't Get Far
(The Game feat. Kanye) 		64 - 6 2 3 - The Doctor's Advocate
2007 Classic (DJ Premier Remix)
(feat. Nas, KRS-One & Rakim) 		- - - - - - N/A

Singles Produced by Kanye West

Singles Guest Appearances

Year Song Artist
2001 Welcome 2 Chicago Abstract Mindstate
2003 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Consequence
2003 Knock Knock (Remix) Monica
2003 Higher Do or Die
2004 U Know White Boy
2004 Oh Oh Melbeatz
2004 So Soulful Consequence
2004 03' Til Infinity Consequence
2004 Take It As A Loss Consequence
2004 I See Now Consequence
2004 Where You At Kanye West
2004 Getting Out The Game Consequence
2004 Gettin' It In Jadakiss
2004 Turn Yourself In Consequence
2004 Get By (Remix) Talib Kweli
2004 Overnight Celebrity Twista
2004 This Way Dilated Peoples
2004 Down And Out Cam'ron
2004 Talk About Our Love Brandy
2004 Confessions Part 2 (Remix) Usher
2004 I Got A Love Jin
2004 Selfish Slum Village
2004 Pusha Man Bump J
2004 Pusha Man Remix Bump J
2004 I Change My Mind Keyshia Cole
2004 The Way That U Do Carl Thomas
2004 Talk About Our Love Brandy
2004 Number One John Legend
2005 Crazy Aura
2005 They Say Common
2005 The Food Common
2005 Fly Away Miri Ben-Ari
2005 Go Common
2005 Stay the Night Mariah Carey
2005 Extravaganza Jamie Foxx
2006 Brand New Rhymefest
2006 Tell Me When To Go (Remix) E-40
2006 Back Like That (Remix) Ghostface
2006 Rise Of the Phynx Mixtape Jet Phynx
2006 Changing Lanes Jet Phynx
2006 Number One Pharrell
2006 Grammy Family DJ Khaled & Consequence
2006 Oh Drama Chamillionaire & Stat Quo
2006 Tooth Pick Talib Kweli
2006 Wouldn't Get Far The Game
2006 Like This DJ Clue & Fabolous
2006 Still Dreaming Nas
2006 Let There Be Light feat. Tre Williams Nas
2006 Anything feat. Kanye West and Consequence Patti Labelle
2006 Play Me Teairra Mari
2007 In My Heart Solange Knowles
2007 I Still Love H.E.R. Teriyaki Boyz
2007 Better Than I've Ever Been Nas, Rakim & KRS-One
2007 Tonight Teairra Mari
2007 Gone Teairra Mari
2007 This Ain't A Scene Its An Arms Race Remix Fall Out Boy

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Category Song/Album Genre Result
2005 Album of The Year The College Dropout All Nominated
2005 Album of The Year The Diary of Alicia Keys 1 All Nominated
2005 Song of The Year Jesus Walks All Nominated
2005 Best New Artist N/A All Nominated
2005 Best Rap Album The College Dropout Rap Won
2005 Best Rap Song Jesus Walks Rap Won
2005 Best R&B Song You Don't Know My Name 1 R&B Won
2005 Best Rap Solo Performance Through The Wire Rap Nominated
2005 Best Rap Collaboration All Falls Down Rap Nominated
2005 Best Rap Collaboration Slow Jamz Rap Nominated
2006 Album of The Year Late Registration All Nominated
2006 Album of The Year The Emancipation of Mimi 1 All Nominated
2006 Record of The Year Gold Digger All Nominated
2006 Best Rap Album Late Registration Rap Won
2006 Best Rap Song Diamonds From Sierra Leone Rap Won
2006 Best Rap Solo Performance Gold Digger Rap Won
2006 Best Rap Collaboration They Say Rap Nominated
2006 Best R&B Song Unbreakable R&B Nominated

1 Albums Kanye contributed to by co-producing/co-writing songs.

2005 Grammy acceptance speech

Y'all might as well get the music ready 'cause this finna take a while. When I had my accident, I found out at that moment, nothing in life is promised except death. If you have the opportunity to play this game called life, you have to appreciate every moment. A lot of people don't appreciate their moment until it's passed. And then you got to tell those Al Bundy stories: 'You remember when I...' Right now, it's my time, and my moment, thanks to the fans, thanks to the accident, thanks to God, thanks to Roc-A-Fella, Jay-Z, Dame Dash, G, my mother, Rhymefest,Jazz Cartier, everyone that's helped me. And I plan to celebrate, and scream and pop champagne every chance I get, 'cause I'm at the Grammys baby! I know everybody asked me the question, they wanted to know, 'What, Kan, I know he's gonna wild out, I know he's gonna do something crazy.' Everybody wanted to know what I would do, if I didn't win... I guess we'll never know.

Trivia

  • In his home, West paid for a painting on his ceiling similar to Michelangelo's painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. "It will hang on the ceiling in my dining room. It's gonna have over 50 cherubs and saints." said West.[14]
  • Late Registration sold over 904,000 copies in its first week.
  • West is clearly heard to say "We want guess papers" in 'Jesus Walks'.
  • West's statement "George Bush doesn't care about black people" was satirized on Arrested Development. GOB's puppet Franklin Delano Bluth wore a T-shirt with the slogan "George Bush doesn't care about black puppets" in one of the series' final episodes.
  • The same statement was also satirized on the South Park episode Two Days Before The Day After Tomorrow, as "George Bush doesn't care about beavers!".
  • Kanye West is parodied in the film, Epic Movie for the controversial statement as well, although, it is the parodied Diddy who says it and it was about the "Evil White Bitch".
  • West started his career producing songs by Proxy.
  • He appeared in Cassidy's "Get No Better" music video.
  • West has reportedly made several unsuccessful romantic advances to Sugababes singer Amelle Berrabah on numerous occasions. On the most recent occasion, he allegedly ordered his 29-year-old assistant to "issue Amelle with a furious telling off".[15]
  • Kanye's hit Gold Digger appears in the 2006 hit thriller The Inside Man as the ringtones on one of the hostages cellphones.

References

  1. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1096499,00.html
  2. ^ "Black History - Biographies - Kanye West". Newsmakers, Thomson Gale. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  3. ^ "Artist: Kanye West Album: The College Dropout Song: Last Call". ohhla.com. Retrieved 2006-09-24. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.hiphopsite.com/NEWS/interviews.hhs?news_id=FEA3B39B-C571-4ACB-A096-6600549EA18B
  5. ^ http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/westkanye/lateregistration
  6. ^ Rae, Kelly (2005-09-09). "Stuff Style Icon of the Year". Stuff Magazine. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
    "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring."
  7. ^ http://people.aol.com/people/article/0,26334,1225576,00.html?cid=recirc-top5-5-1225576
  8. ^ http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtvuk/news/02112006/emas_shocker_kanye_stage_invasion
  9. ^ http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/entertainment/15925101.htm
  10. ^ http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1212061evel1.html
  11. ^ http://www.kanyetalk.com/news/35.html
  12. ^ http://www.kanyewestfans.info/biography.php
  13. ^ "Kanye West calls for end to gay bashing". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite web}}: Text "2005-08-18" ignored (help)
  14. ^ "Kanye opts for elaborate ceiling". 2004-02-08. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  15. ^ "Kanye Kanye West snubbed by Sugababe". itv.com news. Retrieved 2006-12-22.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Kanye West.

External links


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