Callie J.

Hughes

Mrs. White

Writing

19 April 2017

Kanye West

Some people may ask you who is one of most influential rap artists of the 21st Century? Some

may say Jay Z, Tupac, or even Drake. But, who jumped on to the scene in early 2002? The answer is

Kanye West. Kanyes childhood was very rough and he overcome that. He is known for his wild style

choices and the music he puts out. Kanye is also publicized for what he says and his viewpoints on

issues. Nonetheless, this is why he is very influential. Like other rappers, Kanye started from the bottom

and worked his way up. This would lead him down a great path, and one that eventually turn him from a

producer to worldwide sensation.

Kanye Omari West was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia (Biography). He was born to

Ray West and Donda West (Famous People). Ray was a former Black Panther and the first African

American photographer to work at the Atlantic Journal-Constitution (Famous People). Ray was also a

church camp counselor (Biography). Donda was English professor and worked at Chicago State

University (Famous People). Kanyes parents divorced when he was three years old (Biography). He

was mostly raised by his mom, but he spent summers with his dad. When he was three Kanye moved

with his mother to Chicago, IL. Kanye started to rap and write poetry at age 5 and was very good at it

(Famous People). In 1995, Kanye graduated from Polaris High School in Chicago (Biography). After
this Kanye took 1 year of courses at Chicago State University before dropping out to pursue his music

career (Biography). Kanye wanted to pursue music and he began a journey to fulfill that wish.

In 2001, Kanye moved to New York City to try to begin a full time music career

(Biography). Jay-Z hired Kanye to produce songs for his new album The Blueprint . In 2002,

West signed with Roc-A-Fella Records which was Jay-Zs record label and he then began to

record. Later that year in October, Kanye got into an almost fatal car accident and fractured his

jaw. Also, Kanye began dating model Alexis Phifer. In 2004 West released the single Through

the Wire which was inspired by the car accident. Kanye also released his first studio album

The College Dropout in 2004. It sold 2.6 million copies and was his ticket to stardom

(Biography). Kanye won 10 Grammys for The College Dropout . In 2005, West released his

second studio album entitled Late Registration. This album included a hit known as Gold

Digger. Late Registration went on to win a grammy for rap album of the year (Billboard). In

2006, Kanye proposed to longtime girlfriend Alexis Phifer but, the engagement was called off

18 months later (Biography). In 2007, Kanye released his third studio album Graduation. It

had hits Good Life and Stronger. Kanye had lots of success from his first three studio

albums and was now well known, but more was still yet to come.

In 2008, Kanye released his fourth studio album 808s and Heartbreak . He debuted his

first single from the album Love Lockdown at 2008 MTV Music Awards (Rolling Stone).

West also began touring on his Glow in the Dark Tour in 2008 (Rolling Stone). At the 2009

VMAs Kanye jumped on stage during the award for Best Female Video. He then grabbed the

mic from Taylor Swift who was accepting the award and stated Beyonces Single Ladies is the

best video of all times (Famous People). West later apologized to Swift and personally called
her. In 2010, West released his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

(Famous People). Kanye founded DONDA a company named for his mom in 2012.

(Biography) In 2012, West began dating Kim Kardashian. In December of that year they

announced that they were expecting their first child. West became a father on June 15, 2013.

They named their daughter North West. Later on October 21, 2013 while at a baseball game at

AT&T Stadium in San Francisco Kanye proposed. In Florence, Italy the couple got married on

May 24, 2014. A year later Kim announced she was expecting another child. Kanye and Kim

welcomed Saint West in December of 2015 (Biography). Also in this year Kanye debuted his

Yeezy Line. The line included seasonal shoes and clothing. In 2016, West released his seventh

studio album Life of Pablo and announced the Saint Pablo Tour. In, November 2016, West

was hospitalized for exhaustion. The rest of his tour was cancelled and West has been

recuperating ever since.

Some people dont realize that Kanye really worked his way up from the bottom. He

was just a kid from Chicago. He was once thought as just a producer, but as he progressed Jay

Z saw the real potential in him. Kanye has received many platinum albums and has released 7

studio albums. Kanye can be said to be one of the most influential rappers of the 21st century.
 Works Cited

Biography.com, Editors. "Kanye West Biography." Biography, http://www.biography.com/

people/kanye-west-36292. Accessed 22 March 2017.

"Kanye West Biography." Billboard, http://www.billboard.com/artist/276709/kanye-west

/biography. Accessed 22 March 2017.

Serpick, Evan. "Kanye West Bio." Rolling Stone, http://www.rolllingstone.com/music/artists

/kanye-west/biography. Accessed 22 March 2017.

"Kanye West." The Famous People Website, //www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/

kanye-west-3939.php. Accessed 22 March 2017.

KANYE WEST

Callie Hughes

Mrs. White

Writing

April 19, 2017