The man who revolutionized hip-hop, first with Jay-Z's "The Blueprint" beats, and then with his solo albums.
It was a typical October day in 2002 when Kanye West faced death...
At night, returning to his hotel along one of the Los Angeles roads, he got into a car accident that almost cost him his life. But everything worked out with fractures of the jaw in 3 places. The paw of death did not reach him, Kanye survived, signed a contract with Roc-A-Fella and took hip-hop to more high level with the help of two inspirational albums "College Dropout" and "Late Registration".
“I constantly replay the events of every day I live in my mind. And every time I hear about accidents, I thank God for giving me another opportunity, for the fact that I am still here. If the steering wheel was a couple of centimeters further - I wouldn't be there anymore. I realized how short life is, and what a happiness it really is to understand that you live!"
The accident inspired Kanye to one of the most creative projects in rap history. Although with a broken jaw, he managed to record "Through The Wire" - a kind of account of everything experienced, very sharp and emotional. The golden age of hop saw few artists able to play the role of MC and beatmaker at the same time. But if some just got themselves a piece of fame and success with this, then Kanye West I was lucky to become one of those who really influenced the development of this musical symbiosis as a whole.
West is a self-confident guy, so confident that some professionals would call this quality narcissism, and also progressing. You can join them if you are not afraid of the glory of idiots. At the age of 25, West took it upon himself to bring soul back to popular hip hop. Then they tried to catch him on statements like "I will release the most classic album of this century", but here you have two albums to choose from at once, and guess which one is more worthy of this status.
Kanye was born and raised in Chicago by a photojournalist father and mother, Ph.D. and university lecturer. He, unlike most rappers, did not know the world of dirty alleys and the crack trade, because he grew up in a wealthy middle-class family. However, there is a suspicion that he was not spoiled with pocket money - otherwise, why, being in China (his mother worked there), the small one demonstrated karate skills on the streets, for which the Chinese threw coins at him. The initiative is punishable: soon the mother imposed a ban on this form of entrepreneurship and scolded the novice hustler for "getting money from the poor Chinese." Yes, and that little thing was enough only for ice cream ... Kanye spent his childhood playing basketball, drawing, inventing video games. But everything has its time, and solving the codes mixed with kicking the ball once bored our kid - he decided to try his hand at music, which he gave himself 100%.
The first ones who hit him to the core and let him know what he likes were Kid "n Play and De La Soul "Me Myself & I", who debuted then. In a city where at that time there was not a single rap radio, talk about real hip-hop was funny, but Kanye didn't stop that, you can judge for yourself the result of such dedication.
He started by stealing the Casio keys. The team stuck together right away: "My mother was friends with Common's mother, so when I started making music, Common quite naturally followed me." And although Keny first met No ID during the recording of Common's first album "Can I Borrow A Dollar?", he immediately noted him as a person versed in soul.
At that time, for those who were engaged in beatmaking, there were no guarantees for the future, so Kanye entered the State University of Chicago. But the temptation to take up music was too great.
The following year, he dropped out of college and sold his chain to raise money to move to New York. Not everything went smoothly, but the ups, humiliatingly low - worthy of mention is perhaps the participation in Jermain Dupri "Life in 1472" - followed by long periods of lack of demand. In 2000, Kanye lifted his head and summed up the black streak - he sold tracks on the albums of Lil Kim, Beanie Sigel and Da Brat, and, more importantly, really interested the pillars of the then Roc-A-Fella, Damon Dash and Sean Jay -Z Carter. He was entrusted with the work on Jay-Z's "Blueprint" album and Kanye did not disappoint.
The disc was called Jiggy's best album since the unforgettable "Reasonable Doubt", and it was worth a lot. "Takeover", "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Heart Of The City (Ain" t No Love)", "Never Change" - Mr. West's contributions weighed in both quantity and quality. stables Roc-A-Fella, talented producer Just Blaze, they gave Jay-Z a completely new sound, built on soul samples and energized hysterical vocals.More melodies, but more pumping! the resulting structure with witty metaphors and merciless punchlines.A couple of beatmakers predicted a great future and were mistaken in only one thing - Kanye achieved much more than is measured by a gifted producer.
The news that Kanye West sees himself as an active rapper could, if not shock, then surprise you - did the guy catch the star? "A lot of people don't get it, but I only started making beats because I started writing lyrics," he explains. "In 1996, I beat Common in freestyle."
In 2002, we heard him on the track "Bounce" on "Blueprint 2" by Jay-Z himself. Not every beginner gets that chance! However, Kanye was still earning bread for others. Several tracks for Jiggy (including the well-known "03 Bonnie & Clyde". Something for Talib Kweli, including "Get By", the main hit of the album "Quality". Well, on the little things - Trina, Cam" ron, Scarface. And then there was a car accident on October 23, which almost put an end to this career that did not really start ...
This event was in some way defining. Inspired two weeks later, with his jaw fixed, Kanye was already recording "Trough The Wire", which would become the first single from his debut album. Hence the confidence that only God helps him, hence the religious line in the lyrics, and another super hit "Jesus Walks" also started somewhere here.
“When I go into the studio, I turn into a beast, into a monster, into Mike Tyson,” West explains his technique. “I feel like blowing people’s heads off with my beat. I make a track and say to myself: “Farrell, did you hear that? "Yes, when I write music, I try to impress Andre 3000 and Pharrell. But when I sit down to write lyrics, I try to impress Jay-Z."
In 2003, he surprised both. Focusing on the album, on the side he released exclusively hits - "Stand Up" for Ludacris, "Slow Jamz" for Twista, "You Don" t Know My Name "for Alicia Keys. Well, a little bit for DMX, Memphis Bleek, Lil Kim, Freeway, Fabolous, T.I. And at the very beginning of 2004, the long-awaited "College Dropout" came out and, like a wind rushing through the window, dispersed the dust in the corners of the musty room, which hip-hop began to resemble in those years. new album revealed to the masses completely new thing- "conscious" hip-hop, but not boring and instructive, but popular! And his "Jesus Walks" just became a hit for all times.
While it's hot, Kanye forged the iron. In 2004 he produced the album John Legend, resurrected Twista's career with "Overnight Celebrity", and has worked with artists as diverse as Janet Jackson, Brandy, Mobb Deep, D-12, Slum Village, Shyne, Jin, Talib Kweli, Jadakiss , Cam "ron, Consequence, 213, Mos Def - further everywhere. It is not surprising that in 2004 West gave my mother a house in Los Angeles, and a Mercedes CLK500 for change.
2005 was a triumphant year for Kanye. The second album "Late Registration" surpassed the success of the first-born - in a week 860,000 copies were taken off the shelves of stores. He had a hand in the success of the Common album, produced tracks for the super-popular Game and Mariah Carey, claimed eight at once grammy awards- the most prestigious in the world of music (eventually won three). Finally, he established himself as a fighter for the problems of his people during a television broadcast dedicated to Hurricane Katrina.
Kanye's relationship to social problems his country is worthy of a separate paragraph. Having not experienced the hardships of poverty, he, nevertheless, is an active and consistent defender of the black population. Sometimes it even seems that in his accusatory statements he goes too far - the words "politicians drive home in Mercs and Bentleys while the black population is dying of hunger" sound both comical and hysterical at the same time. But don't forget that older generation African Americans perfectly remember racial segregation in action.
Kanye's lyrics are sometimes no less radical. In "Crack Music," he accuses President Reagan of "bringing crack into the ghetto" to stop the Black Panthers. Bush Sr. and no one else, according to Kanye, gave Saddam chemical weapons. Well, Bush Jr. got on the air of a telethon dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. On September 2, 2005, Kanye West broadcast live on NBC throughout the country, putting down a piece of paper with prepared phrases, to the complete bewilderment of comedian Mike Myers (Austin Powers) standing next to him, he said that he “hates the way we [black] are portrayed today by mass media information. If they show a black family, they steal. If they show a white family, they are looking for food... It's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the victims were black. And even I, complaining about it, look like a hypocrite, because he himself turned away from the TV screen, being unable to look at it ... ". Mike Myers, who decided that Kanye had finished, continued to read the prepared text, but the rapper interrupted him with the phrase "George Bush does not care about the black population." The camera was instantly switched, but the words scattered across the country. Perhaps this was the most harsh criticism authorities for the whole time of the tragedy in New Orleans.
In 2006, the brawler and metrosexual reaped more and more laurels, and worked - just like that, with one left. Again receiving three Grammys at once, Kanye said that the prestigious award for "album of the year" should have gone to him. At the MTV EMA, he scolded the organizers for the fact that the video for "Touch The Sky" was left without an award. And besides that, he wrote some music for "my guys" Rhymefest, Lupe Fiasco and John Legend, as well as for the status guys Game, Jay-Z and Diddy. Performed on tour for such legends as U2 and Rolling stone s. And he was also preparing an album, a new album "Graduation", which we will hear either in the spring of 2007, or even later.
And what are we seeing? West's life became the main concept of his recordings. His playful yet passionate expression of thoughts, emotions and contradictions associated with attempts to describe the life of the middle class in which he grew up, worked, was angry with, for whom he was happy. He touches on college topics, fraternity life, sex, single women chasing money, and his own materialism, which is based on uncertainty about the future. And fast driving... This is probably one of the few topics that Kanye tries to avoid (drive slow, homie!).
"I'm going to create an image of a person who has not really been touched yet. A kind of dude who believes in God, but runs after young ladies. Do you understand what I mean? About a person who will spend the last dollar to buy cool car... That's the image I'm thinking of right now."
West says: "What makes me different from some is not that I admit all this bullshit about gangs, guns, etc., but that I openly say where I'm from and sing about it, sing about street life, I sing for those to whom it is close and understandable. I sing for blacks, whites and everyone else. I am as real as can be. I - new world hip hop."
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West Born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. American rapper, producer and designer.
His parents divorced when he was three, after which Kanye and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois.
His father, Ray West, was a member of the Black Panther Party and was one of the first African-American photojournalists for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Kanye's mother, Donda C. West, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and dean of the English department at Chicago State University. She later ended her career to become her son's manager.
Kanye West lived in a middle-class family and attended Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago. When asked by reporters about his grades at school, West replied that he studied "for fours and fives."
At the age of ten, West moved with her mother to the city of Nanjing in China, where they lived while she worked at Nanjing University on an exchange program. According to her, West was the only foreign student in his class, but he quickly joined the team, learning Chinese, which he, however, forgot soon after they returned to the United States.
From an early age, West showed an interest in creativity. At the age of five, returning from vacation, he wrote a poem. According to his mother, when he was in the third grade, she began to notice his interest in drawing and music.
West himself claims that he wanted to develop computer games. His mother gave him an Amiga computer that had a program for creating music. According to him, he learned to work with her to create music for games.
While living in Chicago, West was active in the city's hip hop community. In the third grade, he began to rap, and in the seventh grade, he began to create instrumentals, which he later began to sell to other musicians.
At the age of thirteen, West wrote the song "Green Eggs and Ham" and began to persuade his mother to pay $ 25 an hour for recording at the studio. The studio was far from perfect: the microphone in it hung from the ceiling on a hanger. Despite this, West was pleased and very eager to record at this studio. Seeing this, his mother could not refuse him.
West soon met producer No I.D., with whom he quickly became friends. No I.D. became West's mentor and taught him how to work with a sampler, which West was given as a gift at the age of fifteen.
After graduating from high school, in 1997 he received a scholarship to study at the American Academy of Arts, where he studied drawing. However, he soon moved to Chicago State University, where he began to study English language.
At the age of 20, realizing that his busy study schedule prevented him from making music, he dropped out. This greatly upset his mother, who worked at this university. She would later say, "I've been taught all my life that college is the ticket to the good life... But some careers don't require college. Kanye needed to have the willpower to create the College Dropout album, and not follow the path suggested by society."
Kanye West started his musical career in the mid-1990s, creating instrumentals for local musicians. Ultimately, he formed his own musical style, the basis for which was the accelerated samples of soul compositions.
West's first official mention is on Chicago rapper Grav's debut and only album, Down to Earth, in 1996, for which West produced eight tracks and sang the verse himself on "Line For Line".
For some time, West was the secret producer of the American producer, manager and rapper D-Dot. While working with D-Dot, West could not pursue a solo career, so in the late 1990s he formed a group Go Getters, which in addition to him included other representatives of the Chicago rap scene and part-time his friends. The group recorded several songs, performed on the radio and took part in a photo shoot. In 1999, the Go-Getters recorded their the only album, World Record Holders, which, however, was not officially released.
West spent the late 1990s producing albums for famous musicians and bands. He produced "My Life" on Foxy Brown's second album, Chyna Doll, released in 1999. Chyna Doll became the first album by a female rapper to debut at number one on the Billboard 200.
West rose to prominence as a producer after working on Jay-Z's The Blueprint. Music critics praised West's production, while Jay-Z himself called West a "genius".
Despite his success, Kanye West wanted more: he dreamed of becoming a rapper. Although many considered him a talented producer, no one considered him a rapper.
On October 23, 2002, Kanye West was in a serious car accident. on the way home from recording studio in Los Angeles, falling asleep at the wheel. As a result of the accident, his jaw was crushed and a wire splint had to be placed on it. This inspired West to write the composition "Through the Wire"(lit. through the tire), which he recorded two weeks after leaving the hospital, still with a broken jaw.
"Through the Wire", in which West spoke of his difficulties after the accident, became the basis of his debut album. "Through the Wire" was first released by West as part of the Get Well Soon... mixtape in 2003.
The College Dropout was released by Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling nearly half a million copies in its first week. Debut single from the album, "Through the Wire", peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for five weeks.
The College Dropout was followed by 2005's Late Registration, 2007's Graduation, 2008's 808s & Heartbreak, 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, 2011's Watch the Throne with Jay-Z, 2013's Yeezus, and The Life of Pablo 2016.
During his career, West has tried many different musical styles and genres. When asked about his early influences, West named artists such as A Tribe Called Quest, Stevie Wonder, George Michael, LL Cool J, Phil Collins and. He also called Puff Daddy "the most important cultural figure" in his life, and - "one of the most important sources of inspiration."
Kanye West
He has worked as a designer with Nike and Louis Vuitton, and in 2013 he launched the YEEZY clothing line with Adidas. He also founded the label GOOD Music and the creative agency DONDA.
Kanye West has received critical acclaim and has been repeatedly named one of the the greatest artists XXI century.
He became one of the top-selling artists, with the total sales of his albums and singles in digital format and on physical media exceeding 121 million copies. West has won 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most nominated hip-hop musicians and artists of his age.
His albums have been featured on various lists of the best albums, including Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
He has been featured several times in various Forbes magazine lists and twice in Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In September 2018, he announced a name change. He chose a new name for himself - YE.
Kanye West Height: 177 centimeters.
Personal life of Kanye West:
Since 2002, he met with designer Alexis Phifer. In August 2006, the couple got engaged, but after 18 months they broke up.
Since 2012, he began a relationship with a reality show star and model. Prior to that, they had known each other for more than five years.
On October 31, 2013, on Kim's 33rd birthday, Kanye West proposed to her at AT&T Park in San Francisco in front of family and family friends.
On June 15, 2013, the couple had a daughter, North ("Nori"). On December 5, 2015, their son Saint was born.
Kanye West's scandals and legal troubles
In December 2006, American stunt performer Robert "Evel" Knievel sued Kanye West for copyright infringement. In the video for the song "Touch the Sky", West, dressed as Evel Kanyevel, is trying to fly over a canyon in a rocket. According to Knievel, his name and likeness were used in the video, which are trademarks. Knievel also noted that the video's "vulgar and offensive" imagery tarnished his reputation. West's lawyers argued that the video is satire and is therefore permitted by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. In November 2007, a few days before his death, Knievel announced that he no longer had any claims against West after he personally visited him. Knievel also called West "an amazing young man and gentleman".
On September 11, 2008, Kanye West and his bodyguard and manager Don Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after an altercation with the paparazzi, on charges of vandalism. According to the police, the cameras of the photographers were damaged during the altercation.
West and Crowley were later released on $20,000 bail. The Los Angeles District Court referred the case to the city court, which reclassified the crime as a misdemeanor and later issued a sentence of 50 hours of community service. Also, the rapper was required to take courses in anger control. West was re-arrested on November 14, 2008 outside a hotel in the town of Gateshead in England because of a fight involving a photographer from Newcastle upon Tyne. According to police reports, the singer was later released "due to lack of evidence."
On July 19, 2013, while leaving Los Angeles International Airport, Kanye West was surrounded by paparazzi. One of the photographers, Daniel Ramos, asked “why can’t we communicate with you?”, to which West replied: “I already told you not to communicate with me, right? Do you want me to be in trouble? So that I rob you and then pay 250,000 dollars?
After these words, West ran up to the photographer and began to snatch the camera from his hands. In a video later posted online, the fight between West and the photographer can be seen lasting several seconds, after which a female voice-over asks West to stop, he releases the photographer and leaves.
Later, doctors were called to the photographer. It was announced that West could be charged with attempted robbery. In March 2014, West was convicted of battery, with a two-year probation. The rapper was also required to complete 24 sessions of an anger management course, complete 250 hours of mandatory community service, and pay damages to the photographer.
Known for his outspoken statements at various award ceremonies, during his speeches and on Twitter, for which he was both criticized and praised by the media, other artists, and two US presidents.
On September 2, 2005, West was invited to a charity concert in memory of the victims of Hurricane Katrina, during which he was supposed to address the citizens of the United States via television. However, being on the air, he decided to move away from the prepared text: "I hate the way they represent us in the media. If it's a black family, they say, 'they are robbing'. If it's a white family, they say, 'they are looking for food.' And you know, it's been five days [and there is still no help,] because most of the people there are black. Even if I complain about it now, it would be hypocrisy, I constantly turned away from the TV, because it's hard to watch. I even went shopping before, how to send a donation, so now I'm calling my manager to find out what is the maximum amount I can send, imagining that I'm there with them and these are all my people.So anyone who wants to help and do something... Given that, how in America they try to help the poor, the black, the less prosperous as slowly as possible.The Red Cross is doing everything they can.We already understand that a large number of people who could help here are at war ... And they allowed them shoot us!".
West further stated: "George Bush doesn't care about black people". Immediately after this phrase, the broadcast director switched the camera, but this did not prevent the quote from gaining nationwide fame and causing a mixed reaction in society.
Bush Jr. later called the episode the "disgusting moment" of his presidency.
In September 2013, West was criticized human rights organization Human Rights Foundation for speaking at the wedding of Aisultan Nazarbayev, the grandson of the President of Kazakhstan, in late August. The human rights situation in Kazakhstan is problematic, which is why a number of other musicians, including Sting, refused to perform there. According to Western tabloids, the rapper received $3 million for the performance.
In a November 2013 radio interview, West spoke about his view on why Barack Obama can't reform. "Let me tell you about Bush with oil money and Obama without money. People say Obama can't change anything. It's because he doesn't have the right contacts. Black people don't have the level of connections that Jews have. Blacks don't have the level of connections people have in the oil business."- said the rapper.
The Anti-Defamation League responded to the rapper: "This is classic anti-Semitism. An age-old story about all-powerful Jews who rule at all levels of government." The organization also demanded an apology from the rapper. In December, in an interview with a Chicago radio station, West called his statement "an ignorant compliment." "I don't know how you can be offended when they tell you that you have a lot of money," he said.
In February 2016, West commented on Bill Cosby's allegations of sexual harassment on Twitter, stating that he believed he was innocent. This caused a flurry of indignation among many, including a number of celebrities.
Kanye West discography:
2004 - The College Dropout
2005 - Late Registration
2007 - Graduation
2008 - 808s & Heartbreak
2010 - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2011 - Watch the Throne (with Jay-Z)
2013- Yeezus
2016 - The Life of Pablo
Filmography of Kanye West:
2004 - Fade to Black - Cameo
2005 - Dave Chappelle's Block Party - Cameo
2005 - State Property 2 - Cameo
2007 - Handsome - Cameo
2008 - Sex Guru - Cameo
2009 - We Were Once a Fairytale - Cameo
2010-2012 - The Cleveland Show - Kenny West (voice)
2010 - Runaway - Griffin (short), also director and screenwriter
2012 - Cruel Summer - Ibrahim (short), also director, producer and screenwriter
2012-... - The Kardashian Family - Cameo
2013 - Anchorman 2: Hello Again - J.J. Jackson of MTV News - Cameo
2015 - I Am Cait - cameo
Bibliography of Kanye West:
2009 - Thank You and You're Welcome
2009 - Through the Wire: Lyrics & Illuminations
2009 - Glow in the Dark
see also http://myzuka.club/Artist/631219/kids-see-ghosts
Kanye West - American rapper(along with Eminem and Jay-Z is the greatest rap artist of our time), producer, arranger, fashion designer, winner of 21 Grammy awards (one of the best results in the history of music). He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008 and his fifth My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. His five albums have received numerous awards (including fourteen Grammys), positive critical reviews and commercial success. West also launched his own label, GOOD Music. West's mascot and trademark is a teddy bear, the image of which has appeared on the covers of his three albums, as well as on the cover of the Stronger single. The fifth album of the artist My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy became a favorite of music critics, received a Grammy for best rap album of 2011, and also won top ratings from eminent magazines and sites such as Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Pitchfork. Currently dating Kim Kardashian.
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three years old, and Kanye and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, was a member of the Black Panther Party and was one of the first African-American photojournalists for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kanye's mother is Donda West, professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and former dean of the English department at Chicago State University (died 2008). After moving from Chicago, Kanye West attended high school - Polaris High School in the suburbs of Oak Lawn, Illinois. He entered the State University of Chicago, but soon dropped out due to poor academic performance and decided to focus on working in the music field. Kanye West began composing songs for local artists during his school days. Gained fame after writing several singles for influential hip hop/R&B artists such as: Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, John Legend and others. On October 23, 2002, Kanye West was in a serious car accident on his way home from the recording studio. The accident inspired the artist to create his first solo single - Through the Wire. Many of West's songs (such as Jesus Walks) have a religious theme. These songs served as the basis for the creation of the debut album The College Dropout, which was released under Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, receiving positive reviews. The album also defined the style that would bring West to fame - wordplay and sampling. The album was certified platinum three times. Two singles were released from the album: All Falls Down and The New Workout Plan, as well as the widely acclaimed Slow Jamz. Thus began the solo career of this talented artist.
Celebrity biographies
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06.04.15 09:57
Many black stars grew up in poverty: Oprah Winfrey - in a ghetto on the banks of the Mississippi, Jay Z - in Brooklyn, Sean Combs (P. Diddy) - in Harlem poverty. But another rapper was more fortunate: his mother is a professor, his father is a photojournalist. The biography of Kanye West began in June 1977 in the pearl of the south of Atlanta.
Biography of Kanye West
Novice Composer
True, he lived there for a short time. Parents - Ray and Donda - divorced as soon as Kanye was three years old. Mom easily achieved custody of her son and left for Chicago. There she began to teach English at the university, and then rose to the post of dean of her faculty.
Kanye also entered there, but the study did not really attract the guy. He began to get involved in music early, and when things at the university went from bad to worse, Kanye did not bother to get higher education. He decided to start earning as a composer - after all, even at school, the teenager came up with compositions for local "stars". The young man turned out to be punchy - he offered his songs famous people working in the style of "hip-hop" and R&B. Soon the young composer was noticed. Alisha Keys, Germaine Dupree, Jay Z, Janet Jackson and other performers took West's singles into service, and Kanye West's biography went uphill.
The accident has changed priorities
At the end of 2002, the 25-year-old musician was waiting for serious challenge- he almost died in a car accident, his face was badly injured (the jaw was broken in several places). In a hospital bed, the recovering rapper wrote singles for his first solo album, and the CD "The College Dropout" was born. Witty wordplay, original sampling - it definitely was a new style, which distinguishes West's compositions.
The album was released at the beginning of 2004, it went platinum - three times! At the same time, the label (rather even a production company) "GOOD Music" was founded. A year later, Kanye received three Grammys for his debut. In total, he will be nominated for this musical award more than fifty times, and the winner will be in the 21st case. The composer and performer did not delay with the second disc, releasing it in 2005, followed by four more albums (in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2013).
Philanthropist Kanye...
The 2010 disc "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" is considered the most successful in the biography of Kanye West - it was named the best album of the 21st century, critics did not skimp on praise. He continued to collaborate with Jay Z, Ludacris and other legendary rappers.
Back in 2003, West founded a charitable foundation named after himself (in the city where he spent his childhood - Chicago). This organization helps little African Americans and children Hispanic get a good education. Philanthropist West transfers money to other funds - for example, victims of natural disasters, participates in concerts and events to help those in need.
…and Bully West
However, Kanye became famous not only as a talented successful musician and philanthropist, but also as a troublemaker. On his account - arrests for fights and attacks on journalists, and he also "distinguished himself" in 2009 at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony.
He was on stage when the newly awarded Taylor Swift began her acceptance speech. The rapper interrupted the girl and said that only Beyoncé deserved the awards here. West was led out of the room. He later issued a public apology for this outburst.
Personal life of Kanye West
The bride did not become a wife
Alexis Pfeiffer became the bride of Kanye in 2006 - before that, the couple had been dating for almost four years. After the accident, the rapper began to look at the world differently and seemed to himself quite ready for family life. It is not clear why they delayed the engagement so much. Kanye and Alex seemed happy, but after a year and a half, for some reason, they announced a breakup. Maybe "burned out"?
rapper hunter
After the breakup, Amber did not despair, she found herself a new black “patron”: rapper Wiz Khalifa even became her husband. But the marriage was unhappy.
A beautiful couple!
And Kanye found another love - reality TV star, dazzling brunette Kim Kardashian. They became a couple in 2012, and in the middle of the following year they had a charming daughter. And in December 2015, brother Saint joined North. According to Kim Kardashian, she is not averse to giving birth to her husband's third child.
West turned out to be an enviable groom - for example, he gave his beloved a whole network of ... European eateries. And Kanye asked Kim to become his wife in a very solemn atmosphere. It was a Kardashian birthday party held in San Francisco in a huge stadium.
The wedding was also grand - in the romantic old Italian city of Florence in May 2014. Kim looked like an exotic flower in an openwork elegant (and very modest) Givenchy dress, and the newlywed seemed very happy.
Childhood and youth
Kanye Omari West was born into an intelligent African-American family from Atlanta. The head of the family, Ray West, worked as a photojournalist in a local newspaper, his mother, Donda West, a professor of philology, taught English.When the boy was three years old, his parents divorced, and his mother moved with her son to Chicago. There she got a job as dean of a local university, and six years later she was sent to China on an exchange program. A ten-year-old boy had to urgently learn Chinese, as he was the only foreigner in the class. To Kanye's credit, he did an excellent job with this difficult task and after a few months he was already fluently communicating with his peers and teachers.
It is worth noting that the future rapper with early childhood He was distinguished by outstanding abilities, had an excellent memory and advanced thinking. At the age of five, he composed his first poem, in the third grade he became interested in music and painting. Then he began to rap and become interested in the life of the local hip-hop community.
When Kanye got his first computer, he was on fire creating his own musical compositions. At the age of thirteen, the teenager recorded his first track "Green Eggs and Ham" in a semi-professional studio, which was the first step towards his stellar career. But world recognition was still too far away, and the young man diligently mastered school knowledge, preparing to continue his education at the university.
After graduating from Polaris High School without triples, Kanye entered the philological faculty of the University of Chicago. But soon the young man realized that music attracted him more than English linguistics, and he abandoned his studies, despite the stormy protests of his mother.
Musical career
At first, the musician focused on writing compositions for other artists, later he took up producing. Beyoncé, Talib Kweli, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys and many others performed with his songs. popular artists. Over time, thoughts about his own solo career began to come to his mind more and more often, especially since there was plenty of musical material. 
Paradoxically, the successful composer and producer was not perceived as a rap artist for a very long time, although he repeatedly made attempts to record a solo album. main reason was his intelligent origin, good education and upbringing, received in a professorial family. Usually, rappers were people from poor criminal areas who, in their own skin, experienced difficulties and hardships, which they then decided to tell the world about. In the case of Kanye, the producers feared that his work would be insincere and not touch the heart of the audience.
Everything has changed tragic case which nearly cost the musician his life. In 2003, West was in a car accident in which he seriously injured his jaw. They put a special splint on his face, with which the musician spent two weeks in the hospital. This incident inspired Kanye to write the song "Through the Wire", which became the foundation of his debut album "The College Dropout".
Kanye West
The collection immediately took second place on the Billboard 200 and sold half a million copies in a week. The ice broke, and from that moment on, all subsequent Kanye albums became absolute hits and sales leaders, and his original experiments and unexpected mixes of styles and genres were highly appreciated by authoritative music critics.
West was inspired by the work of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and other legends of world music and was very flattered when he was recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 21st century. He became the record holder for the number of Grammy awards received, was among the best-selling musicians, and his albums were included in the gold list of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine. Kanye has been ranked among the richest and most famous by Forbes several times and has twice been named one of the 100 most influential people on the planet.
Apart from musical activity Kanye is well known as a fashion designer. He collaborated with such global brands as Nike, Louis Vuitton and Adidas, and since 2012 he has been producing clothes and shoes under his own brand YEEZY. West is also the owner of the creative agency DONDA, named after his now deceased mother, and the record label GOOD Music.
Kanye allocates huge sums to charity, founded his own fund to combat illiteracy, often helps people affected by wars, epidemics and natural disasters.
Personal life of Kanye West
Kanye has a weakness for spectacular sexy women and from his youth chose his girlfriends with a model appearance. In 2002 he started dating fashion designer Alexis Phifer and was even going to take her to the altar. But it never came to a wedding, and after a year and a half, the lovers broke up. 
From 2008 to 2010, West was in a relationship with model Amber Rose, and in 2012 he began to appear in public with Kim Kardashian, a socialite and star of a popular reality show. Before that, they had known each other for about five years, but kept their distance and did not show tender feelings for each other. Less than a year later, Kanye proposed to Kim, kneeling in front of her in the presence of relatives and close family friends. Four months before significant event the couple had baby Nori (born 2013), and in May 2014 the lovers played a romantic wedding in Florence.
At the end of 2015, the couple became parents again - their baby Saint was born. January 2018 surrogate mother Kanye and Kim gave birth to another daughter, who was named Chi (Chicago), and in 2019 the couple is expecting another baby, which is already being carried by another surrogate mother.
It seems that peace and tranquility have finally reigned in the family, and in fact, more recently, the spouses were on the verge of divorce. The catalyst was a robbery attack on Kim in Paris, after which she suffered a severe nervous breakdown. The oppressed state of the Kardashians is not in the best way affected the rest of the family, and the situation threatened to come to a standstill. Kanye got hooked on sedative pills and even ended up in the hospital when things went too far. However, the couple managed to overcome the family crisis, which is fully illustrated by the touching footage from the birth of their daughter Chicago, published on Instagram.
Kanye West now
There are many high-profile scandals associated with the name of the rapper, which are associated both with his professional activities and with the habit of openly expressing his opinion, which often contradicts the usual postulates and shocks the public.In January 2019, West again shocked the American public by announcing that he was going to run for President of the United States in 2024.
