Kanye West

Biography

Previously best known for producing hit singles for major Hip-Hop/R&B artists, including Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Ludacris, West himself worked on his solo album for a long period of time, having the release pushed back time and time again.

Related Topics:
Alicia Keys - Jay-Z - Ludacris

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Due to his appearance and overall style, West struggled to find a way to get his own voice on record. Multiple record companies put him aside due to the fact that West is from the suburbs of Chicago, not a former 'street hustler', or even one that wears the orthodox hip-hop apparel.

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A car crash on October 23, 2002 left his jaw fractured in three places. With his mouth still wired shut and only weeks after his accident, he recorded "Through The Wire".

Related Topics:
October 23 - 2002

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"Through The Wire", which sampled Chaka Khan's classic track "Through The Fire", would eventually become his lead single from The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-a-Fella Records in February 2004.

Related Topics:
Chaka Khan - The College Dropout - Roc-a-Fella Records

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On August 30th, 2005, Kanye West released his second album Late Registration. "Diamonds (From Sierra Leone)" (which contained samples from Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever") and "Gold Digger", were the first two singles from Late Registration, the album sold over 904,000 in its first week. West announced that his 3rd and 4th albums will be titled Graduation and A Good Ass Job, respectively.

Related Topics:
August 30th - 2005 - Late Registration - Shirley Bassey - Graduation

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West has collaborated with numerous artists including rapper Twista, on songs such as "Overnight Celebrity" and "Slow Jamz" (also featuring Jamie Foxx) - which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Kanye also features on Brandy's single, "Talk About Our Love". Others whom West has collaborated with include Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, Mariah Carey, Miri Ben-Ari (whose violin arrangements featured heavily on The College Dropout), and John Legend (who also features on West's first album, providing soulful background vocals). Kanye West is also credited with revitalizing and bringing new life into the careers of such rappers as Common and Twista.

Related Topics:
Twista - Slow Jamz - Jamie Foxx - Brandy's - Jay-Z - Talib Kweli - Dilated Peoples - Mariah Carey - Miri Ben-Ari - John Legend - Common

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In 2004, West appeared on an episode of Punk'd. In the said episode, Ashton Kutcher tricked Kanye into thinking that his music video shoot for the song "Jesus Walks" was censored by the Los Angeles Film Commission for violating a law about filming on Sundays without a permit. To the audience's amusement, Kanye stole the music video footage back from them and then jumped into his van for his safety until Kutcher stopped the van. Couple months later, the single went out safely without any destruction by Ashton Kutcher or his crew members, and eventually won the Grammy Awards (see Awards section).

Related Topics:
2004 - Punk'd - Ashton Kutcher - Music video - Censored

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Political views

On 2 July 2005 West appeared on the Philadelphia bill of Live 8, using the global platform to refer to "man-made diseases placed in African communities", expressing his belief that AIDS was created by the U.S. government to exterminate Africans in Africa (see also OPV AIDS hypothesis). He made the parallel between the government using AIDS to exterminate Africans and using crack cocaine to destroy African-American communities and halt the civil rights movement. He also criticized politicians for "riding home in their Benzs and Bentleys while poor Africans starve".

Related Topics:
2 July - 2005 - Philadelphia - Live 8 - AIDS - U.S. government - OPV AIDS hypothesis - Crack cocaine - Civil rights movement

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On West's "Heard 'Em Say", he raps the following lyrics - "Before you ask me to go get a job today/ Can I at least get a raise on the minimum wage/ And I know the government administered AIDS", and on "Crack Music", Kanye raps "How we stop the Black Panthers?/ Ronald Reagan cooked up an answer", and in the second verse - "Who gave Saddam anthrax?/ George Bush got the answers."

Related Topics:
Heard 'Em Say - AIDS - Crack Music - Black Panthers - Ronald Reagan - Saddam - Anthrax - George Bush

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In a 99 MTV interview, West criticized the hip-hop community over the discrimination and epithets directed toward homosexuals, "Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I come on TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it.'" The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation recently recognized West for these comments, and for the tolerant views that he models.

Related Topics:
Homosexuals - Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

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On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, Kanye West was a featured speaker. When he was presenting, West deviated from the prepared script:

Related Topics:
September 2 - 2005 - Hurricane Katrina - NBC

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

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Mike Myers, whom Kanye was paired with to present, spoke next and attempted to regain control of the script. Once it was Kanye's turn to speak again, he simply said, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people."

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Although the camera quickly cut away, West's comments still reached the US East Coast in the live news-feed, but were censored by the network when the concert was re-broadcast on the West Coast three hours later.

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Shortly after this incident, The Legendary K.O. released a protest remix of "Gold Digger" called "George Bush Don't Like Black People," http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/002406.html#002406 which included new lyrics and a clip of Kanye West's comments. This remix has resulted in a significant amount of Internet and alternative radio play, as well as numerous music videos that are also widely available online.

Related Topics:
The Legendary K.O. - George Bush Don't Like Black People

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On September 8, 2005, in a live-via-satellite concert for the NFL season opener between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots, West performed "Heard 'Em Say" and was booed by the crowd at Gillette Stadium, almost certainly as a response to his controversial statements about George W. Bush following

Related Topics:
September 8 - 2005 - NFL - Oakland Raiders - New England Patriots - Gillette Stadium - George W. Bush

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Hurricane Katrina. However, his September 9 performance of "Jesus Walks" on the ' nationwide telethon for Katrina relief went off without controversy.

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