Kanye West (pronounced KAHN-yay) (born Kanye Omari West,
Previously best known for producing hit singles for Alicia Keys, Jay-Z,
and Ludacris, Kanye himself worked on a solo album for a long period of
time, having the release pushed back time and time again. A car crash on
October 23, 2002 left his jaw fractured in three places. With his mouth
still wired shut and only weeks after having an encounter with death,
Kanye West began recording "Through The Wire," reliving his near-fatal
accident. "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.
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
(baggy clothing). Damon Dash, then-leader of Roc-A-Fella, finally gave
him a shot on Def Jam records after hearing "Through the Wire" was
written in a hospital bed. While in the hospital, West requested an
electronic drum machine to assist him in the composition of the demo.
West also has his own clothing line - "Pastel Clothing" , and his own
record label - "G.O.O.D. Music" (an acronym for Getting Out Our Dreams),
under which John Legend's platinum selling debut album Get Lifted has
been released, along with Common's latest album - "Be". Other artists on
his label include Keyshia Cole, GLC, Consequence, and Farnsworth
Bentley.
As of 2005, he has released two singles from his second album, Late
Registration, "Diamonds (From Sierra Leone)" (which sampled Shirley
Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever") and "Gold Digger" (which sampled Ray
Charles' "I Got a Woman"). Late Registration was released on August
30th, 2005. West says his 3rd and 4th albums will be titled "Graduation"
and "Good Ass Job", respectively.
In 2005, Kanye West received ten Grammy Award nominations, making him
the most nominated artist of 2005. He received two nominations in the
Album of the Year category, one for The College Dropout, and one for his
work on Alicia Keys' album The Diary of Alicia Keys. His work with pop
icon Janet Jackson also earned him a nomination for her single I Want
You, produced by West, which was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal
Performance.
At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 13, 2005,
Kanye won Best Rap Album for his album The College Dropout and Best Rap
Song for his single "Jesus Walks".
In
Kanye 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". Some of
the many other artists he has worked with include Jay-Z, Talib Kweli,
Dilated Peoples, Mariah Carey and John Legend.
More:
Chicago-bred, soul sampling, producer wunderkind, Kanye West's music is
inarguably the most exciting thing going on in hip-hop right now. He is
the man that helped make Jay-Z's The Blueprint the soul-drenched
nostalgic masterpiece that it was. He has produced a consistent array of
chart-topping inspirational beats for artists as diverse as Ludacris
("Stand Up"), Scarface ("In Cold Blood"), and Talib Kweli ("Get By");
and, did I mention that the man raps like there's no tomorrow? Given the
fact that he has a resume this dazzling, and is seemingly overflowing
with potential, when word came that he had decided to put out a solo
record, The College Dropout, it evoked little surprise, and a whole lot
of anticipation. It also served as an incredibly unorthodox, and
taboo-stricken move for a "heralded" producer of his stature, that only
seemed to highlight his incredible ambitions and fans' adoration. The
only thing is, The College Dropout was supposed to come out months ago;
first, in August, then October, then January, and now, the fine folks at
Roc-A-Fella are saying February (let's keep our fingers crossed). So, as
the collective patience of avid hip-hop aficionados across the globe
grows thinner and thinner, anticipation for Kanye's alleged-masterpiece
debut is reaching a fever pitch.
In a typically savvy marketing move (like only those folks in hip-hop
know how) serving to add only more fuel to the collective fire, a couple
of Kanye West mix-tapes have been circulating around that not only
showcase a collection of his finest chart-topping production moments
from his previous work, but also preview a number of new selections from
off of The College Dropout. Now, while in the surprisingly stringent
circles of music criticism reviewing a mix-tape greets about the same
level of enthusiasm as the release of a Backstreet Boy solo record, the
two mix-tapes in question, Get Well Soon (released shortly after Kanye's
much-publicized, near-fatal car accident), and I'm Good, prove to be
among the best new hip-hop music released in 2003. However, in a level
of irony seemingly only reserved for this delightful mess called the
music business, since these releases are mix-tapes and not traditional
albums (whatever that means these days), don't expect them to be making
an appearance on many "best of" lists this year. In light of this
fiasco, your trusty review has taken it upon himself to shine some
much-deserved light on these enigmatic jewels, because given Roc-A-Fella's
inconsistencies these tapes might be the closest we ever get to
witnessing Kanye's abundant solo genius.
While both mixes serve as a well-represented document featuring a
mish-mash of snippets from Kanye's earlier work, on both Get Well Soon
and I'm Good Kanye's new material undoubtedly steals the show. The best
of these new tracks is the unrelentingly rousing modern-day hip-hop
epic, "2 Words", which features guest appearances from Mos Def, Freeway,
and the Harlem Boys' Choir. Over the rolling thump of a thunderous drum
kit, harpsichord lines tumble into butter-smooth electric guitar licks,
while frenetic soulful wails provide the perfect canvas for Mos',
Kanye's, and Freeway's relentless rhymes. However, this is all before
Kanye breaks the song down for a stirring a cappela section from the
Harlem Boys' Choir, which gives way to a frenzied stutter-step hip-hop
hoe-down featuring a turbulent violin solo to close (that's right, I did
say violin solo!).
The most amazing aspect of the track, though, is that it marks Kanye's
characteristic mastery of balancing an "underground" hip-hop aesthetic,
with elements from the mainstream. Kanye has infamously labeled himself
the "self-proclaimed first nigga with Benz and a backpack", but it is
rightly the consistent merging of these two diametric worlds in Kanye's
music, which makes his sound so unabashedly unique. Tracks like "Heavy
Hitters", which imparts a bouncing electro-funk bass riff straight out
of the Timbaland handbook and joins it with a debonair classical piano
motif, and the soulful ode to girl-trouble "The Good, The Bad, and The
Ugly", which cloaks Consequence's and Kanye's playerific verses in a
dusty sample-heavy instrumental, perfectly reconcile Kanye's aesthetic
contradictions.
However, while there may be little doubt left in anybody's mind if
Kanye's beats are inspired, the real question that these two mix-tapes
come to resolve is that if Kanye can handle himself on the mic.
Thankfully, the answer is unresoundingly yes. Kanye has always attested
to the fact that he was an emcee before he got into producing, and it
was only his startling success as a beat-maker that took him away from
first love of rhyming. This fact is abundantly clear on these mixes, as
Kanye imparts a charmingly laconic vocal delivery, equal parts Mos Def
and Snoop Dogg that is brimming with radiant wit, and agile word play.
On The College Dropout's alleged first single, "Through the Wire" (an
earnest recounting of the emotional toll of his horrific car accident),
over a rolling motivational Chaka Kahn sample, Kanye cleverly attests,
"In the same hospital where BIG and Tupac died, the Doctor said I had a
blood clot, but I ain't Jamaican man, story on MTV, but I ain't trying
to make a band." While over the old-school soul of "Home", Kanye
personifies his relationship with his hometown of Chicago in the vain of
Common's ode to hip-hop "I Used to Love Her", and through a wildly
sincere monologue recounts their lengthy turbulent history; Kanye's
cleverly rhymes, "I guess that's why last winter she got so cold on me,
she said 'Ye keep making that platinum and gold for me."
On the closing track off Get Well Soon, the bitter-sweetly nostalgic,
"My Way", a speed up vocal sample reflects, "I've lived a life that's
full, I've traveled each and every highway, and what's more than this, I
did it my way." The track serves as the perfect summation of every
aspect that makes Kanye West such a rarity amongst the excess-laden
caricatures that seem to dominate the hip-hop world; over a lush
instrumental of sweeping syrupy string melodies, West earnestly recounts
his hip-hop typical ambitions of making a dollar. However, when he
states, "I'm not a Kennedy, but I'm good rich," it feels like a miracle.
Finally a rapper who is equal parts ambitious and humble, aggressive and
empathetic, and witty while still being genuine. He's Kanye West, and
he's just put out the best hip-hop album of next year... his own way.
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 to destroy African-American
communities and halt the civil rights movement. He also criticised
politicians for "riding home in their Benzs and Bentleys while poor
Africans starve".
In a 2005 MTV interview, West criticised the hip-hop community over the
discrimination and epithets directed toward homos--uals, "Not just
hip-hop, but America just discriminates. And I [wanted to just] come on
TV and just tell my rappers, just tell my friends, 'Yo, stop it.'" GLAAD
recently recognized West for these comments, and for the tolerant views
that he models.
West also caused controversy by attacking GEORGE W BUSH’s handling of
the NEW ORLEANS crisis live on American television.
The rapper-producer was taking part in a telethon for the victims of
Hurricane Katrina when he spoke out about the treatment black people in
the disaster.
"I hate the way they treat us in the media, when you see a black family
it says they're looting when you see a white family it says they're
looking for food," said West before personally targeting the President.
"George Bush doesn't care about black people," he declared adding that
America is set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off
as slow as possible", Billboard reports. (See
Video)
West then praised the Red Cross’ efforts saying they were doing
“everything they can”.
NBC, the network that aired the programme, quickly distanced itself from
West, declaring he had “departed from the scripted comments that were
prepared for him”, while some American commentators attacked his
comments.
West has become increasingly vocal on political matters of late and
recently used the video for his ’Diamonds From Sierra Leon’ single to
highlight the suffering caused by conflict diamonds and the human rights
abuses that occur in mining them.
Awards
This Kanye West Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Chuck Ayoub
His complete
Janet Jackson's "I Want You", produced by West, was nominated for Best
Female Recording (R&B).