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| Birth Name(s) : Kanye Omari West |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Full Kanye West Biography
West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with both of his parents. "Kanye" means "the only one" in Swahili. When he was three years old (as mentioned in "Hey Mama") his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father was Ray West, a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is now a Christian counselor. 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. He was raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois.
West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said by Kanye West: "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time… We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the style I use, RZA has been doing that."
On October 23, 2002, West was involved in a car crash: he fell asleep at the wheel while driving home from the recording studio. The crash provided inspiration for West's first single, "Through the Wire". 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 wordplay and sampling. The album went certified triple platinum. Guest appearances include Jay-Z, Ludacris, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Common, Syleena Johnson, and more. The album also features the singles, "All Falls Down" and "The New Workout Plan", as well as Twista's single, "Slow Jamz".
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 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." 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. Coincidentally, in November 2006, West was the opening act for U2 during the fifth leg of their Vertigo Tour in Australia and New Zealand.West at the Nokia Theatre, New York in August 2006.
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.'
After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine Complex.
West performed at the 2007 V Festival, entertaining crowds at Hylands Park on Saturday, (August 18) and Weston Park on Sunday, (August 19). He performed his latest single Stronger, along with many of his classics: Diamonds From Sierra Leone, Through the Wire, All Falls Down and Jesus Walks. West also played tribute to some of his favorite artists, singing Amy Winehouse's "Rehab", The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony", and Timbaland's "The Way I Are".
On August 26, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show Entourage which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. In September 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the MTV Video Music Awards in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right."
On Sept 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. On that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAS 2 years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMA's with it. He has also stated that Britney Spears hasn't had a hit in "a million years" and MTV exploited her for ratings. Since then, Kanye has said that he would have been less upset if Justin Timberlake or Fall Out Boy had opened.
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:
'I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it [the media] 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 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 poor, the black people, 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, with whom West was paired to present, spoke next and continued as normal by reading the script, though with 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 much of the United States.
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. |
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