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"Kanye" redirects here. For other uses, see Kanye (disambiguation).

Kanye West

Kanye West Lollapalooza Chile 2011 2.jpg

West performing at Lollapalooza in 2011

Born Kanye Omari West

June 8, 1977 (age 37)

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.

Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Occupation

Rapper songwriter record producer fashion designer entrepreneur

Years active 1996–present

Home town Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

Spouse(s) Kim Kardashian (m. 2014)

Children 1

Musical career

Genres Hip hop

Instruments

Vocals keyboards sampler percussion synthesizer piano

Labels

Very GOOD Beats Roc-A-Fella Def Jam

Associated acts

2 Chainz Big Sean Charlie Wilson Child Rebel Soldier Common Go-Getters Jay-Z Kid Cudi Mike Dean Mos Def No I.D. Paul McCartney Rihanna Talib Kweli The Game Vic Mensa

Website

Official website

Kanye Omari West (/ˈkɑːnjeɪ/; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer. West first became known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records; he achieved recognition for his work on rapper Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001), as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used high-pitched vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. He later broadened his influences to include 1970s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, house, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, industrial, and classical music.

West was raised in a middle-class household in Chicago, Illinois, and began rapping in the third grade, becoming involved in the city's hip hop scene. West attended art school for one semester before dropping out to pursue music entirely in the late 1990s. Although his real desire was to become a rapper, record executives did not take West seriously, viewing him as a producer first and foremost. After being signed to Roc-A-Fella in 2002, West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004 to commercial and critical acclaim. The baroque-inspired Late Registration followed in 2005, and Graduation in 2007. West switched rapping for singing on his emotive 2008 effort 808's & Heartbreak, and embraced maximalism on 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Following several collaborations, West released his abrasive sixth album, Yeezus, in 2013.

West is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 21 million albums and 100 million digital downloads.[1] He has won a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time and the most Grammy-awarded artist of his age.[2] Time named West one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005, 2011 and 2015. He has also been included in a number of Forbes annual lists.[3] Three of his albums rank on Rolling Stone's 2012 "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list; two of his albums feature at #8 and #1 in Pitchfork Media's The 100 Best Albums of 2010–2014.[4]

West's background and style, from his debut album, deviated from the then-dominant "gangsta" persona in hip hop, and he would later alter the genre stylistically as rappers adopted his alternative aesthetic. An outspoken and controversial celebrity, West has often been a source of controversy due to his appearances at award shows and his various television and radio interviews. West has collaborated on multiple occasions with brands Nike, Louis Vuitton, Adidas and A.P.C.. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music and has directed several short films.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

2 Music career

2.1 1996–2002: Career beginnings

2.2 2003–06: The College Dropout and Late Registration

2.3 2007–09: Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak

2.4 2010–12: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and collaborations

2.5 2013–present: Yeezus and SWISH

3 Musical style

4 Other ventures

4.1 Business ventures

4.2 Fashion

4.3 Philanthropy

5 Personal life

5.1 Relationships

5.2 Mother's death

5.3 Legal issues

6 Controversies

6.1 General media

6.2 Award shows

7 Legacy

8 Accolades

9 Discography

9.1 Studio albums

9.2 Collaboration albums

10 Videography

11 Filmography

11.1 Film

11.2 Television

12 Bibliography

13 Further reading

14 References

15 External links

Early life

West moved to Chicago, Illinois at age three and became involved in its hip hop scene as a teen.

Kanye Omari West was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia.[5][6] His parents divorced when he was three and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois.[7][8] His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray West was later a Christian counselor,[8] and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland with startup capital from his son.[9][10]

Kanye West's mother, Dr. Donda C. (Williams) West,[11][12] was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as his manager. West was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School[13] in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.[14] At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she was teaching at Nanjing University as part of an exchange program. According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but settled in well and quickly picked up the language, although he has since forgotten most of it.[15] When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'."[16]

West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old.[17] His mother recalled that she first took notice of West's passion for drawing and music when he was in the third grade.[18] Growing up in the city, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.[19] At age thirteen, West wrote a rap song called "Green Eggs and Ham" and began to persuade his mother to pay $25 an hour for time in a recording studio. It was a small, crude basement studio where a microphone hung from the ceiling by a wire clothes hanger. Although this wasn't what West's mother wanted, she nonetheless supported him.[17] West crossed paths with producer/DJ No I.D., with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No. I.D. soon became West's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first sampler at age 15.[20]

After graduating from high school, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to study English. He soon realized that his busy class schedule was detrimental to his musical work, and at 20 he dropped out of college to pursue his musical dreams.[21] This action greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university. She later commented, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you."[22]

Music career

1996–2002: Career beginnings

Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, making beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing a style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. His first official production credits came at the age of nineteen when he produced eight tracks on Down to Earth, the 1996 debut album of a Chicago rapper named Grav.[23] For a time, West acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. Due to his association with D-Dot, West wasn't able to release a solo album, so he formed and became a member and producer of the Go-Getters, a late-1990s Chicago rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar.[24][25] His group was managed by John "Monopoly" Johnson, Don Crowley, and Happy Lewis under the management firm Hustle Period. After attending a series of promotional photo shoots and making some radio appearances, The Go-Getters released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999. The album featured other Chicago-based rappers such as Rhymefest, Mikkey Halsted, Miss Criss, and Shayla G. Meanwhile, the production was handled by West, Arrowstar, Boogz, and Brian "All Day" Miller.[24]

West spent much of the late-1990s producing records for a number of well-known artists and music groups.[26] The third song on Foxy Brown's second studio album Chyna Doll was produced by West. Her second effort subsequently became the very first hip-hop album by a female rapper to debut at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart in its first week of release.[26] West produced three of the tracks on Harlem World's first and only album The Movement alongside Jermaine Dupri and the production duo Trackmasters. His songs featured rappers Nas, Drag-On, and R&B singer Carl Thomas.[26] The ninth track from World Party, the last Goodie Mob album to feature the rap group's four founding members prior to their break-up, was co-produced by West with his manager Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie.[26] At the close of the millennium, West ended up producing six songs for Tell 'Em Why U Madd, an album that was released by D-Dot under the alias of The Madd Rapper; a fictional character he created for a skit on The Notorious B.I.G.'s second and final studio album Life After Death. West's songs featured guest appearances from rappers such as Ma$e, Raekwon, and Eminem.[26]

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-A-Fella Records. West came to achieve recognition and is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with his contributions to the rap mogul's influential 2001 album The Blueprint.[27] The Blueprint is consistently ranked among the greatest hip-hop albums, and the critical and financial success of the album generated substantial interest in West as a producer.[28] Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, West produced records for other artists from the label, including Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Cam'ron. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson.[27][29][30][31]

Despite his success as a producer, West's true aspiration was to be a rapper. Though he had developed his rapping long before he began producing, it was often a challenge for West to be accepted as a rapper, and he struggled to attain a record deal.[30] Multiple record companies ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time.[32] After a series of meetings with Capitol Records, West was ultimately denied an artist deal.[19] According to Capitol Record's A&R, Joe Weinberger, he was approached by West and almost signed a deal with him, but another person in the company convinced Capitol's president not to.[19] Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella Records. Jay-Z later admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that many saw him as a producer first and foremost, and that his background contrasted with that of his labelmates.[32][33]

West's breakthrough came a year later on October 23, 2002, when, while driving home from a California recording studio after working late, he fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a near-fatal car crash.[34] The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The accident inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to the hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut.[34] The composition, "Through The Wire", expressed West's experience after the accident, and helped lay the foundation for his debut album, as according to West "all the better artists have expressed what they were going through".[35][36] West added that "the album was my medicine", as working on the record distracted him from the pain.[37] "Through The Wire" was first available on West's Get Well Soon... mixtape, released December 2002.[38] At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to "make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.'"[39]

2003–06: The College Dropout and Late Registration

Carrying a Louis Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio and back, West crafted much of his production for his debut album in less than fifteen minutes at a time. He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date.[30] However, West decided to use the opportunity to review the album, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. As a result, certain tracks originally destined for the album were subsequently retracted, among them "Keep the Receipt" with Ol' Dirty Bastard and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with Consequence.[40] West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, improved drum programming and new verses.[30] West's perfectionism led The College Dropout to have its release postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003.[41][42]

The College Dropout was eventually issued by Roc-A-Fella in February 2004, shooting to number two on the Billboard 200 as his debut single, "Through the Wire" peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks.[43] "Slow Jamz", his second single featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx, became an even bigger success: it became the three musicians' first number one hit. The College Dropout received near-universal critical acclaim from contemporary music critics, was voted the top album of the year by two major music publications, and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums by artists. "Jesus Walks", the album's fourth single, perhaps exposed West to a wider audience; the song's subject matter concerns faith and Christianity. The song nevertheless reached the top 20 of the Billboard pop charts, despite industry executives' predictions that a song containing such blatant declarations of faith would ever make it to radio.[44][45] The College Dropout would eventually be certified triple platinum in the US, and garnered West 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year, and Best Rap Album (which it received).[46] At the time, the focal point of West's production style was the use of sped-up vocal samples from soul records.[47] However, due in part to the acclaim of The College Dropout, such sampling had been much copied by others; with that overuse, and also because West felt he had become too dependent on the technique, he decided to find a new sound.[48]

Beginning his second effort that fall, West would invest two million dollars and take over a year to craft his second album.[49] West was significantly inspired by Roseland NYC Live, a 1998 live album by English trip hop group Portishead, produced with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.[50] Early in his career, the live album had inspired him to incorporate string arrangements into his hip hop production. Though West had not been able to afford many live instruments around the time of his debut album, the money from his commercial success enabled him to hire a string orchestra for his second album Late Registration.[50] West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who served as the album's co-executive producer for several tracks.[51] Although Brion had no prior experience in creating hip-hop records, he and West found that they could productively work together after their first afternoon in the studio where they discovered that neither confined his musical knowledge and vision to one specific genre.[52] Late Registration sold over 2.3 million units in the United States alone by the end of 2005 and was considered by industry observers as the only successful major album release of the fall season, which had been plagued by steadily declining CD sales.[53]

While West had encountered controversy a year prior when he stormed out of the American Music Awards of 2004 after losing Best New Artist,[54] the rapper's first large-scale controversy came just days following Late Registration‍‍ '​‍s release, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims. In September 2005, NBC broadcast A Concert for Hurricane Relief, and West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."[35] West's comment reached much of the United States, leading to mixed reactions; President Bush would later call it one of the most "disgusting moments" of his presidency.[55] West raised further controversy in January 2006 when he posed on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a crown of thorns.[35]

2007–09: Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak

West performing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 2007

Fresh off spending the previous year touring the world with U2 on their Vertigo Tour, West felt inspired to compose anthemic rap songs that could operate more efficiently in large arenas.[56] To this end, West incorporated the synthesizer into his hip-hop production, utilized slower tempos, and experimented with electronic music and influenced by music of the 1980s.[57][58] In addition to U2, West drew musical inspiration from arena rock bands such as The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in terms of melody and chord progression.[58][59] To make his next effort, the third in a planned tetralogy of education-themed studio albums,[60] more introspective and personal in lyricism, West listened to folk and country singer-songwriters Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash in hopes of developing methods to augment his wordplay and storytelling ability.[50]

West's third studio album, Graduation, garnered major publicity when its release date pitted West in a sales competition against rapper 50 Cent's Curtis.[61] Upon their September 2007 releases, Graduation outsold Curtis by a large margin, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and selling 957,000 copies in its first week.[62] Graduation once again continued the string of critical and commercial successes by West, and the album's lead single, "Stronger", garnered the rapper his third number-one hit.[63] "Stronger", which samples French house duo Daft Punk, has been accredited to not only encouraging other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music, but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the late 2000s.[64] Ben Detrick of XXL cited the outcome of the sales competition between 50 Cent's Curtis and West's Graduation as being responsible for altering the direction of hip-hop and paving the way for new rappers who didn't follow the hardcore-gangster mold, writing, "If there was ever a watershed moment to indicate hip-hop's changing direction, it may have come when 50 Cent competed with Kanye in 2007 to see whose album would claim superior sales."[65]

West performing in Austin, Texas, March 2009

West's life took a different direction when his mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast reduction in November 2007.[66] Months later, West and fiancée Alexis Phifer ended their engagement and their long-term intermittent relationship, which had begun in 2002.[67] The events profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter.[68] Feeling his emotions could not be conveyed through rapping, West discovered the voice audio processor Auto-Tune to use whilst singing, which would become a central part of his next effort. Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks,[69] West announced his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where he performed its lead single, "Love Lockdown". Music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record.[70]

808s & Heartbreak, which features extensive use of the eponymous Roland TR-808 drum machine and contains themes of love, loneliness, and heartache, was released by Island Def Jam to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend in November 2008.[71][72] Reviews were positive, though slightly more mixed than his previous efforts. Despite this, the record's singles demonstrated outstanding chart performances. Upon its release, the lead single "Love Lockdown" debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a "Hot Shot Debut",[73] while follow-up single "Heartless" performed similarly and became his second consecutive "Hot Shot Debut" by debuting at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[74] While it was criticized prior to release, 808s & Heartbreak had a significant effect on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers to take more creative risks with their productions.[75] In 2012, Rolling Stone journalist Matthew Trammell asserted that the record was ahead of its time and wrote, "Now that popular music has finally caught up to it, 808s & Heartbreak has revealed itself to be Kanye’s most vulnerable work, and perhaps his most brilliant."[76]

West's controversial incident the following year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was arguably his biggest controversy, and led to widespread outrage throughout the music industry.[77] During the ceremony, West crashed the stage and grabbed the microphone from winner Taylor Swift in order to proclaim that, instead, Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently withdrawn from the remainder of the show for his actions. West's tour with Lady Gaga was cancelled in response to the controversy, and it was suggested that the incident was partially responsible for 808s & Heartbreak‍‍ '​‍s lack of nominations at the 52nd Grammy Awards.[78]

2010–12: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and collaborations

West performing with Jay-Z on their Watch the Throne Tour in 2011

Following the highly publicized incident, West took a brief break from music and threw himself into fashion, only to hole up in Hawaii for the next few months writing and recording his next album.[79] Importing his favorite producers and artists to work on and inspire his recording, West kept engineers behind the boards 24 hours a day and slept only in increments. Noah Callahan-Bever, a writer for Complex, was present during the sessions and described the "communal" atmosphere as thus: "With the right songs and the right album, he can overcome any and all controversy, and we are here to contribute, challenge, and inspire."[79] A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T, as well as off-the-wall collaborations, such as with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.[80]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to rave reviews from critics, many of whom described it as his best work that solidified his comeback.[81] In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess.[47] The record included the international hit "All of the Lights", and Billboard hits "Power", "Monster", and "Runaway", the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name.[82] During this time, West initiated the free music program G.O.O.D. Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday of the week, a portion of which were included on the album. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States,[83] but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets.[84]

West at Coachella on April 17, 2011

Following a headlining set at Coachella 2011 that was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time,"[85] West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak.[86][87] "Niggas in Paris" became the record's highest charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[82] In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. Cruel Summer produced four singles, two of which charted within the top twenty of the Hot 100: "Mercy" and "Clique".[82] West also directed a film of the same name that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens.[88]

2013–present: Yeezus and SWISH

West performing during the Yeezus Tour

West speaks after receiving an honorary doctorate from SAIC

Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel.[89] Determined to "undermine the commercial,"[90] he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music.[91] Primarily inspired by architecture,[89] West's perfectionist tendencies led him to contact producer Rick Rubin fifteen days shy of its due date to strip down the record's sound in favor of a more minimalist approach.[92] Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances.[93][94]

Yeezus, West's sixth album, was released June 18, 2013 to rave reviews from critics.[95] It became the rapper's sixth consecutive number one debut.[96] Def Jam issued "Black Skinhead" to radio in July 2013 as the album's lead single.[97] On September 6, 2013, Kanye West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar, accompanying him along the way.[98][99]

On November 24, 2013, West stated that he was working on and recording his next studio album, hoping to release it by mid-2014.[100] The album is being produced by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip.[101] In April 2014, he appeared in Future's single titled "I Won".[102] West released a single, "Only One", featuring Paul McCartney, on December 31, 2014.[103]

"FourFiveSeconds", a single jointly produced with Rihanna and McCartney, was released on January 23, 2015. West had played the song before radio programmers at the iHeartMedia Music Summit, but, at the time of release, an indication was not given about whether it will appear on the next albums of either West or Rihanna.[104] West also appeared on the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special and performed the songs "Jesus Walks", "Only One" (without Paul McCartney, who also performed at the event) and premiered a new song entitled "Wolves", which features Sia Furler and fellow Chicago rapper, Vic Mensa. "Wolves" is reported to be the first track on West's seventh solo album, titled So Help Me God.[105] On March 2, 2015, West released the second single from the album called "All Day" which features Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom and Paul McCartney.[106] West performed the song at the 2015 BRIT Awards with a number of US rappers and UK grime MC's including: Skepta, Wiley, Novelist, Fekky, Krept & Konan, Stormzy, Allan Kingdom, Theophilus London and Vic Mensa, although McCartney was not present for the performance.[107]

On May 3, 2015, West tweeted that he was changing his next album title from So Help Me God to SWISH,[108] but also stated that the title could change again in the future.[109]

On May 11, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture, officially making him an honorary Ph.D.[110]

Musical style

West working in the studio with his mentor No ID (left)

At the start of his career, West often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, in his production, along with his own drums and instruments.[111] His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life".[112]

West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style,[14][113] and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "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 [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that."[114] RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for Rolling Stone, "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him."[115] After hearing his work on The Blueprint, RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occurred between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."[115]

West accompanied by an 11-piece chamber orchestra.

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production.[50] Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.[50]

West has stated on several occasions that outside of his musical career, he favors listening to rock music over hip-hop.[116] He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers, Keane, Radiohead, Kaiser Chiefs, Modest Mouse, and Coldplay as some of his favorite musical groups.[116][117][118] Additionally, on Graduation, West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression.[119] Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis.[120] This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke Li and Bon Iver while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.[121]

West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his six solo albums as well as various single covers and in his music videos.[122]

Other ventures

Business ventures

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