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Hip Hop

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Submitted By 2kaymorris
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Jake Lindfors

American rapper, record producer, author, singer, or icon; any of these terms can be used to describe what Kanye West is. Raised in Chicago, Illinois by his mother, he started producing local artists which later led to big things. Since the beginning of his career Kanye worked with big names in the hip hop business such as Jay Z. Though he had faced some hard-hitting situations, with help from family and friends as well as his faith, Kanye pulled through as a stronger more influential person. Given the name Kanye Omari West, Kanye was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father, Ray West, was a former Black Panther as well as one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His mother, Donna West was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University. Eventually, Donna West retired to become Kaye’s full-time manager. When Kanye was only three years old his parents got a divorce which is when he moved to the south side of Chicago where he was raised in a middle class environment. He attended Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago before attending the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He was also enrolled at Chicago State University for a period of time but due to his poor grades, he dropped out. His grades were not the only reason for dropping out, he had a passion for music and had a primary interest in working on his music career. During the time Kanye attended school, he produced for hometown artists. However, his first notable collaboration was "Turn It Up" with Jermaine Dupri and Nas, featured on Jermaine Dupri's Life In 1472 movie soundtrack. The song relied on a sample-free, simple, prim sonic which was the complete opposite of West’s heavy tunes. With the sponsorship of Derrick "D-Dot" Angeletti, also known as Madd Rapper, Kanye was able to take his skills to another level by sharpening and perfecting his work. What most people do not even know is that Kanye West is often credited with rejuvenating Jay-Z's career because of his contributions on the rapper's 2001 masterpiece album The Blueprint. Not only did West lace the beats to Jay-Z's well-known anthem "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the meditative song "Never Change," Kanye West was also responsible for the now legendary lyrical shots fired at Nas and Prodigy, "Takeover." West became an in-house producer for Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella records. Through the process of becoming a well-known, well-respected producer, Kanye developed some MC skills. Record companies found it hard to take him seriously as a rapper. The world would not be used to a rapper whose past was not filled with life on the streets and stories of drug dealing. To save themselves from losing their talented producer, Roc-A-Fella records reluctantly signed Kanye.
Everything changed on October 22, 2003 when West found himself in a life-threatening car accident. After a long day and night, Kanye left the studio at around 3 a.m. and soon after getting into his car he fell asleep and crashed into another car. Kanye suffered greatly when due to the severe damages of a broken jaw from the crash, his moth was wired shut. Kanye’s dreams of becoming an MC seemed to had been thrown out the window. Two weeks after the crash, Kanye managed to sneak out of his hospital bed and recorded "Through The Wire," where he rapped with his mouth still wired shut. Kanye financed the shooting of his "Through The Wire" video out of his own pocket, and submitted the video to BET and MTV himself. The song would later become the first single from The College Dropout, West's debut album. Throughout the years Kanye continued to make hit albums like Late Registration in 2005 and Graduation in 2007. Everyone thought that Kanye’s car accident would put a damper on his career and he proved everyone wrong, but another accident occurred that left everyone silent awaiting Kanye’s reactions and next move. On November 10, 2007 Donna West, Kanye’s mother, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast reduction. Kanye dedicated concerts and performances to his beloved mother. Finally, at a December 2008 press conference in New Zealand, Kanye spoke about his mother's death for the first time. "It was like losing an arm and a leg and trying to walk through that," he told reporters. Although Kanye West did not live the rough life on the streets like most rappers deal with, he was hit hard with other complications that left everyone assuming his career would demolished. Kanye proved to everyone he was serious about becoming more than just a producer, but a rapper and musician as well. In 2009 Kanye released his latest album 808s & Heartbreak which is said to be revolved around the heart wrenching split between him and his ex fiancé. This album has been a hit just like all of his others. Kanye has been in situations that would have cracked many other people but he was motivated and determined to come out stronger than the rest.

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