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Pioneer or pirate: a look at Kanye West's career
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 17th February 2016 | Ollie
With the release of his seventh album coinciding with his new sneaker, Kanye West has been a pioneer not just for hip hop music but for hip hop culture.
Born in 1977 in Atlanta to a former Black Panther and an English Professor, Kanye's beginnings were already unique. After relocating to Chicago as a young child, he excelled in school and took an interest in poetry, eventually starting rapping. This led to him crossing paths with producer No I.D. at the age of 15, who took him under his wing as a protegee and taught him the art of production.
After dropping out of college at the ago of 20, he decided to pursue his dream as a producer, writing for various artists, but it was only after years of persistence he got his big break by producing on Jay Z’s iconic The Blueprint album in 2001. It was from here that he started working with everyone from Ludacris to Janet Jackson.
While his main dream was to perform as a rapper, many did not see this vision. However, sticking to his guns, he returned to the studio following surgery after a car crash and recorded the classic “Through the wire” with his jaw famously wired shut. This ended up being the lead single of his debut album The College Dropout along with the Jamie Foxx and Twista assisted “Slow Jamz” which is a club staple to this day.
After the success of that album, Kanye gave us music that consistently broke boundaries, whether it be the auto-tune laced 808s and Heartbreak, the film assisted My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the ground breaking Watch the Throne with friend Jay Z, or his recent offering The Life of Pablo.
Kanye didn’t stop there either, with his own sneaker line and fashion collections, Yeezy has repeatedly shown us that his passion for music and fashion are unlike any other.
All hail Yeezy.
