147-592: The Sunday Service Choir (commonly referred as Sunday Service ) is an American gospel group led by artist and producer Kanye West and conducted by choir director Jason White. Beginning in January 2019, the group has performed every Sunday as well as on Friday, September 27, when West's album Jesus Is King was announced for release. Their debut album, Jesus Is Born , was released three months later on Christmas Day in 2019. In September 2018, West announced that his ninth studio album Yandhi would be released later in
294-478: A 529 plan to fully cover college tuition for Floyd's daughter. West made cameo appearances as himself in the films State Property 2 (2005) and The Love Guru (2008), and in an episode of the television show Entourage in 2007. West provided the voice for "Kenny West", a rapper, in the animated sitcom The Cleveland Show . In 2009, he starred in the Spike Jonze -directed short film We Were Once
441-533: A Hurricane Sandy benefit concert . In January 2019, West donated $ 10 million towards the completion of the Roden Crater by American artist James Turrell . In June 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the following protests , he donated $ 2 million between the family of Floyd and other victims of police brutality , Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor . The donation funded legal fees for Arbery and Taylor's families, as well as establishing
588-546: A consistent life ethic . In October 2022, he was widely condemned and lost many sponsors and partnerships—including his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga —after making a series of antisemitic statements, including denying the Holocaust . West was born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta , Georgia. After his parents divorced when he was three years old, he moved with his mother to Chicago , Illinois. His father, Ray West,
735-405: A manifesto on his architectural goals during a visit to Harvard Graduate School of Design . In May 2018, West announced he was starting an architecture firm called Yeezy Home, which will act as an arm of his already successful Yeezy fashion label. In June 2018, the first Yeezy Home collaboration was announced by designer Jalil Peraza, teasing an affordable concrete prefabricated home as part of
882-448: A social housing project. In March 2015, it was announced that West is a co-owner, with various other music artists, in the music streaming service Tidal . The service specialises in lossless audio and high definition music videos. Jay-Z acquired the parent company of Tidal, Aspiro , in the first quarter of 2015. Sixteen artist stakeholders including Jay-Z, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, Chris Martin , Nicki Minaj co-own Tidal, with
1029-541: A string orchestra for his second album Late Registration . West collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion , who served as the album's co-executive producer for several tracks. 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. When his song " Touch
1176-675: A "towering inferno of martial beats, fathoms-deep chain gang backing chants, a defiant children's choir , gospel wails, and sizzling orchestral breaks". The first verse of the song is told through the eyes of a drug dealer seeking help from God, and it reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse. " Never Let Me Down " is influenced by West's near-death car crash. The song features Jay-Z, who rhymes about maintaining status and power given his chart success, while West comments on racism and poverty. The song features verses by spoken word performer J. Ivy who offers comments of upliftment. "Never Let Me Down" reuses
1323-399: A Fairytale (2009), playing himself acting belligerently while drunk in a nightclub. West wrote, directed, and starred in the musical short film Runaway (2010), which heavily features music from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . The film depicts a relationship between a man, played by West, and a half-woman, half- phoenix creature. The College Dropout The College Dropout
1470-437: A Jay-Z verse first heard in the remix of his song " Hovi Baby ". "Get Em High" is a collaboration by West with two socially conscious rappers, Talib Kweli and Common . " The New Workout Plan " is a call to fitness to improve one's love life. " Slow Jamz " features Twista and Jamie Foxx and serves as a tribute to classic smooth soul artists and slow jam songs. The song also appeared on Twista's album Kamikaze . On
1617-501: A Paris hotel. Determined to "undermine the commercial", he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill , dancehall , acid house , and industrial music . Primarily inspired by architecture, 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. Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of
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#17328588938621764-401: A book of illustrations from the 16th-century and West wanted to use to "bring a sense of elegance and style to what was typically a gangster-led image of rap artists ". The inside cover follows a college yearbook , with photos of the featured artists from their youth. While the original release of the album features a brown background on the cover artwork, later remasters of the album feature
1911-462: A car accident. The song provides a mostly comedic account of his difficult recovery, and features West rapping with his jaw still wired shut from the accident. The chorus and instrumentals sample a pitched up version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single " Through the Fire ". "Family Business" is a soulful tribute to the godbrother of Tarrey Torae, one of the many collaborators in the album. The song "Last Call"
2058-526: A career in music, West began producing for regional artists in the Chicago area. As an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records , he co-produced albums including Jay-Z 's The Blueprint (2001) before signing with the label as a recording artist. West's debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), was met with critical acclaim and yielded the Billboard Hot 100 -number one single " Slow Jamz ". He peaked
2205-606: A college professor asking West to deliver a graduation speech. The skit is followed by "We Don't Care" featuring West comically celebrating drug life with lines like "We wasn't supposed to make it past 25, joke's on you, we still alive" and then criticizing its influence amongst children. The next track, "Graduation Day", features Miri Ben-Ari on violin and vocals by John Legend . On " All Falls Down ", West wages an attack on consumerism. The song features singer Syleena Johnson and contains an interpolation of Lauryn Hill 's "Mystery of Iniquity". West called upon Johnson to re-sing
2352-706: A concert in Haikou , China at the Wuyuan River Stadium , West announced his eleventh solo album Bully , debuting the track "Beauty and the Beast". West's musical career is defined by frequent stylistic shifts and different musical approaches. In the subsequent years since his debut, West has both musically and lyrically taken an increasingly experimental approach to crafting progressive hip hop music while maintaining accessible pop sensibilities. Ed Ledsham of PopMatters said that "West's melding of multiple genres into
2499-590: A contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets. 2011 saw West embark on a festival tour to commemorate the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy performing and headlining numerous festivals including; SWU Music & Arts , Austin City Limits Music Festival , Oya Festival , Flow Festival , Live Music Festival , The Big Chill , Essence Music Festival , Lollapalooza and Coachella which
2646-460: A controversial video for " Famous ", which depicted wax figures of several celebrities (including West, Kardashian, Taylor Swift, businessman and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump , comedian Bill Cosby , and former president George W. Bush) sleeping nude in a shared bed. In August 2016, West embarked on the Saint Pablo Tour in support of The Life of Pablo. The performances featured
2793-513: A deal with him, but another person in the company convinced Capitol's president not to. Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella Records . Jay-Z , West's colleague and one of his mentors, 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. West's breakthrough came
2940-433: A lead artist. A widespread critical success, The College Dropout was praised for West's production, humorous and emotional raps, and the music's balance of self-examination and mainstream sensibilities. The album earned the rapper several accolades, including nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the 2005 Grammy Awards , winning for the latter. It has since been named by numerous publications as one of
3087-571: A mobile stage suspended from the ceiling. West postponed several dates in October following the Paris robbery of several of his wife's effects. On November 21, 2016, West cancelled the remaining 21 dates on the Saint Pablo Tour, following a week of no-shows, curtailed concerts and rants about politics. He was later admitted for psychiatric observation at UCLA Medical Center . He stayed hospitalized over
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#17328588938623234-664: A new album entitled Yeezus II slated for a 2014 release, West announced in March 2015 that the album would instead be tentatively called So Help Me God . In May 2015, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture. The next month, West headlined at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, despite
3381-588: A new shoe collaboration deal with West. After months of anticipation and rumors, West confirmed the release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts. In 2015, West unveiled a Yeezy clothing line, premiering in collaboration with Adidas early that year. In June 2016, Adidas announced a new long-term contract with Kanye West that extended the Yeezy line to a number of stores, planning to sell sports performance products like basketball, football, and soccer, although Adidas terminated
3528-430: A number of different issues drawn from his own experiences and observations, including organized religion, family, sexuality, excessive materialism, self-consciousness, minimum wage labor, institutional prejudice , and personal struggles. Music journalist Kelefa Sanneh wrote, "Throughout the album, Mr. West taunts everyone who didn't believe in him: teachers, record executives, police officers, even his former boss at
3675-478: A petition signed by almost 135,000 people against his appearance. Another petition aimed to block West from headlining the 2015 Pan American Games , garnering 50,000 supporters. West announced in January 2016 that Swish would be released on February 11, and later that month, released new songs " Real Friends " and a snippet of " No More Parties in LA " with Kendrick Lamar. On January 26, 2016, West revealed he had renamed
3822-405: A producer, Kanye West aspired to be a rapper, but had struggled to attain a record deal. Record companies ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time. After a series of meetings with Capitol Records , West was ultimately denied an artist deal. According to Capitol Records's A&R, Joe Weinberger, he was approached by West and almost signed
3969-449: A record deal as a rapper. Multiple record companies, including Capitol Records , denied or ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time. Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella as a recording artist. A 2002 car accident, which shattered his jaw, inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to
4116-516: A retrospective review than Caramanica was previously for the publication, calling the album "a demonstration that hip-hop—real, banging, commercial hip-hop—could be a vehicle for nuanced self-examination and musical subtlety". The College Dropout was voted as the best album of the year by The Village Voice ' s Pazz & Jop , an annual poll of American critics. The album elsewhere topped year-end lists by Rolling Stone , Spin , Vibe , and PopMatters . Dutch magazine OOR named it
4263-407: A scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes. Shortly after, he transferred to Chicago State University to study English. At age 20, he dropped out to pursue his musical career. This greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university, although she would later accept the decision. West began his early production career in
4410-433: A solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999. The production of The College Dropout was primarily handled by West and showcased his " chipmunk soul " musical style, which made use of sped-up, pitch shifted vocal samples from soul and R&B records, in addition to West's own drum programming , string accompaniments, and gospel choirs ;
4557-533: A space in the mainstream for rappers to express themselves and black identity without resorting to hip hop's prevalent theme of gang culture . Raul Verma of The Independent said "West is charged with proving mainstream hip hop has a conscience with his nourishing messages of substance flying in the face of the amoral majority perpetuating clichés of guns, girls and bling", while Vibe senior editor Noah Callahan-Bever argued that West's infusion of "pop sensibility" into his otherwise progressive hip hop had "bridged
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4704-451: A style of hip-hop production dubbed "chipmunk-soul", a sampling technique involving the manipulation of tempo in order to chop and stretch pitched-up samples from vintage soul songs. On his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), West formed the constitutive elements of his style, described as intricate hip-hop beats, topical subject matter, and clumsy rapping laced with inventive wordplay. The record saw West diverge from
4851-683: A style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. For a time, he acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. Due to his association with D-Dot, West was unable 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. The group released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999. West came to achieve recognition with his contributions to Jay-Z's influential 2001 album The Blueprint . The Blueprint has been named by Rolling Stone as
4998-507: A supporting act. The tour was met with rave reviews from critics. Rolling Stone described it as "crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers". Writing for Forbes , Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for "taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop", describing the show as "overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but [it] excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in
5145-456: A time, West acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie . Due to his association with Angelettie, West was not able to release a solo album, so he formed the Go-Getters, a hip hop group composed of him and fellow Chicago natives GLC , Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar. The Go-Getters independently released their first and only studio album, World Record Holders in 1999 through West's company, Konman Productions . West spent much of
5292-441: A trilogy of albums, with each of the album's three volumes set to be released on February 9, March 6, and April 5, 2024. In January 2024, West co-signed 4Batz and called him his favorite new artist. On February 8, 2024, West released the first volume's second single, " Talking / Once Again " featuring his eldest daughter North. A day later, producer Erick Sermon revealed in an interview that West's upcoming eleventh studio album
5439-517: A unique role model, that role model is dangerous—his arguments against education are as market-targeted as other rappers' arguments for thug life". In the opinion of Stylus Magazine ' s Josh Love, West "subverts cliches from both sides of the hip-hop divide" while "trying to reflect the entire spectrum of hip-hop and black experience, looking for solace and salvation in the traditional safehouses of church and family". Entertainment Weekly ' s Michael Endelman elaborated on West's avoidance of
5586-447: A vocal portion of "Mystery of Iniquity", which ended up in the final mix. Gospel hymn with doo-wop elements " I'll Fly Away " precedes "Spaceship", a track with a relaxed beat containing a soulful Marvin Gaye sample. The lyrics are mostly critical of the working world, where West muses about flying away in a spaceship to leave his boring job, and guest rappers GLC and Consequence compare
5733-409: A way that just isn't common for mainstream musical acts of late". West subsequently released a number of singles featuring Paul McCartney , including " Only One " and " FourFiveSeconds ", also featuring Rihanna . In November 2013, West stated that he was beginning work on his next studio album, hoping to release it by mid-2014, with production by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip . Having initially announced
5880-452: A white background. The College Dropout was originally scheduled for release in August 2003, but West's perfectionist habits producing the album led to it being postponed three times. It was first delayed to October 2003, then to January 2004, before finally being released to stores on February 10, 2004. In its first week of release, the album sold 441,000 copies and debuted at number two on
6027-509: 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. 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 a hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant with his jaw still wired shut. The composition, " Through
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6174-485: A year to make his second album. West was inspired by Roseland NYC Live , a 1998 live album by English trip hop group Portishead , produced with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra , incorporating 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
6321-403: Is "done with [his] contract with Sony and Universal". On October 16, he released the single " Nah Nah Nah ". West held several listening parties at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for his upcoming album Donda in the summer of 2021, where he had taken up temporary residence in one of the stadium's locker rooms, converting it into a recording studio to finish the recording. After multiple delays, Donda
6468-417: Is King (2019) and Donda (2021), and psychedelic music on Kids See Ghosts (2018). Early in his career, West made clear his interest in fashion and desire to work in the clothing design industry. He launched his own clothing line in spring 2006, and developed it over the following four years before the line was ultimately cancelled in 2009. In January 2007, West's first sneaker collaboration
6615-722: Is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Ray later became a Christian counselor, and in 2006, opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland , with startup capital from his son. West's mother, Donda C. West (née Williams), 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
6762-404: Is about West's transition from being a producer to a rapper, and the album ends with a nearly nine-minute autobiographical monologue that follows the song "Last Call". However, this is not a separate track. The album's title is in part a reference to West's decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician. This action greatly displeased his mother, who was a professor at
6909-410: Is considered to have had a significant effect on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers to take more creative risks with their productions. While Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards , West went on stage and grabbed the microphone from her to proclaim that Beyoncé deserved the award instead. He was subsequently removed from the remainder of
7056-649: Is notoriously secretive about the company's operations, maintaining neither an official website nor a social media presence. Contemporary critics have noted the consistent minimalistic aesthetic exhibited throughout Donda creative projects. West expressed interest in starting an architecture firm in May 2013, saying "I want to do product, I am a product person, not just clothing but water bottle design, architecture ... I make music but I shouldn't be limited to one place of creativity" and then later in November 2013, delivering
7203-455: Is the debut studio album by the American rapper Kanye West . It was released on February 10, 2004, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings . In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli , but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry . Intent on pursuing
7350-617: Is the fourteenth highest selling rap album in the UK in the 21st-century. The album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Four of the singles released in promotion of the album became top-20 chart hits : "Through the Wire", "Slow Jamz", "All Falls Down" and "Jesus Walks". " The New Workout Plan " was the fifth and last single. "Spaceship" was planned to be the sixth single, but Def Jam decided to move on from The College Dropout ' s promotional campaign to begin marketing West's next album, Late Registration (2005). At one point, "Two Words"
7497-492: Is what you have to do.'" West recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. It was leaked months before its release date, and West used the opportunity to remix, remaster, and revise the album before its release; West added new verses, string arrangements , gospel choirs , and improved drum programming. The album was postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003, and
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#17328588938627644-558: The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time . West's outspoken views have received significant media coverage. He has been a frequent source of controversy due to his conduct on social media , at award shows and public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries , U.S. politics , race , and slavery . His Christian faith, high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian , and mental health have also been topics of media attention. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that advocated for
7791-456: The Gap ". West explained, "My persona is that I'm the regular person. Just think about whatever you've been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album". The album was musically notable for West's unique development of his " chipmunk soul " production style, in which R&B and soul music samples were sped up and pitch shifted . The album begins with a skit featuring
7938-586: The JanSport bunch, but 'Ye brought all that to the masses in one single, digestible product, breaking down the divisions between mainstream rap and Rawkus -grade consciousness." Weinstein also credited The College Dropout with directly influencing 10 albums: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (2006) by Lupe Fiasco , School Was My Hustle (2006) by Kidz in the Hall , Don't Quit Your Day Job! (2007) by Consequence , A Kid Named Cudi (2008) by Kid Cudi , Asleep in
8085-719: The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . On January 5, 2022, West was announced as one of the 2022 headliners of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival . Later that month on January 15, West released the first single for his upcoming album Donda 2 , " Eazy " featuring The Game , to be executive produced by American rapper Future . West hosted a listening event for the album at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, on February 22. In April, shortly before Coachella, West pulled out as headlining act, then proceeded to pull out of headlining Rolling Loud . West and The Game performed
8232-495: The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award . West holds the joint record (with Bob Dylan ) for most albums (4) topping the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015. West's first six solo albums were included on Rolling Stone ' s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2020, with the same publication naming him one of
8379-448: The Yeezy collaboration with Adidas . One of the world's best-selling music artists with 160 million records sold, West has won 24 Grammy Awards , the joint 11th-most of all time and most awarded for any hip hop artist along with Jay-Z. His other accolades include a Billboard Artist Achievement Award , a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist , and
8526-475: The 50th greatest album of all time, and the critical and financial success of the album generated substantial interest in West as a producer. 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 . Although he had attained success as
8673-541: The Bad, and the Ugly" with Consequence. West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements , gospel choirs , improved drum programming and new verses. On his personal blog in 2009, West stated he was most inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and listened to the album every day while working on The College Dropout . The song "School Spirit" was censored for the album because Aretha Franklin would not allow
8820-813: The Bread Aisle (2009) by Asher Roth , Kendrick Lamar 's self-titled first EP (2009), Camp (2011) by Childish Gambino , Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011) by J. Cole , When Fish Ride Bicycles (2011) by The Cool Kids , and Acid Rap (2013) by Chance the Rapper . With the album, West began to develop a following of listeners who could not relate to lyrics glorifying gangster lifestyle but still enjoyed rap music and connected more with his musings on family and love. In 2005, comedian Chris Rock attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his stand-up material. Music journalists such as Meaghan Garvey, Andrew Barber, and Erika Ramirez also connected to
8967-617: The Kanye West Foundation in Chicago in 2003, tasked with a mission to battle dropout and illiteracy rates, while partnering with community organizations to provide underprivileged youth access to music education. In 2007, West and the Foundation partnered with Strong American Schools as part of their "Ed in '08" campaign. As spokesman for the campaign, West appeared in a series of PSAs for the organization, and hosted an inaugural benefit concert in August of that year. In 2008, following
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#17328588938629114-528: The Kardashians, Charlie Wilson , and Kid Cudi. West previewed a new song, " Water " at his "Sunday Service" orchestration performance at Coachella 2019, which was later revealed to feature on his upcoming album Jesus Is King ; West released the album on October 25, 2019. It became the first to ever top the Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums at
9261-502: The Lights , and Ant Clemons . During Sunday Service rehearsals, several songs from Yandhi have been performed. On January 12, 2019, it was reported that West was replaced by Ariana Grande as a headliner for Coachella . West pulled out because a giant dome could not be constructed for the performance. On March 31, 2019, West announced that Sunday Service would perform an Easter set at Coachella. The first public Sunday Service performance
9408-609: The Simulation , later clarifying that he was sharing the book "in real time" on Twitter and began posting content that was likened to " life coaching ". Later that month, he also announced two new albums, a solo album and self-titled collaboration with Kid Cudi under the name Kids See Ghosts , both of which would be released in June. Additionally, he revealed he would produce upcoming albums by GOOD Music label-mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor , as well as Nas . Shortly thereafter, West released
9555-620: The Sky " failed to win Best Video at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards , West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for " We Are Your Friends " and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane . He later spoofed
9702-536: The Thanksgiving weekend because of a temporary psychosis stemming from sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Following this episode West took an 11-month break from posting on Twitter and the public in general. It was reported in May 2017 that West was recording new music in Jackson Hole, Wyoming , with a wide range of collaborators. In April 2018, West announced plans to write a philosophy book entitled Break
9849-514: The US Billboard 200 chart, being held off the top spot by Norah Jones ' second studio album Feels Like Home . The College Dropout remained at the second spot behind Feels Like Home for two consecutive weeks, with 196,000 units sold in the second week and 132,000 in the third week, respectively. In 2004, The College Dropout ranked as the twelfth most popular of the year on the Billboard 200. The album had sold 2.3 million units in
9996-785: The United States by November 2004. By June 2014, the album had become West's best-selling album in the US at the time, with domestic sales of 3,358,000 copies. On November 23, 2020, The College Dropout was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On the UK Albums Chart , the album peaked at number 12, and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had certified it double platinum by November 25, 2004; this indicated shipments of 600,000 copies. As of 2018, The College Dropout
10143-411: 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". West added that "the album was my medicine", as working on the record distracted him from the pain. "Through the Wire" was first available on West's Get Well Soon... mixtape , released December 2002. At
10290-561: The album also "helped solidify chipmunk soul as not only the defining sound of the Roc-A-Fella era but also the most popular sub-genre in hip-hop". "It feels like that album birthed an entire sub-genre", Max Weinstein wrote in retrospect for Vibe , going on to say, "The palette of emotions was so broad, the depth of topics so searingly relevant, that it was bound to make an impression on any artist that heard it. RZA might have birthed chipmunk soul, and Black Star perfected smart lyricism for
10437-433: The album also features contributions from Jay-Z, Mos Def , Jamie Foxx , Syleena Johnson , and Ludacris , among others. Diverging from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop, West's lyrics concern themes of family, self-consciousness , materialism , religion, racism, and higher education. The College Dropout debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 , selling 441,000 copies in its first week of sales. It
10584-422: The album at 273 on its 2013 list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ", while Rolling Stone ranked it at 74 on their list of " The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " in 2020. As a young black kid, especially one who got to walk the line between some dangerous environments and some much better ones, Kanye was this beautiful means to be true to both sides of me. I remember listening to The College Dropout on
10731-464: The album during their formative years, with Barber saying in a roundtable discussion for Noisey , "I could identify with this project the most because I was in college at the time, and I felt like an underdog in my own life. I was uncertain of my future. [West's] words on 'Last Call' inspired me to follow my dreams, and motivated me to graduate despite the album title." In the same discussion, music journalist Eric Sundermann cited The College Dropout as
10878-451: The album from Swish to Waves . In the weeks leading up to the album's release, West became embroiled in several Twitter controversies. Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo . On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line. Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying
11025-576: The album was released through several other competing services starting in April. In February 2016, West stated on Twitter that he was planning to release another album in the summer of 2016, tentatively called Turbo Grafx 16 in reference to the 1990s video game console of the same name . In June 2016, West released the collaborative lead single " Champions " off the GOOD Music album Cruel Winter , which has yet to be released. Later that month, West released
11172-429: The album's music and live television performances. Yeezus , West's sixth album, was released June 18, 2013, to rave reviews from critics. It became his sixth consecutive number one debut, but also marked his lowest solo opening week sales. In September 2013, West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years , to support Yeezus , with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar accompanying him as
11319-532: The back pocket of my heart as I walked the line between black people finding me too white or proper and white people clamoring for me to be their 'black friend' . —Aundre Larrow, Chicago Reader (2014) The College Dropout sparked a resurgence of socially conscious rap in the mid 2000s, arriving at a time when pop rap was saturated with songs featuring product placement and intensely violent lyrics, epitomized by rappers like 50 Cent , Nelly , Ja Rule , Ludacris , and P. Diddy . West instead created
11466-467: The bus from a Leadership Broward event where I was selected as one of the leaders of tomorrow or whatever. I remember listening to it as I walked by two black mothers in bed slippers fighting in the street. I remember listening to it on my way to catch the bus to go to a school out of my zone, so that I could get a better education. ... 'Spaceship', 'All Falls Down', 'Never Let Me Down', 'Jesus Walks', 'Family Business'. Those were anthems of mine that I kept in
11613-474: The car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date. 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,
11760-614: The chart on four other occasions with the singles " Gold Digger " (2005), " Stronger " (2007), " E.T. " (2011, as a featured artist), and " Carnival " (2024). West's second and third studio albums, Late Registration (2005) and Graduation (2007), both debuted atop the Billboard 200 , the latter becoming West's most commercially successful to date. Three of his subsequent albums, 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and The Life of Pablo (2016), were certified triple platinum , and Yeezus (2013)
11907-404: The course of several years. According to John Monopoly, West's friend, manager and business partner, the album "...[didn't have] a particular start date. He's been gathering beats for years. He was always producing with the intention of being a rapper. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years". At one point, West hovered between making a portion of the production in
12054-507: The creative content company Donda , named after his late mother. In his announcement, West proclaimed that the company would "pick up where Steve Jobs left off"; Donda would operate as a "design company" with a goal to "make products and experiences that people want and can afford". In stating Donda's creative philosophy, West articulated the need to "put creatives in a room together with like minds" in order to "simplify and aesthetically improve everything we see, taste, touch, and feel." West
12201-422: The dancefloors with tears and sweat". Dave Heaton from PopMatters found it "musically engaging" and "a genuine extension of Kanye's personality and experiences", while Hua Hsu of The Village Voice felt that his sped-up samples "carry a humble, human air", allowing listeners to "hear tiny traces of actual people inside". Fellow Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote that "not only does [West] create
12348-517: The death of West's mother, the foundation was rechristened The Dr. Donda West Foundation. The foundation ceased operations in 2011. In 2013, Kanye West and friend Rhymefest founded Donda's House, Inc., a program aimed at helping at-risk Chicago youth. West has contributed to hurricane relief in 2005 by participating in a Hurricane Katrina benefit concert after the storm had ravaged black communities in New Orleans and in 2012 when he performed at
12495-504: The end of the month and a collaborative album with fellow Chicagoan rapper Chance the Rapper titled Good Ass Job . That same month, West announced that he would be changing his stage name to "Ye". Yandhi was originally set for release in September 2018 but was postponed multiple times. In January 2019, West pulled out of headlining that year's Coachella festival after negotiations broke down due to discord regarding stage design. In July, it
12642-408: The end of the weekend, I was on like five songs. Then we did the 'I'll Fly Away' joint". In a January 2020 interview with GQ , West revealed that around 30 to 40 percent of the album was recorded on a Roland VS-1680. The College Dropout diverged from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical subjects for the lyrics. Throughout the album, West touches on
12789-530: The entire disc", though claimed that West's "ace in the hole is his signature cozy sound", while Slant Magazine ' s Sal Cinquemani observed "too many guest artists, too many interludes, and just too many songs period" on what he considered a "chest-beatingly self-congratulatory" yet humorous, deeply sincere, and affecting record. It was regarded by Pitchfork critic Rob Mitchum as a "flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific album". The staff of Rolling Stone were more receptive in
12936-656: The first in West's pop rap album trilogy that would be followed by Late Registration in 2005 and Graduation in 2007, while Craig Jenkins called it "a watershed moment in 2000s rap history where the nerds stormed the school to seize control from the jocks, a shift memorialized two albums later when Graduation trounced 50 Cent's Curtis album in their 2007 sales showdown." All tracks are produced by Kanye West , except "Last Call" (co-produced with Evidence ; additional production by Porse) and "Breathe In Breathe Out" (co-produced with Brian Miller). Credits are adapted from
13083-430: The gap" and encouraged rappers to gravitate more towards the center between mainstream and alternative forms. Today commented that The College Dropout "stood out in the rap landscape because of its atypical prose. It avoided the usual plotlines about sex, money and violence and touched on everything from his faith to his fears of failure and other crises from his life." According to DJBooth journalist Brad Callas,
13230-403: The greatest albums of all time, including Rolling Stone and NME , who ranked it at 74 and 273 respectively on their " 500 Greatest Albums of All Time " lists, and is credited for popularizing the chipmunk soul and conscious rap subgenres in the 2000s. Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, making beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing
13377-449: 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. 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 ,
13524-579: The hip-hop fold is a complex act that challenges the dominant white notions of what constitutes true 'art' music ." West's rhymes have been described as funny, provocative and articulate, capable of seamlessly segueing from shrewd commentary to comical braggadocio to introspective sensitivity. West imparts that he strives to speak in an inclusive manner so groups from different racial and gender backgrounds can comprehend his lyrics, saying he desired to sound "just as ill as Jadakiss and just as understandable as Will Smith ". Early in his career, West pioneered
13671-515: The hospital, he recorded " Through the Wire " at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut. The song was first included on West's debut mixtape Get Well Soon... , which was released in December 2002. At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album titled The College Dropout , whose overall theme was to "make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This
13818-464: The incident on the 33rd-season premiere of Saturday Night Live in September 2007. 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 . Upon their September 2007 releases, Graduation outsold Curtis by a large margin, debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and selling 957,000 copies in its first week. Graduation continued
13965-462: The label's inaugural artists. The label houses artists including West, Big Sean , Pusha T, Teyana Taylor, Yasiin Bey / Mos Def, D'banj and John Legend, and producers including Hudson Mohawke , Q-Tip, Travis Scott , No I.D., Jeff Bhasker , and S1. GOOD Music has released ten albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In November 2015, West appointed Pusha T
14112-528: The language, although he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's." West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; he began writing poetry when he was five years old. West started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists. West crossed paths with producer No I.D. , who became West's friend and mentor. After graduating from high school, West received
14259-782: The late 1990s further producing for several musical acts. He produced the third track on Foxy Brown 's second studio album Chyna Doll (1999), which became the second hip-hop album by a female rapper to peak atop the US Billboard 200 chart. In 2000, West began producing for artists on Roc-A-Fella Records as an in-house producer. West is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with extensive contributions to his 2001 album The Blueprint , which Rolling Stone ranked among their list of greatest hip-hop albums. West produced songs for label cohorts such as Beanie Sigel and Freeway , but also produced beats which were used by artists on other labels including Ludacris , Alicia Keys , and Janet Jackson . Meanwhile, West struggled to attain
14406-545: The late 2000s. His mother's death in November 2007 and the end of his engagement to Alexis Phifer profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter. Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks, 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
14553-438: The latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name directed by and starring West. During this time, West initiated the free music program GOOD Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday, a portion of which were included on the album. This promotion ran from August to December 2010. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as
14700-459: The magazine's "XXL"-rated releases; this perfect rating had previously been given by the magazine to only sixteen other albums. In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade, and the 20th best hip hop debut album ever. Dagsavisen listed the album eleventh in its list of the top forty albums of the 2000s decade. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . NME placed
14847-400: The majority owning a 3% equity stake. In October 2022, in direct response to bans he received on Twitter and Instagram stemming from his antisemitic comments, West reached an agreement in principle to acquire the alt-tech social network Parler for an undisclosed amount. Parler and West mutually agreed to terminate the proposed deal in mid-November. West, alongside his mother, founded
14994-515: The men's collection. In March 2011, West collaborated with M/M Paris for a series of silk scarves featuring artwork from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . In October 2011, West premiered his women's fashion label at Paris Fashion Week. His debut fashion show received mixed-to-negative reviews. In March 2012, West premiered a second fashion line at Paris Fashion Week. Critics deemed the sophomore effort "much improved" compared to his first show. On December 3, 2013, Adidas officially confirmed
15141-433: The mid-1990s, creating beats primarily for burgeoning local artists in the Chicago area. He received his first official production credits at age nineteen, when he produced eight tracks on Down to Earth , the 1996 debut album of Chicago-based underground rapper Grav. In 1998, West was the first producer signed to the management-production company Hip Hop Since 1978 , founded by Gee Roberson and Kyambo "Hip-Hop" Joshua. For
15288-536: The modern-day retail environment to slavery. On " Jesus Walks ", West professes his belief in Jesus, while also discussing how religion is used by various people and how the media seems to avoid songs that address matters of faith while embracing compositions on violence, sex, and drugs. "Jesus Walks" is built around a sample of "Walk With Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. Garry Mulholland of The Observer described it as
15435-455: The month. He later postponed the date to November 2018 in order to record in Uganda . The album was postponed a second time in November with no set release date. On the first Sunday of 2019, West began the first "Sunday Service" rehearsal, where he performed gospel iterations of his discography and other songs with a choir group, The Samples and frequent collaborators like Tony Williams , Francis and
15582-474: The music "substance, social commentary, righteous anger, ornery humanism, dark humor, and even Christianity", calling it "one of those wonderful crossover albums that appeal to a huge audience without sacrificing a shred of integrity". The staff of Mojo said its exceptional hip hop production was miraculous during a time when hip hop's practice of sampling was becoming "increasingly litigious", and those of Urb deemed it "both visceral and emotive, sprinkling
15729-488: The new president of GOOD Music. In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area after his company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. The first location opened in September 2008 in Orland Park and a second followed in January 2009. The Orland Park location closed in early 2011 due to poor sales performance. In January 2012, West announced his establishment of
15876-540: The non-album singles " Lift Yourself " and " Ye vs. the People ", in which he and T.I. discussed West's support of Donald Trump. Pusha T's Daytona , "the first project out of Wyoming", was released in May to critical acclaim, although the album's artwork—a photograph of deceased singer Whitney Houston 's bathroom that West paid $ 85,000 to license—attracted some controversy. The following week, West released his eighth studio album, Ye . West has suggested that he scrapped
16023-416: The original recordings of the album and re-recorded it within a month. The week after, West released a collaborative album with Kid Cudi, titled Kids See Ghosts , named after their group of the same name. West also completed production work on Nas' Nasir and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E. , which were released in June 2018. In September, West announced his ninth studio album Yandhi to be released by
16170-507: The partnership with West in October 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks. In May 2021, West signed a 10-year deal linking Yeezy with GAP to create Yeezy Gap , however, in September 2022, West announced that he was ending the deal. West founded the record label and production company GOOD Music in 2004, in conjunction with Sony BMG , shortly after releasing his debut album, The College Dropout . West, alongside then-unknown Ohio singer John Legend and fellow Chicago rapper Common were
16317-575: The rapper to sample her music without censorship being promised. It was revealed by Plain Pat that there were around three other versions of the song, but West disliked them. Pat said in reference to the Franklin sample: "That song would have been so weak if we didn't get that sample cleared". In 2011, an uncensored version of the track was distributed online. West finished recording around December 2003, according to his older cousin and singer Tony Williams , who
16464-548: The record's highest-charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The co-headlining Watch the Throne Tour kicked off in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer , a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at
16611-435: 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.'" West began recording The College Dropout in 1999, taking four years to complete. Recording sessions took place at Record Plant in Los Angeles, California, but the production featured on the record took place elsewhere over
16758-553: The same time. On December 25, 2019, West and Sunday Service released Jesus Is Born , containing 19 songs, including several re-workings of older West songs. West released a single titled " Wash Us in the Blood " on June 30, 2020, featuring fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott , along with the music video, which was set to serve as the lead single from his tenth studio album Donda . However, in September 2020, West stated that he would not be releasing any further music until he
16905-431: The seventh best album of 2004. Billboard named The College Dropout the second best album of 2004. Rhapsody named it the seventh best album of the decade and the fourth best hip hop album of the decade. In 2005, Pitchfork named it No. 50 in their best albums of 2000–2004. In 2006, the album was named by Time as one of the 100 best albums of all time. In its retrospective 2007 issue, XXL named it one of
17052-439: The show for his actions. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama , who called West a "jackass". The incident sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes . West subsequently apologized, including personally to Swift. However, in a November 2010 interview, he seemed to recant his past apologies, describing the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless". Following
17199-442: The singer Fridayy . It was Smith's first new song in nearly two decades. Kanye West Ye ( / j eɪ / YAY ; born Kanye Omari West / ˈ k ɑː n j eɪ / KAHN -yay ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip hop , he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After dropping out of college to pursue
17346-430: The single on July 22, marking West's first performance in five months following the low profile he had been keeping since Donda 2 remained unfinished. A day later, despite cancelling as headliner, he appeared at Rolling Loud during Lil Durk 's set. In December 2022, after weeks of controversial antisemitic statements , West released a new song, "Someday We'll All Be Free", on his Instagram. On August 25, 2023, West
17493-507: The song "School Spirit", West relates the experience of dropping out of school and contains references to well-known fraternities , sororities , singer Norah Jones , and record label Roc-A-Fella Records. " Two Words " features commentary on social issues and features Mos Def , Freeway, and the Harlem Boys Choir. "Through the Wire" features a high-pitched vocal sample of Chaka Khan and relates West's real life experience with being in
17640-410: The string of critical and commercial successes by West, and the album's lead single, " Stronger ", garnered his third number-one hit. "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
17787-479: The studio and the majority within his own apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey . Because it was a two-bedroom apartment, West was able to set up a home studio in one of the rooms and his bedroom in the other. West brought a Louis Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio, producing tracks in less than fifteen minutes at a time. He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from
17934-794: The then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical lyrical subjects, including higher education, materialism, self-consciousness , minimum-wage labor, institutional prejudice , class struggle , family, sexuality, his struggles in the music industry, and middle-class upbringing. Over time, West has explored a variety of music genres , encompassing and taking inspiration from chamber pop on his second studio album, Late Registration (2005), arena rock and europop on his third album, Graduation (2007), synth -driven electropop on his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak (2008), acid-house , drill , industrial rap and trap on Yeezus (2013), gospel and Christian rap on The Life of Pablo (2016), Jesus
18081-518: The then-dominant "gangsta" persona of hip hop: West delivers the goods with a disarming mix of confessional honesty and sarcastic humor, earnest idealism and big-pimping materialism. In a scene still dominated by authenticity battles and gangsta posturing, he's a middle-class, politically conscious, post-thug, bourgeois rapper – and that's nothing to be ashamed of. Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise. Rolling Stone ' s Jon Caramanica felt that "West isn't quite MC enough to hold down
18228-463: The tickets were free for the event, those who had tickets began to sell them online for up to $ 500. On November 21, 2019, Sunday Service announced that they would be a part of the youth Strength to Stand Conference , which would be held at LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge , Tennessee from January 18–20, 2020. West's performance was added after comedian John Crist 's performance was canceled after Crist
18375-438: The tracklist once more before its release to the public. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on February 14, 2016, following a performance on SNL . Following its release, West continued to tinker with mixes of several tracks, describing the work as "a living breathing changing creative expression" and proclaiming the end of the album as a dominant release form. Despite West's earlier comments, in addition to Tidal,
18522-433: The uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record. 808s & Heartbreak was released by Island Def Jam in November 2008. Upon its release, the lead single " Love Lockdown " debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, while follow-up single " Heartless " debuted at number four. While it was criticized prior to release, 808s & Heartbreak
18669-421: The university from which he withdrew. She later said, "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 [The] 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". The artwork for the album was developed by Eric Duvauchelle, who
18816-404: The year by American Music Awards and Billboard , and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums by artists. " Jesus Walks ", the album's fourth single, reached the top 20 of the Billboard pop charts, despite industry executives' predictions that a song containing such blatant declarations of faith would never make it to the radio. The College Dropout
18963-456: Was a large-scale commercial success, with domestic sales of over 3.4 million copies by 2014 and was certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2020. The album was promoted with singles such as " Through the Wire ", " Jesus Walks ", " All Falls Down ", and " Slow Jamz ", the latter two of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 , with "Slow Jamz" becoming West's first number-one single as
19110-538: Was also intended to be released as a single, and a video for the song was filmed, and later uploaded by West online in 2009. The College Dropout was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 25 reviews. The record was hailed by Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times as "2004's first great hip-hop album". Reviewing it for The A.V. Club , Nathan Rabin observed in
19257-611: Was at Coachella for Easter on April 21, 2019. On October 5, 2019, he brought Sunday Service to The Gateway in Salt Lake City, Utah . His performance occurred on an already busier than usual weekend with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holding their semi-annual General Conference the same weekend. West collaborated with pastor Joel Osteen , who hosted West at Lakewood Church located in Houston on November 17, 2019. Although
19404-443: Was certified triple platinum in the U.S., and garnered West 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year , and Best Rap Album (which it received). During this period, West founded GOOD Music, a record label and management company that housed affiliate artists and producers, such as No I.D. and John Legend , and produced singles for Brandy , Common , Legend, and Slum Village . West invested $ 2 million and took over
19551-617: Was certified double platinum. While not as well-received critically as his previous efforts, Ye (2018), Jesus Is King (2019), and Donda (2021) continued West's series of consecutive number one debuts on the Billboard 200. West has also released the collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) with Jay-Z , Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Kid Cudi , as well as Vultures 1 and Vultures 2 (2024) with Ty Dolla Sign . In fashion design, he has collaborated with Nike, Inc. , Louis Vuitton , and Gap Inc. on clothing and footwear, and led
19698-508: Was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time", West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in August 2011. 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 . " Niggas in Paris " became
19845-462: Was eventually released in February 2004, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 as his debut single, " Through the Wire " peaked at No. 15 while on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks. " Slow Jamz ", his second single, featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx , became the three musicians' first No. 1 hit. The College Dropout received critical acclaim, was nominated for the top album of
19992-545: 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." A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T , as well as collaborations with artists including Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Gil Scott Heron . My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , West's fifth studio album,
20139-404: Was raised in a middle-class environment, attending Polaris School for Individual Education in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois , after living in Chicago. At the age of 10, West moved with his mother to Nanjing, China , where she was teaching at Nanjing University as a Fulbright Scholar . According to his mother, West was the only foreigner in his class, but he settled in well and quickly picked up
20286-572: Was recruited by the rapper two weeks before the album's deadline to contribute vocals. Williams had impressed West by singing improvisations to " Spaceship " during one of their drives together. The singer later recounted recording with West for The College Dropout at the Record Plant: "I get in, go in the booth, start vibing out on 'Spaceship' and finished it up. At that point he was like, 'Ok, Well let me see what you do on this song.' I think that's when we did 'Last Call.' One song lead to another, and by
20433-442: Was released in November 2010 to widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom considered it his best work and said it solidified his comeback. 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. The record included the international hit " All of the Lights ", and Billboard hits " Power ", " Monster ", and " Runaway ",
20580-438: Was released on August 29, 2021. West claimed the album was released early without his approval and alleged that Universal had altered the tracklist. He released a deluxe edition of Donda , including five new songs, to streaming services on November 14, 2021. On November 20, days after ending their long-running feud, West and rapper Drake confirmed that they would stage the "Free Larry Hoover " benefit concert on December 9 at
20727-609: Was released, a special-edition Bapesta from A Bathing Ape . In 2009, West collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, the Air Yeezys , becoming the first non-athlete to be given a shoe deal with the company. In January 2009, he introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week . The line was released in summer 2009. West has additionally designed shoewear for Italian shoemaker Giuseppe Zanotti . In fall 2009, West moved to Rome , where he interned at Italian fashion brand Fendi , giving ideas for
20874-523: Was reported that songs from West's unreleased album Yandhi were leaked online. The following month, Kim Kardashian announced that West's next album would be titled Jesus Is King , effectively scrapping Yandhi . By October, the entire unfinished album was available for a short time on streaming services Spotify and Tidal. On January 6, 2019, West started his weekly " Sunday Service " events, which included soul variations of both West's and others' songs and were attended by multiple celebrities, including
21021-426: Was reported to be in the process of recording his eleventh studio album, with two sources close to him stating that the release of new music was "imminent". On October 13, Billboard reported that West had finished recording a collaborative studio album with Ty Dolla Sign and was in the process of shopping the album to distributors, adding that the album was originally intended for an official release that day but
21168-676: Was suspected of sexual misconduct. On December 25, 2019, Sunday Service released Jesus is Born as West had said. Exactly a year later Sunday Service released the Emmanuel EP, featuring 5 new tracks composed and produced entirely by West in Latin , based on texts from the Roman Breviary and the Roman Gradual . The group returned in 2024 on the Will Smith comeback single "You Can Make It", featuring
21315-472: Was then part of Roc-A-Fella's in-house brand design team. West had already taken pictures dressed as the Dropout Bear – which would reappear in his later work – and Duvauchelle picked the image of him sitting on a set of bleachers , as he was attracted to the loneliness of what was supposed to be "the most popular representation of a school". The image is framed inside gold ornaments, which Duvauchelle found in
21462-592: Was titled Y3 , while also stating that he had contributed to the album in 2023. West has since denied working on an album titled Y3 . On February 10, 2024, hours after West held a listening party at UBS Arena, the first volume of the Vultures trilogy, entitled Vultures 1 , was officially released. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming West's eleventh consecutive and Ty Dolla Sign's first number one album, respectively. Vultures 2 released later that year on August 3. On September 28, during
21609-400: Was ultimately pushed back for unknown reasons and expected to drop within the coming weeks. The eponymous lead single for the album, " Vultures " featuring Bump J , was released on November 22, 2023. Throughout late 2023 and early 2024, West and Ty Dolla $ ign held several concerts previewing songs from the album. In a trailer for the album, West announced that Vultures would be released as
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