162-411: Yeezy may refer to: Kanye West (legally Ye), whose nickname is Yeezy Yeezy (brand) , or YZY, a brand owned by West Adidas Yeezy , a former fashion collaboration between Adidas and West Nike Air Yeezy , a former fashion collaboration between Nike and West Yeezy Gap , a former fashion collaboration between Gap and West Topics referred to by
324-478: 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
486-533: 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
648-546: 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,
810-405: 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
972-448: 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
1134-541: 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
1296-610: A "sledgehammer beat" which is built around French house duo Cassius' 2010 single "I <3 U So". West's production continues in the sonic vein he introduced in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , lacing the song with rock dynamics, layering the beat with eerie vocal chorales in the style of progressive rock songs. Watch the Throne was released by Roc-A-Fella Records , Roc Nation , and Def Jam Recordings , Jay-Z's and West's respective record labels. On July 4, 2011, it
1458-568: 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. Watch the Throne Watch the Throne is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West , collectively known as The Throne. It
1620-616: A Little Tenderness ", manipulating it into a rhythm track with Otis Redding's vocals and grunts. The sample is used in a way that is reminiscent to past Kanye productions, like the tracks found on his album The College Dropout . Redding's vocals are chopped up so thoroughly that his voice serves as a mere melodic riff on the track, with both rappers promptly rapping over it in a braggadocious fashion. "Gotta Have It", produced by The Neptunes , incorporates chopped-up James Brown vocal samples and Eastern flute melodies. The song contains haunting backing vocals and an accompanying tambourine with
1782-501: 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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#17328588945851944-511: A Victorian Dandy , "in which the artist luxuriates in all the genteel pleasures of the time." Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times notes "musings on the spoils of riches and the chaos that accompanies it," adding that "[the] tension between worshiping the spirit and celebrating the bounty drives Watch the Throne [...] The record questions faith while clinging to heritage and family, places this moment in an historical context, wonders on
2106-526: 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
2268-706: 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
2430-590: 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
2592-460: 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
2754-482: A five-track EP with Jay-Z, titled Watch the Throne . Also according to the rapper, the track "Monster" was intended for the EP, though that failed to surface. It was later revealed by West that the project had been expanded into a full-length album in an October 2010 interview for MTV . He said in the interview that they planned to record in the south of France . In an August 2011 radio interview with WEDR , Jay-Z shared
2916-399: A little material that has made the final cut. West had brought a majority of his usual production crew onto the project, the same crew that had assisted in the creation of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . One of the main exceptions was producer No I.D. , who felt that the two artists weren't pushing forward enough with the music. In an interview with Complex , No I.D. commented about
3078-483: A lot of money to spend." Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph praised West's "attention to detail" and found their "wit and absurdity [...] entirely suited to the epic scale of productions." Kitty Empire of The Observer stated, "Some find this sort of branded gloating distasteful, but at their best both rappers can still make you laugh." Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times deemed it "a cocksure, fiery, smart, if problematic, collaboration that showcases
3240-571: 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
3402-664: 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
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#17328588945853564-588: 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
3726-528: 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
3888-547: A producer on the track "New Day". Watch the Throne was mastered by producer and engineer Mike Dean at the Mercer Hotel. Jay-Z and West worked with several guest recording artists, including Beyoncé , Frank Ocean , and Mr Hudson . "No Church in the Wild", the last song recorded for the album, was conceived by Jay-Z, West, and the song's producer 88-Keys throughout most of June. Producer and recording artist The-Dream sings
4050-405: A realm of intense emotional reflection." Pitchfork ' s Tom Breihan felt that it "works best when Jay and Kanye are just talking about how great they are," adding that "Kanye is this album's obvious guiding force ... He displays levels of unequaled audacity." Claire Suddath of Time called it "a beautifully decadent album by two of hip-hop's finest artists—men with a lot of things to say and
4212-449: 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
4374-407: 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
4536-554: A select group of producers and recording artists. Chauncey " Hit-Boy " Hollis, who produced the track "Niggas in Paris", said of recording at the hotel, "There was music going on in every room. I had a room where I was cranking out beats, and then I'd go into the main room with Jay and [Kanye] and play beats for them. Kanye is really hands-on. I would come in with a beat and he'd be like, 'Take this out, slow it down.' It would make it sound 100 times better. Jay would then mumble different flows to
4698-413: A self-congratulatory opus that was adventurous enough to remind us that they're rap visionaries first, 1 percent bazillionaires second. The A.V. Club ranked it number nine on its year-end list, commenting that " Watch The Throne thrives on the bristling tension between Kanye's live-wire energy and rule-breaking abandon, and Jay-Z's innate cautiousness. It's an album of the moment—a point underlined by
4860-456: A single, "Who Gon Stop Me" peaked at 44 on the chart. Watch the Throne received positive reviews from music critics . At Metacritic , which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 76, based on 42 reviews. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club wrote that "exhilarating messiness and go-for-broke spontaneity infect Jay-Z and push him outside his comfort zone and into
5022-477: A sonic through-line and mission statement." Pitchfork 's Tom Breihan perceives "pure orchestral excess" on some of its songs and describes the album's musical scope as "a tribute to [West's] distinctive taste and sense of style." The album features themes of opulence, fame, materialism, power, and the burdens of success. Jay-Z's and West's lyrics include boasts of obscene wealth, grandiosity, and social commentary. Sputnikmusic's Tyler Fisher describes Watch
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5184-451: 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
5346-507: 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
5508-509: 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
5670-441: 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
5832-555: A verse on the track using AutoTune . The song features R&B singer Frank Ocean, who released his debut mixtape nostalgia,ULTRA in early 2011 to critical acclaim. The release of the mixtape interested Jay-Z and West. Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé recommended the involvement of the singer in particular, who appears on both "No Church in the Wild" and "Made in America." Ocean admitted that Jay-Z has intentionally intimidated him during recording sessions but declared his enjoyment of working with
5994-409: 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
6156-485: 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
6318-403: 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
6480-417: 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
6642-722: 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
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6804-509: Is a grown man and Kanye is not" on the album and elaborates on their lyrics, stating: Both co-kings flaunt their arrogance even by the standards of a genre where braggadocio is the main event, and neither is shy about pretending that the line of succession from Otis Redding and Martin Luther King is paved with their gold. [...] One could venture that maybe Watch the Throne divvies up the way it does for rhetorical purposes—that one king plays
6966-410: 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
7128-466: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages 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
7290-649: 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
7452-483: Is something like the Holocaust ". "Murder to Excellence" addresses black-on-black crime and limited social mobility for African Americans. Midway through the song the beat switches up, with Kanye musing over the horrors of black-on-black violence in the first half, and Jay-Z delivering equally meditated comments on black excellence on the more choir-heavy second half. A sample from Indiggo 's "LA LA LA" can be heard on
7614-541: 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
7776-558: 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
7938-573: The Hot 100. A music video for the song was filmed by director Spike Jonze in Los Angeles. Third single "Lift Off" was sent to US urban radio on August 23 of the same year. The track peaked on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles at position 6. The album's fourth and fifth singles were released simultaneously; in September 2011, "Why I Love You" was sent to US rhythmic radio, and "Niggas in Paris"
8100-625: The Internet age to avoid a leak . On July 7, 2011, Jay-Z hosted a private listening session at the Mercer Hotel in New York City, previewing the album's songs from his MacBook Pro for a select group of reporters and music journalists. It was also exclusive to two teenage fans who had won access to the session for being the first people to pre-order the album through Jay-Z's Life + Times website. The album's cover and artwork, both designed by Italian designer Riccardo Tisci , were also premiered at
8262-719: 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
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#17328588945858424-495: 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
8586-459: The Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City's American Museum of Natural History . The session premiered the album in its entirety and featured attendance from journalists, models, industry types, and recording artists such as Busta Rhymes , 88-Keys , and Beyoncé Knowles. On August 28, Jay-Z and West performed "Otis" at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards . Jay-Z and West promoted Watch
8748-476: The Stax - soul update 'Otis,' Throne testifies to Kanye West's talent for beats both iconoclastic and pop-savvy." Claire Suddath of Time ranked it number three on her top-10 albums list and called it "a beautifully decadent album". Chris Richards of The Washington Post ranked it number two on his list and stated, "Instead of blushing over their embarrassment of riches, pop's most intriguing partnership delivered
8910-458: The Watch the Throne , however West eventually relented and the duo recorded " No Church in the Wild " and " Made in America ". In an interview with Zane Lowe , Jay-Z said: "[There were] no lyrics on 'Holy Grail' and I recorded 'Oceans' and I played those records for Kanye," Jay explained. "And he was like, 'No those have to go on Watch the Throne ,' so we spent four days arguing about those records and I
9072-448: 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
9234-520: The hook on "That's My Bitch". Vernon had previously appeared on West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , when West sampled Vernon's band Bon Iver 's song " Woods ". Vernon also provided additional vocals on songs such as "Dark Fantasy" and "Monster". Swizz Beatz , who produced "Welcome to the Jungle", also provided background vocals to the track, and Kid Cudi contributed additional vocals to "The Joy" and "Illest Motherfucker Alive," bonus tracks on
9396-516: The prog-rap of 2010's acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ". Music journalist Jody Rosen characterizes the music as "vast, dark and booming," commenting that West "continues in the sonic vein he introduced in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , lacing the songs with rock dynamics, layering his beats with eerie vocal chorales, piling on proggy flourishes." Conversely, Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine finds West's "knack for dramatic, melodically sophisticated tracks [...] channeled away from
9558-430: The 2010s (So Far)". In 2018, Revolt listed the album at number one on their list of the 10 rap collaboration albums. In 2019, Billboard named Watch the Throne the biggest collaborative album of all time, asserting, "From the iconic album artwork to the brash, decadent lyrical themes, esteemed guest list, and recording around the globe, the Throne would set the standard for what a pristine rap album should embody at
9720-523: The Jungle", Jay-Z laments personal losses and overcoming struggles. Sharing the name with a Guns N' Roses track, Jay describes himself as the "black Axl Rose " over a jittery, treble-heavy Swizz Beatz production. "Who Gon Stop Me" features bombastic production and samples Flux Pavilion 's 2011 song " I Can't Stop ", reinforced with heavy synthesizer and tone shifts. The song utilizes an often experimental, bass-driven and dub-step influenced style of composition, with West forcefully rapping lines like "this
9882-617: 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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#173285889458510044-528: 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
10206-801: The Olympian scale" of his previous album "and toward the more commercial vein of Jay-Z's recent work," which he attributes to West splitting production work with several other producers. On the songs' structure, Cole states, "every track eschews the standard verse-hook-repeat format in favor of more dynamic material." Music journalist Alexis Petridis comments that the album incorporates "unlikely samples ." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times writes that its production "can be roughly segmented into three categories," noting "Southern-inflected tracks" such as "Niggas in Paris" and "H•A•M", "moody and harsh numbers" like " Who Gon Stop Me " and "Why I Love You", and "the nostalgia that creeps over much of this album, giving it
10368-609: 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
10530-620: 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
10692-536: 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
10854-498: The Throne as "an album centered around larger-than-life egos." Robert Christgau notes "regal grandiosity" and "glory" as primary themes on the album. Andy Kellman of Allmusic characterizes much of the album's lyrical content as "ruthless flaunting of material wealth and carte blanche industry resources." Rob Harvilla of Spin views that their lyrics express elitism , narcissism , "relentless capitalism ," and "smug yet undeniable greatness." Music critic Greg Kot views that
11016-1028: The Throne peaked at number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart and the Swiss Albums Chart . The album peaked at number two on the German Albums Chart the Danish Albums Chart , and at number three on the Scottish Albums Chart . It also debuted within the top ten on the Belgian Albums Chart , the Dutch Albums Chart , the French Albums Chart , the Irish Albums Chart , the Russian Albums Chart and
11178-456: The Throne was one of the top-ranked albums in year-end lists by music critics and publications. Q ranked the album number six in its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011. Rolling Stone named it the second-best album in its year-end list, commenting that "What could have been a crash-and-burn anticlimax turned out to be as fun as any record in a dog's age. From the cinematic 'No Church in the Wild' to
11340-493: The Throne with a 34-date, North American concert tour produced by Live Nation , which began on October 28 and concluded on June 22, 2012. By the end of 2011 the tour had grossed $ 48.3 million making it the then highest grossing hip-hop tour (until being surpassed by Summer Sixteen Tour ) and the eighth highest-grossing tour of 2011. Watch the Throne spawned seven official singles, with varying degrees of success. Following West's announcement via his Twitter account, "H•A•M"
11502-512: The Throne , including " H•A•M ", " Otis ", " Lift Off ", " No Church in the Wild ", and the Billboard Hot 100 top five hit " Niggas in Paris ", with 3 of the singles receiving music videos . Jay-Z and West embarked on the Watch the Throne Tour for promotion that spanned from October 2011 to June 2012 and became the highest-grossing hip hop concert tour in history. The album received highly positive reviews from music critics , who mostly praised
11664-638: The US, according to Nielsen SoundScan . On November 23, 2020, the album was certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over five million units in the United States. Watch the Throne was also a success outside the US. In Canada, the album debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart , selling 25,000 copies in its first week. In its second week,
11826-469: The Wild" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration . Watch the Throne debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 436,000 copies in its first week. This became Jay-Z's 12th number-one album and West's fifth number-one album in the US. This also became the second highest debut week of 2011, while its first week digital sales of 321,000 downloads served as the second highest one-week sales tally at
11988-561: The World ". Ocean's hook pays tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. , Coretta Scott King , Malcolm X , Betty Shabazz and Jesus on one of the album's more serene tracks. Jay-Z muses on his drug-dealing past with lines like "our apple pie was supplied by Arm & Hammer", with West's verse describing his conflict with fame. "Why I Love You" has Jay-Z lamenting betrayal and how his past protégés failed to maintain without him. The track contains
12150-530: The album "requires you to tolerate the artists' self-mythologizing and put up with their sometimes awkward attempts at experimentation." Andy Gill of The Independent was more critical and found their rapping "pretty mediocre", partly because "too often here their complacent, back-slapping laxity leaves tracks floundering." In the Chicago Tribune , Greg Kot found the record plagued by Jay-Z and West's "self-regard", writing that "they urge listeners to 'watch
12312-451: 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
12474-400: The album is about "mutual admiration" and writes of the rappers' respective personas, "Jay-Z is about imperious flow, bridging his gritty past life on the streets with his current status as a cultural tastemaker and business mogul. [...] West is more desperate, transparent, awkward, vulnerable." Music critic Nathan Rabin states that Jay-Z and West "are a study in contrasts: the businessman and
12636-761: The album remained at number one on the chart, selling 15,900 more copies. In Australia, the album peaked at number two on the Australian Albums Chart and number one on the Australian Urban Albums Chart . In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK R&;B Albums Chart . The album topped the UK R&B Albums Chart for six non-consecutive weeks between 2011 - 12 . In addition, Watch
12798-576: 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
12960-405: The album went through three iterations, as he and West had scaled back from their original musical direction. He noted difficulties in the recording process, including arguments with West regarding their direction. Following the release of lead single , "H•A•M" in January 2011, Jay-Z stated that the less-than-stellar reception caused a change in the production of the album. Jay-Z announced that it
13122-555: The album were initially recorded for Watch the Throne - the song " Oceans ", which features Frank Ocean , and the song " Holy Grail ", which went on to feature Justin Timberlake . (Timberlake's contribution to the track was not anticipated at the time, until the duo collaborated on Timberlake's 2013 comeback single " Suit & Tie " and "Murder" from The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 respectively.) West and Jay-Z argued for four days about having them included on
13284-410: The album's deluxe edition. One of the tracks that was recorded but didn't make the cut for the album was "Living So Italian." It apparently sampled Andrea Bocelli 's " Con te partirò " and was described as catchy but for unknown reasons, the song never made it onto the album. In 2013, Jay-Z released his twelfth studio album Magna Carta... Holy Grail . In an interview, he revealed that two songs on
13446-429: 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
13608-406: The album, the song closes with a segment of Italian avant-prog band Orchestra Njervudarov's 1979 piece "Tristessa", which reappears at the end of several other songs. The pop -oriented "Lift Off" features baroque strings and a chorus sung by Beyoncé Knowles, accompanied with synthesizers . The song contains horns and martial drums as Knowles sings, "We gon' take it to the moon/ Take it to
13770-627: The album. Recording sessions took place at various locations and began in November 2010, with production led by West and a variety of high-profile producers, including Mike Dean , Swizz Beatz , Pete Rock , RZA , Jeff Bhasker , The Neptunes , and Q-Tip . Expanding on the dense production style of West's fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Watch the Throne incorporates orchestral and progressive rock influences, unconventional samples , and dramatic melodies in its sound. The braggadocious lyrics exhibit themes of excellence, opulence, decadence, fame, materialism, power, and
13932-409: The beat". Parts of the album were recorded in New York City's Tribeca Grand Hotel. Recording artist and producer Ryan Leslie also confirmed his involvement in the recording of Watch the Throne . Producer 88-Keys reportedly played 20 of his beats to West and Jay, who only eventually used one on the finished album. The Wu-Tang Clan 's RZA , who had worked on West's previous album, is credited as
14094-525: The bohemian, the faithful husband and the drugged-up playboy, the walking press release and the loose cannon. Jay-Z is tidy. Kanye is nothing but rough edges." Jon Caramanica writes similarly, "breaking [...] old barriers is a means to acceptance and stability" for Jay-Z, while "West sounds lonely" with his fame, adding that "For Mr. West every flash of Dionysian extreme is tempered by the realization of its hollowness." In his article "Brag Like That" for Barnes & Noble , Robert Christgau comments that "Jay-Z
14256-415: The burdens of success, as well as political and socioeconomic critique. The album also expresses other topics, such as Jay-Z's thoughts on fatherhood, West's reflection on being deemed a social villain, and their success as performers. Many writers interpreted the subject matter to concern the plight of African Americans struggling with financial success in America. Seven singles were released for Watch
14418-614: 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)
14580-474: The chart, selling 94,000 more copies. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number four on the chart, selling 80,000 copies. In 2011, Watch the Throne was the ninth best-selling album in the US, and the first collaborative album to make the year-end top ten in Nielsen SoundScan history. It was also the fourth top selling album on iTunes in 2011. As of July 2013, the album has sold 1,573,000 copies in
14742-507: 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
14904-517: 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
15066-1223: The effort into making the best product so we can contend with all this other music, with dance music that's dominating the charts right now and indie music that's dominating the festivals." Recording sessions for the album took place at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii; Barford Estate in Sydney, Australia; Electric Lady Studios ; The Mercer Hotel ; MSR Studios ; and Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York City; Le Meurice in Paris, France; and Real World Studios in Wiltshire, England. The songs "That's My Bitch" and "The Joy" were previously recorded for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as early as July 2010. Production began in November 2010 in England and continued during available times in Jay-Z's and West's schedules at locations in Australia, Paris, Abu Dhabi, New York City, and Los Angeles. In an interview for Billboard , Jay-Z said that they often recorded in hotel rooms and that
15228-501: 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
15390-526: The finer things in life" as secondary to the theme of "two men grappling with what it means to be successful and black in a nation that still thinks of them as second class ." The opening track "No Church in the Wild" features a cinematic production style. Singers Frank Ocean and The-Dream lend their voices to the album's grim opener, which sets the mood with a gnarled guitar sample. Over the rock-centric, rolling production, both rappers muse over familiar themes of loyalty, sexuality and maternal solidarity. On
15552-475: The hero and the other the hedonist, two equally royal hip-hop archetypes. Their lyrics also exhibit political and socioeconomic context, which Jody Rosen denotes as "serious, sober, weighty." Nitsuh Abebe of New York views that the album is "about the relationship of black American men to wealth, power, and success. [...] a portrait of two black men thinking through the idea of success in America." He compares it to Yinka Shonibare 's 1998 piece Diary of
15714-442: The highest of levels." Watch the Throne received nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Recording Package at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. It lost the former to West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . "Otis" was nominated for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song , winning the former. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013, "Niggas in Paris" won Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, and "No Church in
15876-449: 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 ,
16038-579: 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
16200-562: 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
16362-464: 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
16524-462: 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
16686-528: 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
16848-782: 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
17010-545: 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
17172-438: 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
17334-400: 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
17496-401: The meaning behind the album's title; "It's just protecting the music and the culture. It's people that's in the forefront of the music. Watch the Throne, like protect it. You just watch how popular music shift, and how hip-hop basically replaced rock & roll as the youth music. The same thing can happen to hip-hop. It can be replaced by other forms of music. So it's making sure that we put
17658-515: 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
17820-433: 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
17982-427: The mystery, power and confusion of the gilded life — while rolling around in amulets ." Writer Kitty Empire interprets it to be about "black power [...] conceived as a swaggering taunt of achievement, in line with both men's previous works, which routinely double as shopping guides. [...] [T]hey need to humanise all the conspicuous consumption." Claire Suddath of Time views the rappers' " bacchanal celebration of
18144-488: 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
18306-540: 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
18468-416: 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
18630-406: The pair's distinct lyrical skills." Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe observed "an undeniable synergy that they embraced for this project." AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called it "an audacious spectacle of vacuous pomposity as well as one of tremendous lyrical depth." Slant Magazine ' s Matthew Cole was less impressed, believing West had contributed a "powerhouse production" but that
18792-507: 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
18954-426: The presence of Frank Ocean on two tracks—yet it has the substance to endure." Stereogum placed Watch the Throne at number 10 on its list of the "Top 50 albums of 2011" while Pitchfork placed the album at number 21 on its list. In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade. In January 2015, the album was placed at number 8 on Billboard ' s list of "The 20 Best Albums of
19116-418: The project that "you're going to sell, because you're already big. But you guys are important to push this forward. Push intelligence and decadence and all of the above forward in a creative manner." While his advice was acknowledged to a degree, he ultimately had very little part in the finished project. In January 2011, they regrouped and rented a block of rooms at the Mercer Hotel in New York City and invited
19278-408: The rappers' performances and the production. However, some reviewers found the lyrical content uninspiring. Many critics and publications named Watch the Throne to their year-end best-of lists, including Rolling Stone and The Washington Post . The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 , selling 436,000 copies in the first week, and broke the iTunes first week sales record at
19440-494: 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
19602-407: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Yeezy . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yeezy&oldid=1250437986 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
19764-553: 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
19926-462: The session. Benjamin Meadows-Ingrim of Billboard , who attended the session, said of the previewed material, "The songs were dramatic and boastful, with Jay-Z often taking the lead lyrically, and the collection showcased the differences between the two artists – Jay-Z, the technical marksman, and Kanye, the emotive chest beater." On August 1, Jay-Z and West held a listening session for the album at
20088-439: 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
20250-430: 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
20412-482: The song. At 5 minutes in length, "Murder to Excellence" is the longest track on the album. " Made in America " has themes of family life and the American Dream , with Jay-Z and West discussing their respective rises to fame, while acknowledging those who helped and inspired them. The song has been described as an understated soft-pop track with influence from Michael Jackson and his 1985 charity single " We Are
20574-447: The stars." "Niggas in Paris" incorporates staccato orchestration and fizzing industrial noise, topping it all off with a menacing beat and icy synthesizer notes. The track features an unusual sampling of dialogue from the 2007 film Blades of Glory , notably the "we're gonna skate to one song and one song only" line. West and Jay-Z's lyrics frame their rags to riches story on the song. "Otis" samples Otis Redding's 1966 song " Try
20736-410: 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
20898-794: 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
21060-508: The throne,' and gaze in awe on their good fortune." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone felt that "on a record this ambitious, this sonically bold, it's a shame two of music's greatest storytellers don't extend their gaze beyond their own luxe lives." Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker stated, "Weed the album down to a healthy ten, and [it] doesn't become either classic or coherent, but it does work as an entertaining document of two wildly creative, not particularly wound-up friends." Watch
21222-519: The time. Watch the Throne broke the US iTunes Store 's one-week sales record at the time when it sold nearly 290,000 downloads. The album also reached number one on the US Top R&;B/Hip-Hop Albums and the US Top Rap Albums charts. In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling an additional 177,000 copies. In its third week, the album dropped to number two on
21384-471: The time. West's early production work on Jay-Z's music helped raise his profile in the music industry. While originally only viewed as a producer, West eventually was seen as both a viable rapper and producer thanks to the success of his debut album The College Dropout and its singles. West continued to be one of Jay-Z's main producers on subsequent albums such as The Black Album and Kingdom Come . Jay-Z also appeared on Kanye's first two albums, and
21546-505: The time. It reached the top ten in 11 other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom. It was also certified quintuple platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in November 2020. Jay-Z and Kanye West first worked together on the song "This Can't Be Life", from Jay-Z's 2000 album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia , produced by West, then on Jay-Z's 2001 album The Blueprint , which showcased West's distinctive style of hip hop production at
21708-438: 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,
21870-508: The two frequently collaborated. Further collaborative work by the two included singles such as " Swagga Like Us " from rapper T.I. 's Paper Trail , " Run This Town " from Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 , and both " Monster " and “ So Appalled ” from West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . During the promotional stages of West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , a remix of the song " Power " surfaced featuring Jay-Z. Following this, Kanye West announced on Twitter his intention to drop
22032-554: The two rappers trading verses with the vocal riff playing over them. Much like "Otis", the track features sliced-up vocal snippets and an aggressive bass backing, with the two rappers trading lines and making references to the Yung Chris song " Racks " and other contemporary rap trends. On "New Day", they address future sons about fame. It references the line "me and the RZA connect" from Raekwon 's 1995 song " Incarcerated Scarfaces ", which
22194-446: The two. Ocean mused about the project: "I rarely do collabs, so that's just one of the ones you absolutely do. It's like a no-brainer. I didn't really think about any of it. The last thing on my mind was working with artists who I've held in high esteem for years. [...] I worked with Jay on his solo album before I did the Watch the Throne sessions . The second time I went it was Barry Weiss, Jay, Beyoncé, Kanye, couple other people, it
22356-433: 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
22518-404: 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
22680-525: Was "Gotta Have It", which impacted Urban radio on December 6, 2011, and Rhythmic radio on January 31, 2012. Seventh and final single "No Church in the Wild" impacted Urban radio on March 20, 2012. Romain Gavras directed a music video for "No Church" though it featured none of the featured performers. "Gotta Have It" peaked at position 69 on the Hot 100, with "No Church in the Wild" peaking at 72. Though not released as
22842-494: Was a pretty heavy room." "Lift Off" was recorded in Sydney, Australia. In early May 2011, rumors arose that "Lift Off" was to feature Bruno Mars who had recorded vocals. It was reported that the song would be released as the lead single from the album. However, Mars never appeared on the song and Beyoncé sang several lines during the chorus instead. Additional vocalists Elly Jackson , Connie Mitchell , and Justin Vernon provide
23004-440: Was also produced by RZA. The track incorporates a sample of Nina Simone 's 1965 song " Feeling Good " through an Auto-Tune voice processor. Both rappers discuss their futures as fathers on the track, flowing smoothly over mellow, lightly psychedelic synthesizer tones. Both Justin Vernon and La Roux appear on "That's My Bitch", spitting off hooks over a quick, melodic beat, with West at his most abrasive lyrically. On "Welcome to
23166-443: 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
23328-568: 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
23490-410: 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
23652-462: 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
23814-489: Was explaining to him why it wasn't right for this project and I had a whole idea for making this album called Magna Carta... Holy Grail , the "Holy Grail" part of the name came after." Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe writes that the album's music is as "massive, dour, and relentlessly unconventional" as that of West's previous 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy . Music writer Robert Christgau describes West's production as "a funkier and less ornate variant of
23976-405: Was made available on August 12. Its deluxe CD edition was sold exclusively by Best Buy through August 23, when it became available at other retailers. The sales strategy received criticism from other retailers, who accused the labels of giving preferential treatment to iTunes and Best Buy. One of the most anticipated releases in 2011, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in
24138-463: Was made available to pre-order on Life + Times, Jay-Z's lifestyle webzine, which redirected to Island Def Jam 's website that featured the deluxe version available for $ 16.99, standard CD for $ 13.99, a deluxe digital version for $ 14.99, and standard digital album for $ 11.99. On July 22, its pre-order was made available on the iTunes Store . Internationally the album was released digitally on August 8 exclusively through iTunes, while its physical release
24300-565: Was officially released as a digital download in January 2011 as the lead single. It charted at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 . In July 2011, "Otis" became the second single when it was premiered on Funkmaster Flex 's Hot 97 radio show and subsequently leaked to the Internet. It was sent to rhythmic contemporary and urban contemporary radio on August 9. Its cover art was created by Riccardo Tisci. "Otis" reached number 12 on
24462-496: 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,
24624-404: 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
24786-491: 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 ",
24948-438: 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
25110-719: Was released on August 8, 2011, by Roc-A-Fella Records , Roc Nation , and Def Jam Recordings . Prior to its release, Jay-Z and West had collaborated on various singles , and with the latter as a producer on the former's work. They originally sought to record a five-song collaborative extended play , which evolved into a full-length album. The album features guest appearances from Frank Ocean , The-Dream , Beyoncé and Mr Hudson . It also features vocal contributions from Kid Cudi , Seal , Justin Vernon , Elly Jackson , Connie Mitchell , Charlie Wilson , and Pete Rock , among others; samples of vocals by soul musicians Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield are both credited as guest features on
25272-609: 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
25434-523: 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
25596-426: 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
25758-483: Was sent to both rhythmic and urban radio. "Why I Love You" served as a European-centric single while "Niggas in Paris" was promoted as a domestic single. "Niggas in Paris" peaked at number five on the Hot 100. "Niggas in Paris" was sent to Top 40/Mainstream radio on November 8. By February 2012, it had reached digital sales of ten million in the United States. The song was promoted with a music video directed by West himself, featuring concert footage. The sixth single
25920-592: 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
26082-400: 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
26244-412: Was unlikely that the track would ultimately make the album. The issues at the beginning of production had caused a delay in the release. In an interview for Rolling Stone , Jay-Z discussed their insistence on recording in person and attributed it to the delay in releasing the album, stating "If we were gonna do it, we were gonna do it together. No mailing it in". The album's earlier sessions produced
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