West began making beats and rapping in the early 90s in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, when he formed the rap group Go Getters with Chicago natives GLC and Really Doe. He later gained nationwide popularity through his work in New York, where he began producing tracks for artists such as Jay-Z, Twista, Mase, Talib Kweli and Alicia Keys.
West's style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his drums and instruments. The first major label song he produced was The Truth by Beanie Sigel, and his first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was This Can’t Be Life, a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre’s Xxplosive to use as a replacement for his drums on This Can’t Be Life.
West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style, and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol’ Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said Kanye West: “Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time… We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that.”
In 2004 (after being pushed aside by many record companies who felt he wasn't a marketable hip-hop artist), he managed to release his debut solo album, The College Dropout on Roc-A-Fella Records. The album received critical acclaim, including 10 Grammy nominations and the awards for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, as well as defining the style for which West would become known: "wordplay" and heavy sampling of the 70s soul and RnB tracks.
Not content to rest on his laurels, West invested two million dollars and hired a string orchestra to help with his latest effort, Late Registration (2005). West collaborated with Jon Brion to help develop the sound of the album, despite his lack of experience in hip hop production. The album received widespread acclaim like its predecessor and again claimed the Best Rap Album award at the Grammys.
West was no stranger to controversy, such as storming out at the 2004 American Music Awards after not receiving Best New Artist, but just days after the release of his second studio album, West began embroiled in a major controversy after going off-script during Hurricane Katrina broadcast, proclaiming "George Bush doesn't care about black people", which Bush claimed was "one the most disgusting moments of my presidency". In January 2006, West posed on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing a crown of thorns, once again attracting controversy.
For his third release, West was keen to produce songs that could be used more effectively when performing in arenas. For Graduation, the third and ultimately final entry into his 'Dropout Bear' series, West drew musical inspiration from The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. In the lead up to the album he became involved in a friendly rivalry with 50 Cent over which of the two artists' upcoming albums would sell more, as they were both released on the same day. West ultimately sold 957,000 copies in the first week of release, outselling Curtis by a large margin. The albums lead single "Stronger" sampled Daft Punk, and was West's third number one on Billboard 200. Many proclaim West's 'victory' over 50 Cent to be the 'death' of gangster rap as the dominant hip hop subgenre.
Following the death of his mother, Donda West, and the end of his engagement to long term partner Alexis Phifer, West abandoned his initial plan to release a fourth album entitled Good Ass Job, and shocked his fans by releasing 808s and Heartbreak, which was full of autotune singing, extensive use of the TR-808 drum machine, themes of love, loss and loneliness and very little rapping. It received slightly more mixed reviews than his previous efforts, but many critics cite 808s and Heartbreak as the catalyst for a new wave of rappers, most prominently Drake, due to its themes which were uncommon in mainstream hip-hop.
West's grief seemed to lead to a spiral out of control which culminated in him storming on stage at the 2009 VMAs to interrupt Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech to proclaim that Beyoncé deserved the award instead, in a move that is infamous in pop culture and was vilified by the entire world in the aftermath. West disappeared from the public eye following this, and his upcoming tour with Lady Gaga was cancelled. The disgraced West, who was described as a 'jackass' by President Obama, seemed to have much work to do to return to the his former glory, but he was about to embark on what some critics consider to be the best run of his career.
West holed up in Hawaii for a few months and worked tirelessly to produce what many consider to be his magnum opus. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to rave reviews from critics, which 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, the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name. During this time, West initiated the free music program G.O.O.D. Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday of the week, a portion of which were included on the album. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a "snub" by several media outlets.
Following a headlining set at Coachella 2011 that 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. 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 the record's highest charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music. Cruel Summer produced four singles, two of which charted within the top twenty of the Hot 100: Mercy and Clique. West also directed a film of the same name that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in custom pyramid-shaped screening pavilion featuring seven screens.
Sessions for West's sixth solo effort begin to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel. 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 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 the rapper's sixth consecutive number one debut. Def Jam issued "Black Skinhead" to radio in July 2013 as the album's lead single. On September 6, 2013, Kanye West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar, accompanying him along the way.
In November 2013, West stated that he was working on and recording his next studio album. The album was to be produced by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip.. Kanye released a single entitled "Only One", on December 31, 2014 featuring Paul McCartney, as well as collaborating with McCartney on the Rihanna track " FourFiveSeconds", released in January 2015. West appeared on the SNL 40th Anniversary Special on February 15th 2015 to debut a new song Wolves, featuring Sia Furler and Vic Mensa. Another single, entitled "All Day" was released on March 2, 2015, again featuring McCartney as well as Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom. In June of the same year, Kanye headlined the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, which garnered much outrage including a petition with 135,000 signatures against his appearance, leading to West declaring he was "the greatest living rock star on the planet" towards the end of his set, and the performance receiving a mixed reaction among fans and critics, due to its controversy. In September 2015, West performed {album artist kanye west]808s and Heartbreak in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl over two nights, which received rave reviews a featured a 60 person orchestra, guests such as Kid Cudi and Mr Hudson, and over 70 dancers. West released "Facts" at the turn of the new year.
West had originally stated that his upcoming album would be called 'So Help Me God' before changing the title to 'SWISH' and announcing that it would be released on February 11th. In January 2016 he released "Real Friends" and "No More Parties in LA", featuring Kendrick Lamar. As well as renaming the album once again to "Waves", West became involved in several twitter controversies in the lead up to the album, including with rapper Wiz Khalifa after he suggested that West had stolen the idea of the wave from other artists and seemingly dissed Kim Kardashian, which later turned out to be a misunderstanding over the use of "KK". West again changed the name of the album just days before it's release, this time to "{album artist=kanye west]The Life of Pablo", and debuted it at Madison Square Garden on February 11, but delayed it's release for a few days. On February 14, West released the album are a performance on SNL. West initially claimed the album was to be a Tidal exclusive, but it was later released on other streaming platforms, although it is yet to receive a physical release. West continued to tinker with the mixing and production of the album even after it was released, and it was updated several times, including the final song "Saint Pablo" in June 2016. West had also made public his plans to release an album in the summer of 2016, entitled "Turbo Grafx 16", based on the 1990s games console, which never surfaced, although he did release a single thought to be from the upcoming G.O.O.D. Music album "Cruel Winter", called Champions. In the same month, a video for "Famous" was released, including nude wax figures of celebrities such as West, Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Donald Trump, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Bill Cosby and George W. Bush.
In August 2016, West embarked on the ambitious Saint Pablo Tour, which included a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling. After the violent robbery of Kim's jewellery in Paris in October, West had to end a show early and postpone shows following it. In the following performances, West cancelled shows early and went on long winded rants against fellow artists such as Jay Z and Beyoncé among others, as well as making controversial political statements including implying his support for Donald Trump. On November 21st 2016, West cancelled the rest of the tour and was hospitalised due to sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Following this, West disappeared from social media, and only resurfaced 11 months later with a series of tweets which included many philosophical thoughts and the announcements two albums in June 2018, a solo album which would include 7 tracks on June 1, and a collaboration with Kid Cudi to be released on June 8.
On August 29th, 2021, Kanye released his 10th highly anticipated studio release Donda via GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings after a series of three listening parties.
Personal life:
West was born in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was three years old (as mentioned in Hey Mama) his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, was a former Black Panther; one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and is now a Christian counselor. Kanye’s late mother, Dr. Donda West, worked as a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye’s manager. He was later raised in an upper middle class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago.
After attending The American Academy of Art, a Chicago art school, West attended Chicago State University but eventually dropped out due to poor grades and to continue working on his music career. While attending school, West produced for local artists, including on rapper Grav’s debut album Down to Earth. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for major hip hop/R&B artists, including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam’ron, Paul Wall, Common, Mobb Deep, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and John Legend among others. He also “ghost-produced” for his once mentor Deric Angelettie according to his song Last Call and the credits of Nas’ Poppa Was a Playa.
West was married to Kim Kardashian. Together they had four children: daughters named North (*2013) and Chicago (*2018); and sons named Saint (*2015) and Psalm (*2019). In 2021, Kardashian filed for divorce.
In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that primarily advocated for a consistent life ethic. In 2022, he faced backlash and lost a number of sponsors and partnerships—including his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga—after making antisemitic statements.
1-12 Kanye West
Kanye West Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y'all style is the nacho cheesiest
Everybody wanna shine, they the greasiest
When they know they bank
Account is the measliest
You gotta know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to run when my niggas be rollin'
Watchin' yo back, especially in the mornin'
Now niggas give you a pound and tell you
"Be safe" like you carryin' a million
Dollars in a briefcase
Now you're all paranoid like
"Is this shit laced?"
My niggas come in all black like deep space
When we turn the toast, turn you to a ghost
Any more want they girl to play Demi Moore?
As long as you sure, my point is mainly that
We maniacs, maniacs, nigga, what
"I can fight with the best"
Don't let 'em hold you down, nigga
"But I can only go"
You can go another round, nigga
"So many rounds"
Even if you gotta slug it out
If you gotta thug it out, thug it out
"I can fight with the best"
Don't let 'em hold you down, nigga
"But I can only go"
You can go another round, nigga
"So many rounds"
A lot of MC's came to my showdown
And watch me put the low down
Nothin' nice when you fightin' for your life
With the ruger, did he shoot him? Did you
See it? Was it right?
Did he deserve that? (Naw) Ask 'em maine
Did he know he turned his
Son to a bastard maine? (What?)
If I see him on the street
I'mma blast him maine
Have a and a in the casket maine
This guy saw me on the strip
Tried to out the thang i told 'em
"Slow up this wasn't even about you maine"
He must of thought I was scared though
Unprepared though oh, no
Here come my guys hoppin' out the Volvo
Fo' fo' out in the clear
One shot hit 'em in the ear open the trunk
Put 'em in here what it is
Stick? Put it in gear
You need to know you can't fuck with my blood
We throw you in the trunk, get you drugged
Take you to your own grave
That's the shit you dug
Now it take at least six
Niggas to pick you up, c'mon
"I can fight with the best"
Don't let 'em hold you down, nigga
"But I can only go"
You can go another round, nigga
"So many rounds"
Even if you gotta slug it out
If you gotta thug it out, thug it out
"I can fight with the best"
Don't let 'em hold you down, nigga
"But I can only go"
You can go another round, nigga
"So many rounds"
A lot of MC's came to my showdown
And watch me put the low down
Got my money and my loot now
Tell the truth now
Don't make me grab the 380
Don't wanna shoot ya
You got a little girl? Think about her future
You need an outfit
These slugs should suit ya
Like 5-0 my nigga, I hot pursuit ya
Bullets trimmin' the side of your
Head like crew cut
Used to be po', never could afford new stuff
Even so we grabbed ski masks to do stuff
All on ten, niggas was high and juiced up
While you livin' with your
Girlfriend like a moocher
Get your own shit, be about grown shit
When the chrome spit
You can hear a bone split
I don't give a fuck 'bout who you gon' get
After you dead, killin' him is just a bonus
Ding ding ding, you my millionth customer
Yo, K? Why these niggas always think
They can fuck with us?
"I can fight with the best"
Don't let 'em hold you down, nigga
"But I can only go"
You can go another round, nigga
"So many rounds"
Even if you gotta slug it out
If you gotta thug it out, thug it out
"I can fight with the best"
Don't let 'em hold you down, nigga
"But I can only go"
You can go another round, nigga
"So many rounds"
A lot of MC's came to my showdown
And watch me put the low down
Down (Down) down (Down)
Down (Down)
The song "Get Em High" by Kanye West featuring John Mayer opens with Kanye trying to catch the beat, which could mean that he is finding it challenging to keep up with the pace of the music, indicating a struggle of some sort. As the song progresses, Kanye talks about staying high and passing weed around, and how he will follow his heart no matter what and not let anyone bring him down. He also mentions his difficult freshman year at college and how he managed to leave it behind and pursue his dreams despite all odds. In the second verse, Kanye talks about receiving an email from a girl who likes him while name-dropping various rappers.
Overall, the song seems to address the struggles that Kanye faced early in his music career and his resolution to remain true to himself and follow his dreams. He also talks about the importance of staying high and passing the weed around, but it's unclear whether he's referencing marijuana or something else entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm tryin' to catch the beat, uh
I'm attempting to synchronize with the music's rhythm
N-now, th-th-through ya motherfuckin' hands
Raise your hands up in the air
All the girls pass the weed to ya motherfuckin man
Girls, give the weed to your man
Now I ain't never tell you to put down ya hands
Don't lower your hands
And if ya losin yo high than smoke again
If you're feeling less high, smoke more
My flow / Is in the pocket like wallets, I got the bounce like hydrolics
My style of rapping is smooth yet powerful
I can't call it, I got the swerve like alchoooool-ics
I can't fully describe it, but my style has a unique flair
My teacher said I'se a loser, I told her why don't you kill me
My teacher labeled me as a failure, but I challenged her to do something drastic
I give a fuck if you fail me, I'm gonna folllllllllll-ow / My heart
I don't care if you give me a failing grade, I'll still follow my dreams
I'm so shy that you thought it was bashfull but this / Bastard's flow will bash a skull
Though I come across as shy, my rapping skills are powerful and can impress
And I will, cut your girl like Pastor Troy
I can charm and seduce your girl easily
And I don't, usually smoke but pass the 'dro
I don't usually smoke, but pass me the marijuana
And I won't, give you that money that you askin fo'
I won't give you money upon request
Why you think, me and Dame cool, we assholes
Dame and I are friends because we share similar attitudes
'cause we don't want to here that weak shit no mo'
We don't want to hear any more bad music
N-n-n-n-n-now who the hell is this
Who is this person contacting me?
I can't believe this nigga use my name for pickin' up dolls but
I can't believe he's using my name to impress women
Get em' high, I need some tracks you tryin' to pull tracks out
I want to get high and make music together
Anyway, I don't usually fuck a interneter
I don't normally sleep with random women from the internet
You really fuckin' that much, you tryin to get off cigarettes
Are you having sex that often to quit smoking?
That's why the raw don't know your name, like Alicia Keys
You're not well-known in the industry
Got yo hands up, get them motherfuckers higher then
Raise your hands even higher
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marcus Olugosi
This shit is Dope!!! I don't care who or how it was done... I heard it was "fan-made", kudos to the fan that took the time... I love it ❤️
td202 mixes
all me. beats and mixes
Code 3 Mobile Detailing
Keep up the good work! I'm vibing wit it!
Linda Perez
Pure talent. Cosmically Conscious. Love you Kanye
Maicon Marques
Muito sucesso guerreiro sou seu fã.
H
can't wait for a full release. honestly it sounds like whoever leaked this detuned every vocal track.
Dylan Smith
fan made
Erdem Memisyazici
Either that or rappers have terrible IT security. How come every rapper leaks something?
Dylan Smith
@Erdem Memisyazici because there singed to a label or a contract and leaking the music is sometimes the only way fans will ever hear a full album,mix tape or song that would of never seen the light of day and other reasons like someone leaking a song off a album that's not out can help a lot and turns into promo for a album
Erdem Memisyazici
@Dylan Smith Well a leak implies it was unintended.