Ye (born Kanye Omari West on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia), profession… Read Full Bio ↴Ye (born Kanye Omari West on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia), professionally known as Kanye West, is a Grammy award-winning American rapper, producer, singer, author, director, performance artist and fashion designer.

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.

30 HOURS
Kanye West Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You say you never saw this comin', well you're not alone
Million dollar renovations to a happy home
My ex says she gave me the best years of her life
I saw a recent picture of her, I guess she was right
I wake up, assessin' the damages
Checkin' MediaTakeOut
Pictures of me drunk walkin' out with a bitch
But it's blurry enough to get the fake out

I wake up, all veggies no eggs
I hit the gym, all chest no legs
Yep, then I made myself a smoothie
Yeah, then me and wifey make a movie
Chicago - St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago
Ándale Ándale E.I, E.I, uh, oh
You had me drivin' far enough to switch the time zone
You was the best of all time at the time though
Yeah, you wasn't mine though

But I still drove 30 hours
I still drove 30 hours to you

I remember rappin' for Jay and Cam
Young producer just trying to get his flows off
I remember being nervous to do Victoria Secret
'Til I pictured everybody with their clothes off
Expedition was Eddie Bauer edition
I'm drivin' with no winter tires in December
Skrrt skrrt skrrt like a private school for women
Then I get there and all the Popeye's is finished, girl
You don't love me, you just pretendin'
I need that happy beginnin', middle and endin'
Chicago, St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago
It's gettin' hot in hurr, that's all that I know
Got a hotel room, 3 stars for you
You call down for an omelet
Girl it's 5 in the morning
You realize we at the DoubleTree, not the Aria
Only thing open is Waffle House, girl don't start with me
I used the Western Union for you like it's no prob
'Cause you was in college complainin' about it's no jobs
But you were suckin' a nigga's dick the whole time
Well I guess a blowjob's better than no job

And I drove back 30 hours

Were remains that long to lose sad
Better unsaid
Always turn, oh

3 Stacks, can you help me out?
30 hours

Overall Meaning

"30 Hours" is a song by Kanye West featuring André 3000. The lyrics talk about Kanye's journey of driving 30 hours to be with his ex-girlfriend. In the first verse, Kanye talks about how his ex believes that she gave him the best years of her life, and although he disagrees, he sees a recent picture of her and realizes that she may have been right. He checks MediaTakeOut and sees pictures of himself drunk walking out with a girl, but the image is blurry enough to be mistaken easily. The second verse talks about Kanye driving to see his ex-girlfriend and reminiscing about his earlier days in the music industry, rapping for Jay-Z and Cam'ron. The lyrics mention his nervousness about performing in the Victoria's Secret show, and describes his expedition as an Eddie Bauer edition. In the third verse, Kanye mentions how he used Western Union to support his ex-girlfriend financially while she was in college, but found out that she was cheating on him.

Overall, the lyrics are a reflection of Kanye's relationship with his ex-girlfriend and the challenges that come with it. The driving metaphor serves as a symbolic representation of the effort Kanye puts into his relationships, as well as the emotional turmoil. The song has a melancholic tone, and André 3000's verse adds to that by talking about his own experience of driving long hours to see someone he loved.

Line by Line Meaning

You say you never saw this comin', well you're not alone
You claim to be surprised, but many others feel the same way.

Million dollar renovations to a happy home
I spent a lot of money improving my house, but it didn't make me happy.

My ex says she gave me the best years of her life
My ex thinks she was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I saw a recent picture of her, I guess she was right
I saw a picture of my ex and realized she might have been right about that.

I wake up, assessin' the damages
I wake up and evaluate the harm or damage that was caused.

Checkin' MediaTakeOut
I look at MediaTakeOut website to see if there's any gossip or news about me.

Pictures of me drunk walkin' out with a bitch
Photos of me leaving with a girl after drinking too much alcohol.

But it's blurry enough to get the fake out
The photo is unclear, so people can't tell what actually happened.

I wake up, all veggies no eggs
I wake up and eat only vegetables, no eggs.

I hit the gym, all chest no legs
I go to the gym and only work on my chest, ignoring my legs.

Yep, then I made myself a smoothie
After working out, I made myself a smoothie.

Yeah, then me and wifey make a movie
I have sex with my wife and make a home video.

Chicago - St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago
I drove from Chicago to St. Louis, then back to Chicago.

Ándale Ándale E.I, E.I, uh, oh
I'm in a hurry, trying to get to my destination as fast as possible.

You had me drivin' far enough to switch the time zone
You made me drive so far that I had to change time zones.

You was the best of all time at the time though
You were the best at that moment in time.

Yeah, you wasn't mine though
But you were never really mine.

But I still drove 30 hours
Despite everything, I still drove 30 hours to be with you.

I remember rappin' for Jay and Cam
I remember performing for Jay-Z and Cam'ron.

Young producer just trying to get his flows off
As a young music producer, I was striving to improve my skills.

I remember being nervous to do Victoria Secret
I recall feeling frightened about performing at a Victoria's Secret fashion show.

'Til I pictured everybody with their clothes off
I became more comfortable after imagining the models naked.

Expedition was Eddie Bauer edition
I had an Eddie Bauer edition of the Expedition car that I drove.

I'm drivin' with no winter tires in December
I drove without winter tires in December, which was a risky decision.

Skrrt skrrt skrrt like a private school for women
I drove my car fast and recklessly, like I was driving through a private school for wealthy girls.

Then I get there and all the Popeye's is finished, girl
When I arrived, all the Popeye's Chicken was already eaten by someone else.

You don't love me, you just pretendin'
You don't really love me, you are just pretending to feel that way.

I need that happy beginnin', middle and endin'
I want a happy and complete story, with a satisfying beginning, middle, and end.

Chicago, St. Louis, St. Louis to Chicago
I drove back from St. Louis to Chicago again.

It's gettin' hot in hurr, that's all that I know
It's getting hot inside the car, that's all I'm aware of.

Got a hotel room, 3 stars for you
I booked a hotel room for you, with a three-star rating.

You call down for an omelet
You requested an omelet from room service.

Girl it's 5 in the morning
It's very early in the morning, around 5 AM.

You realize we at the DoubleTree, not the Aria
You notice that we are not staying at the Aria hotel, but at the DoubleTree instead.

Only thing open is Waffle House, girl don't start with me
The only food place still open is the Waffle House, so don't complain.

I used the Western Union for you like it's no prob
I transferred money to you using Western Union, as if it was no big deal.

'Cause you was in college complainin' about it's no jobs
You were complaining that there were no jobs available while you were in college.

But you were suckin' a nigga's dick the whole time
However, you were busy performing oral sex on somebody else during that period.

Well I guess a blowjob's better than no job
I suppose giving blowjobs is better than having no job at all.

And I drove back 30 hours
Once again, I drove 30 hours to return home.

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, D2 PRO PUBLISHING, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Missing Link Music, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Aubrey Graham, Charles Arthur Russell, Charles L Brown, Cornell Haynes, Isaac Hayes, Jason Epperson, Kanye West, Karriem Riggins, Malik Yusef, Mike Dean, Pharrell Williams

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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