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.
Big Spender
Kanye West Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey big spender
I don't see no shows, I don't see no rolls
I don't see no lolos, and a low profile
As far as the wardrobe goes
All those ain't your clothes
The product placement videos with no logos
Got a deal, no dough just the same
Joe small throwbacks and corn ropes
Not a good first weeks, worry gonna blow
But there's no need to front
You broke we both know
Had the hoes rolling in drows
Now you over exposed
Pointing to your account and
The amounts you owe
Your record was so close not def just so so
How you label don't know you
On talking no show
The only time you in the streets
Is just signs for promos
Yo everybody know who wrote your stole flow
You gotta pay him too
Your publician's a no go
I got speddy gonzales dollars and
Yours is slow mo
You never seen a nigga quite like this before
He was stunting hard as hell before
You even got to blow
Magazines claim he gassed like Texaco
Cause Jesus walk with him in Mexico
Back when the cars cost too much to floss
Them alligator boots? I stitched those
Body official, how
When my money stayed in the rear
Like Game or DJ Quik's clothes
And I just wanted to go platinum one time
Nick, he still spending money from Drumline
Man when I finish this Usher tour up
I'ma try my best to clear my credit score up
It it cause the Yves Saint
Laurent on the glasses?
Or is it cause my name
On them backstage passes?
Niggers always asking where his maybachs is
Motherfucker have you seen my taxes?
See Nick Cannon Live
Get tickets as low as $31
They thought you was gonna blow
But now you weren't i got good news though
I just saved the car insurance
You probably learn and this music
Game all in crack
Need to go back to slinging crack
In fact you wasn't even good at doing that
Yo your street credibility, you ruined that
Trying to be and pursuing rap
Far as wack contracts
You was doomed from that
Manger threw your door, now you sewing black
What I get for a track you never make in life
I'm like when coke just hit
I make a million a night
Yo what happened to your?
Yeah I seen you on cribs
That's not what you live
Man I know your babies mom
Why you dodging your kids?
Yeah I make big money, yeah I drive big cars
But I can do that dog, I'm a movie star
In Kanye West's song "Big Spender," he takes aim at someone who is portraying a lifestyle they can't actually afford. The lyrics suggest that this person is fronting, pretending to have wealth and success when in reality they are broke. Kanye criticizes their lack of authenticity, pointing out that their clothes are not their own and the product placement in their videos is empty of true substance.
The song highlights the irony of this person's situation, as they had a brief moment of fame and popularity, with "the hoes rolling in drows," but now they are "overexposed" and their career is in decline. Kanye suggests that this individual owes money to various people, including the person who wrote their stolen flow and their publicist. He contrasts this with his own success, boasting about his financial prowess and his ability to go platinum.
Throughout the lyrics, Kanye incorporates references to famous individuals such as Jesus, Magazines, DJ Quik, Usher, and Nick Cannon. These references further emphasize his status and success in contrast to the person he is addressing. The song also touches on issues of credibility and authenticity, with Kanye accusing this person of ruining their street credibility by pursuing rap and signing bad contracts.
Overall, "Big Spender" serves as a critique of the fake personas some individuals adopt in the world of fame and success, as well as a celebration of Kanye's own achievements and financial stability.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey big spender, hey big spender
Addressing someone who spends extravagantly and excessively
Hey big spender
Continuing to address the same person
I don't see no shows, I don't see no rolls
You don't attend any events or own any luxury cars
I don't see no lolos, and a low profile
You don't have any beautiful women around you and you keep a low public presence
As far as the wardrobe goes
Referring to your fashion choices
All those ain't your clothes
The clothes you wear are not actually yours
The product placement videos with no logos
Appearing in videos that advertise products without proper branding
You got a chain, no glow
You wear a chain but it lacks the usual shine and appeal
Got a deal, no dough just the same
You signed a record deal but haven't made much money from it
Joe small throwbacks and corn ropes
Wearing outdated and unimpressive fashion pieces
Not a good first weeks, worry gonna blow
Your initial success didn't last long and now you're concerned about failure
But there's no need to front
No reason to pretend or act like you're doing well
You broke we both know
You're broke and we both recognize that fact
Had the hoes rolling in drows
You used to attract many women
Now you over exposed
You're now too much in the public eye
Pointing to your account and
Referring to your bank account and
The amounts you owe
The debts you have
Your record was so close not def just so so
Your album was almost good, but it didn't quite succeed
How you label don't know you
Your record label is not aware of who you truly are
On talking no show
You talk a lot but don't deliver
The only time you in the streets
The only time you're seen in public
Is just signs for promos
Is when you're posing for promotional materials
Yo everybody know who wrote your stole flow
Everyone knows that someone else wrote your stolen rap style
You gotta pay him too
You have to pay the person who wrote your lyrics
Your publician's a no go
Your publicist is not effective
I got speedy gonzales dollars and
I have a lot of money, fast
Yours is slow mo
Your money comes in slowly
You never seen a nigga quite like this before
You've never encountered someone like me
He was stunting hard as hell before
You used to show off excessively
You even got to blow
Before you even achieved significant success
Magazines claim he gassed like Texaco
Magazines falsely portray you as being overly confident
Cause Jesus walk with him in Mexico
You believe that you're divinely supported
Back when the cars cost too much to floss
When flashy cars were too expensive to show off
Them alligator boots? I stitched those
I personally created those alligator boots
Body official, how
Looking stylish and attractive
When my money stayed in the rear
My wealth remained hidden
Like Game or DJ Quik's clothes
Similar to how Game or DJ Quik dress
And I just wanted to go platinum one time
I just wanted to achieve massive commercial success once
Nick, he still spending money from Drumline
Nick Cannon is still spending his money from the movie Drumline
Man when I finish this Usher tour up
After I complete my tour with Usher
I'ma try my best to clear my credit score up
I will make an effort to improve my credit score
It it cause the Yves Saint
Is it because of the Yves Saint Laurent
Laurent on the glasses?
Brand name imprinted on the glasses
Or is it cause my name
Is it because my name
On them backstage passes?
Is printed on the backstage passes
Niggers always asking where his maybachs is
People always question why you don't have expensive cars
Motherfucker have you seen my taxes?
Have you seen how much I pay in taxes?
See Nick Cannon Live
Watch Nick Cannon perform live
Get tickets as low as $31
Purchase tickets for as little as $31
They thought you was gonna blow
People expected you to achieve great success
But now you weren't i got good news though
But now it didn't happen, but I have good news
I just saved the car insurance
I just reduced the cost of car insurance
You probably learn and this music
You might learn from this music
Game all in crack
Engaging fully in the music industry
Need to go back to slinging crack
You should return to selling drugs
In fact you wasn't even good at doing that
In fact, you weren't even skilled at that either
Yo your street credibility, you ruined that
You completely destroyed your reputation in the streets
Trying to be and pursuing rap
Attempting to become successful in the rap industry
Far as wack contracts
Regarding terrible contracts
You was doomed from that
You were destined to fail because of those contracts
Manger threw your door, now you sewing black
Your manager left you and now you're struggling
What I get for a track you never make in life
What I receive for producing a song you will never release
I'm like when coke just hit
I'm like the feeling of a cocaine high
I make a million a night
I earn one million dollars per night
Yo what happened to your?
What happened to your?
Yeah I seen you on cribs
Yeah, I saw your episode on MTV Cribs
That's not what you live
That doesn't accurately represent your lifestyle
Man I know your babies mom
I'm familiar with the mother of your children
Why you dodging your kids?
Why are you avoiding your responsibilities as a parent?
Yeah I make big money, yeah I drive big cars
Yes, I earn a lot of money and own expensive cars
But I can do that dog, I'm a movie star
But I can afford it because I'm a famous actor
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gorge200
dope♪
@TheJbeatsProductions
@HerDEZsert so true
@timkirk90
he shoulda said : dog those aint yo clothes, and these aint my flows
@spixelwalle
fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
@matthewmann8969
Without Kanye this would be wack