Know Kanye West Better!

Kanye Omari West is a renowned American rapper, singer, music-producer, songwriter and fashion designer. West began his career as a music producer working with artists like Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and Janet Jackson and made his debut as a singer/rapper in 2004 with the album ‘College Dropout’. He has since produced several chart-topping singles in albums like ‘Late Registration’,’Graduation’,’808s & Heartbreak’, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’, ‘Watch the Throne’, ‘Yeezus’, ‘The Life of Pablo’

West is also an accomplished fashion designer and has collaborated with labels like Nike, Adidas, A.P.C., Louis Vuitton etc. Furthermore, West founded the creative content company DONDA, which he also heads. West has been felicitated with 21 Grammy Awards and was listed by Time Magazine in their list of ‘100 Most Influential People in the World’ twice; in 2005 and 2015.

Early Life and Education

West was born on 8 June 1977 in Atlanta Georgia as the only child of Dr. and Professor Donda C. (Williams) West and Black Panther member and Atlanta Journal-Constitution photojournalist Ray West. West was raised in a middle-class household in Oak Lawn and Chicago, Illinois by his mother after his parents divorced.

West attended the Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He also spent some time as a student in Nanjing, China and learnt mandarin while his mother was a Nanjing, University Professor. West started rapping and writing musical compositions while in middle and high school and wrote his first rap song at age 13. He won a scholarship to American Academy of Art, Chicago in 1997 but moved to Chicago State University. He eventually dropped out of college to pursue his musical aspirations.

 

Career Rise

West began his career in the mid-1990s as a music producer but received his breakthrough in 2000 as a Roc-A Fella Records artist producer and produced hit singles for singers like Ludacris, Common, Cam’Ron etc. In 2001, West collaborated with Jay-Z on his hit album ‘The Blueprint’. West achieved success producing tracks for Alicia Keyes and Janet Jackson but aspired to be a rapper. West received his breakthrough in 2002 after being signed by Roc-A-Fella Records. He released his debut single ‘Death’ under the label. West’s album ‘The College Dropout’ became an instant hit, selling 441,000 copies within a week. It reached the second spot on Billboard 200. In 2005, West released his album ‘Late Registration’ in collaboration with Jon Brion which sold 2.3 Million copies.

The year 2006 marked West’s debut as a fashion designer, with the launch of his Pastelle Clothing line. West’s next album ‘Graduation’, in 2007 secured the top position on US Billboard 200, selling 957,000 copies within the first week. It featured the biggest hit single of the year, “Stronger”. West released ‘808s & Heartbreak’ in 2008 which once again became a billboard chart topper. The album was a tribute to West’s mother who had passed the same year. West collaborated with Nike and release the ‘Air Yeezys’ shoes in 2009 and again in 2012. He also released a line of shoes for Louis Vuitton, Bape and Guiseppe Zanotti at the 2012 Paris Fashion Week. West continued to produce chart topping albums like ‘My beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’, ‘Yeezus’, and ‘The Life of Pablo’, all of which received rave reviews. He also released the Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 shoes in 2015.

 Kanye West – House

West and his wife Kim Kardashian bought their massive 16000 square feet home at Hidden Hills, California for $20 million. Thee property has been renovated twice and finally in 2017, they moved to their brand new home.  The couple also sold their Bel-Air mansion in California for a cool $17.8 million.

The Hidden Hills house has 10 bathrooms, 8 bedrooms and includes two-story playrooms, a huge gym,  a basketball court, a full-sized movie theater with surround sound, a full-scaled spa and a massage room.

Personal Life

The 1.75 meter tall West was involved in a romantic relationship with designer Alexis Phifer for four years. The couple broke up in 2008, 18 months after announcing their engagement. West then started dating model Amber Rose, but the relationship lasted until 2010

West had been a long-time friend of reality TV star and socialite Kim Kardashian. The couple started dating before Kardashian was officially divorced from her then husband Kris Humphries. Kardashian gave birth to their daughter North West in June 2013. The couple tied the knot in May 2014 in Florence, Italy. They welcomed their second child, a son named Saint West in December 2015. The Wests are expecting their third child, to be born via surrogacy in December 2017.

Kanye West – Net Worth

West has an estimated net worth of approximately $145 Million.