Independent Research

Kanye Omari West better known as Yeezy in the music industry was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with his parents until he was three years old, &his parents divorced, leaving him& his mother to move to Chicago, Illinois. West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career.

Kayne West has come through many trails and tribulations from an all most fatal car crash that left him with a wired jaw to losing his momager. Yet he has still become an American musician, film director and fashion designer. However, productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, and classical music.

His first career productions where on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. West produced 8 tracks on the album. While the album did not attract much attention, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998–1999 he produced for well-known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World to name a few.

West got his big break in the year 2000, when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well-received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life", he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive". After meeting great commercial success and critical acclaim for his productions on The Blueprint, West became a sought after producer in the industry. In the years 2002–2003 he would produce for artists such as Nas, Scarface, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, T.I., Ludacris, DMX, and Monica. He also continued producing for Roc-a-Fella Records artists and contribued four tracks to Jay-Z's follow up album to The Blueprint.

After great successes as a producer, West now looked to pursue a career as a rapper and solo artist, but struggled to get a record deal. Chris Anokute, at the time A&R for Def Jam, said that when West regularly dropped by the office to pick up his checks he would play demos of solo material for him in his cubicle and expressed sorrow to the fact that no one was taking him seriously as a rapper. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was reluctant at first to support West as a rapper, claiming that he only saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as the other rappers who portrayed the "street image".

Beginning his career as a rapper, Kanye West recorded the third verse on the song "The Bounce" off of Jay-Z's The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse, an album he produced for, from the same label he later was signed to as a rapper.

West production style in the beginning often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style. While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. These characteristic come from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. While he wasn’t able to afford live instruments for the debuet of his first album, he has since been able to hire his own eleven piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.

West is an outspoken and controversial celebrity, West frequently spoke out against homophobia in hip hop music, posed as Jesus Christ for the cover of Rolling Stone, and accused former President George W. Bush of not "caring about black people." His well groomed and flamboyant fashion sense also attracts media attention and sets West apart from other rappers. Editor Jason Birchmeier from Allmusic has written of his impact, "As his career progressed throughout the early 21st century, West shattered certain stereotypes about rappers, becoming a superstar on his own terms without adapting his appearance, his rhetoric, or his music to fit any one musical mold."

Although it was polarizing for listeners and critics, West's 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak was commercial successful and impacted hip hop stylistically, laying the groundwork for a new wave of hip hop artists who generally have nothing to do with the typical rap show-offs for intimate subject matter and deep thought, including B.o.B, Kid Cudi, Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, and Drake. Both Drake and Casey Veggies admit to being influenced directly by West.

West is not only a major influence in the music industry but is making a difference through his foundation he opened in 2003 in his hometown of Chicago, his partnership with Strong American School where they focus on helping Latino and African American children stay in school and continue education through grade school, high school, and college. He also attends fundraisers and preforms at benefit concerts.

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open ten Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first opened in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, His company KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses. He was due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe line, Air Yeezys. On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton, the line was released in summer 2009. On October 1, 2011, Kanye West premiered his women's fashion label, DW Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week. Along with all his accomplishments he has also directed on Keeping Up On the Kardashians, videos and more.