12th Aug 2010
In the span of three short years, Kanye West went from hip-hop beatmaker to worldwide hitmaker, as his stellar production work forJay-Z led to a major-label recording contract and, ultimately, a wildly successful solo career. West paired his beats with tongue-twisting raps and a self-assured, flamboyant personality. His dapper fashion sense set him apart from many of his rap peers, and his confidence often came across as boastful or even egotistical, albeit amusingly so. This flamboyance, of course, made for good press, something that West enjoyed in spades during his sudden rise to celebrity status. He was a media darling, appearing and performing at countless awards shows (and winning at them, too), delivering theatrical videos to MTV, and mouthing off about whatever happened to cross his mind. He frequently spoke out against the rampant homophobia evident in much rap music, posed for the cover of Rolling Stone as Jesus Christ, and even claimed during a televised Hurricane Katrina fundraiser that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” West courted controversy, no question about it, but his steady presence in the celebrity limelight couldn’t eclipse his musical talent. His production abilities seemed boundless during his initial surge of activity, as he not only racked up impressive hits for himself (including “Jesus Walks” and “Gold Digger”).
In the wake of his breakout success, West earned a whopping ten nominations for the 47th annual Grammy Awards, held in early 2005.The College Dropout won the Best Rap Album award, “Jesus Walks” won Best Rap Song, and a songwriting credit on “You Don’t Know My Name” for Best R&B Song award was shared with Alicia Keys andHarold Lilly. Later that year, West released his second solo album,Late Registration, which spawned a series of hit singles (“Diamonds in Sierra Leone,” “Gold Digger,” “Heard ‘Em Say,” “Touch the Sky”). The album topped the charts, as did the “Gold Digger” single, andLate Registration eventually won a Grammy for Album of the Year. West’s production work continued more or less unabated during this time; particularly noteworthy were hits for Twista (“Overnight Celebrity”), Janet Jackson (“I Want You”), Brandy (“Talk About Our Love”), the Game (“Dreams”), Common (“Go!”), and Keyshia Cole (“I Changed My Mind”). West also founded his own label, GOOD Music (i.e., “Getting Out Our Dreams”), in conjunction with Sony BMG. The label’s inaugural release was John Legend‘s Get Lifted (2004), followed one year later by Common‘s Be. In addition to all of his studio work, West also toured internationally in support of Late Registration and released Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios (2006) in commemoration.
After retreating from the spotlight for some time, West returned to the forefront of the music world in 2007 with a series of album releases. Consequence‘s Don’t Quit Your Day Job and Common‘sFinding Forever, both released by GOOD, were chiefly produced by West; the latter proved to be particularly popular, topping the album chart upon its release in July. And then there was West’s third solo album, Graduation, which was promoted well in advance of its September 11 release (a memorable date that pitted Kanye against50 Cent, who in one interview swore he would quit music if his own album, Curtis, wasn’t the top-seller). A pair of singles — “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Stronger,” the latter an interpolation of Daft Punk‘s 2001 single “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” — led the promotional push. It became his third consecutive chart-topping album, and its success culminated in eight Grammy nominations. West was the victor in four of the categories, and he performed two songs during the ceremony, including Late Registration‘s “Hey Mama,” chosen in honor of his recently deceased mother. That loss, compounded by a breakup with his fiancée, informed 2008’s 808s & Heartbreak, a major change of pace that saw West singing most of his emotionally pained lyrics with the assistance of Auto-Tune. As polarizing as it was, it went platinum. Good Ass Job, most of which was recorded in Hawaii with several collaborators — including Pete Rock, DJ Premier, and Madlib — was scheduled for release in 2010.
