People
Kanye West – Bio, Net Worth, Family and Relationships through the years
With eight studio albums in all, Kanye West is undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed musicians of the 21st century. With his total of 21 Grammy Awards, he joined Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, Beyonce, and Alison Krauss in honored artists of all time.
West has not only made a name for himself in music but also in other fields such as business, fashion and even acting. Here’s everything you need to know about one of the world’s most influential people at the time.
Kanye West’s bio
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia8. June 1977 as Kanye Omari. His parents – Ray West and Donda C. (Williams) West – separated when he was just 3 years old and he moved to Chicago, Illinois with his mother. His father was one of the first black photojournalists to work with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, He was also a former Black Panther. He currently resides in Maryland, where he owns a Good Water store and coffee shop in Lexington Park.
His mother is an English professor. Before retiring, she taught China at Clark Atlanta University at Nanjing University and headed the English Department at Chicago State University. She is currently working as her son’s manager.
After his parents divorced, Kanye West spent his early years in Illinois, attending Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois until the age of ten when he moved to China with his mother, where she taught at Nanjing University. His passion for music and art began very early. His mother recalls that he began writing poetry at the age of five and began tapping in his third grade. In his seventh grade he composed music and sold it to other artists.
career
Kanye West met producer DJ No ID at an early age, becoming his mentor and teaching him how to sample beats. After West dropped out of college, he began creating beats for local artists.
He soon developed a style of beats that sped up samples from classic soul records. His first official production credits came after he produced eight tracks of Down to Earth, Grav ‘s (Chicago rapper) debut album.
He worked as a ghost for Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie and due to his relationship with D-Dot he was not allowed to release his own solo album and subsequently formed a rap group called Go-Getters alongside Really Doe, Arrowstar, Timmy G and GLC. The group was led by “Monopoly” (John Johnson) Happy Lewis and Don Crowley.
After appearing on a few radio programs and a series of promotional photographs, the group released their first and only studio album to date in 1999. The Album World Record Holder Other Chicago rappers included Miss Criss, Rhymefest, Shayla G and Mikkey Halsted.
Kanye West produced beats and sounds for big-name musicians and groups throughout the 1990s. His big break started in 2000 when he was producing for labels like Roc-A-Fella Records. He was credited as one of the brains behind Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint, which was both critically and financially successful and still stands as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
The album continued to herald West’s production, while retaining his job as Roc-A-Fella Records’ in-house producer, while serving as a producer for other artists on the label. He has also written hits for other well-known artists such as Janet Jackson, Ludacris and Alicia Keys.
Despite his success as a producer, West still had his eyes set on building a career as a rapper and being successful at it. He struggled to land a record deal, to no avail, as he was repeatedly denied an artist deal. However, 2002 turned out to be a remarkable year for him.
Returning from California late at night after a hard day’s work, Kanye West was involved in a very fatal accident which left him with a wire jaw. While in the hospital he was struck by an inspiration that led him to Record Plant Studios where he released a debut single entitled “Through The Wire”. The single laid the groundwork for his debut album, The College Dropout, which he dropped in February 2004. The album was a huge success, selling over 2.6 million copies.
Kanye West has released seven more studio albums since his debut album. Those are Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), Yeezus (2013), The Life of Pablo (2016) and the latest
“Ye” was released in 2018 .
West is the 11th most-tracked artist of all time with 21 Grammy Awards, and the sixth nominee for Grammys with sixty-eight nominations. He is the 15th most celebrated artist in popular music history, the 7th most celebrated solo artist, and third on Billboard’s list of the Top 10 Producers of the Decade.
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His capital
Despite this, he reveals in 2016 that he is in debt, records continue to show that the famous rapper has an estimated net worth of $160 million. His wealth stems not only from his musical career but also from his investments and business ventures.
He owns his own record label called GOOD Music which he founded in 2004. He also has his own clothing line, Yeezy, which deals in the production of sneakers, hoodies and more.
In 2017, he sold his home at Bel-Air, which he bought for $9 million for a grand total of $17.8 million. This makes it one of the most expensive sales ever made in the exclusive Bel-Air Crest community.
family and children
The rapper is currently married to reality show star Kim Kardashian. West and Kim began dating in April 2012, got engaged in October 2013, and finally tied the knot as husband and wife in May 2014.
The couple have three children together, North West, Saint West and Chicago West. The latter were taken in in 2018 via a surrogate mother.
Kanye West’s relationships over the years
Before Kanye West settled down with Kim, he dated a handful of women. He had a long relationship with designer Alexis Phifer. They decided to take their relationship to the next level by getting engaged in 2006, but their engagement only lasted 18 months.
After his relationship with Phifer ended, West began dating model Amber Ross. Their relationship lasted until the summer of 2010. From 2010 to 2011 he dated Victoria Secrets model Chanel Iman.
He has also been linked to other women including Sumeke Rainey, Virginie Maury, Melody Thornton, Selita Ebanks, Sessilee Lopez, Brooke Crittenden and even Rihanna.
