Kanye West
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Kanye West (pronounced Kahn-yay) (born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American music producer and rapper from Chicago, Illinois.
Previously best known for producing hit singles for Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Ludacris, Kanye himself worked on a solo album for a long period of time, having the release pushed back time and time again. A car crash in October 2002 left his jaw fractured in three places. With his mouth still wired shut and only weeks after having an encounter with death, Kanye West began recording "Through The Wire," reliving his near-fatal accident. "Through The Wire", which sampled Chaka Khan's classic track "Through The Fire", would eventually become his lead single off The College Dropout in 2004, released on Roc-a-Fella Records. The album received almost universal acclaim for its balance of mainstream commercial appeal and conscious (at times verging on Afrocentric) lyrics, along with Kanye's signature style of sampling 70's R&B/Soul tracks.
Kanye has also collaborated with rapper Twista, on songs such as "Overnight Celebrity" and "Slow Jamz" - featuring Jamie Foxx) - which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. Kanye also features on Brandy's single, "Talk About Our Love". Some of the many other artists he has worked with include Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, Mariah Carey and John Legend.
In 2005, Kanye West received ten Grammy Award nominations, making him the most nominated artist of 2005. He received two nominations in the Album of the Year category, one for The College Dropout, and one for his work on Alicia Keys' album The Diary of Alicia Keys. His work with pop icon Janet Jackson also earned him a nomination for her single I Want You, produced by West, which was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 13, 2005, Kanye won Best Rap Album for his album The College Dropout and Best Rap Song for his single "Jesus Walks". Somewhat surprisingly, he did not go home with the Best New Artist Grammy (which instead went to Maroon 5); this snub was a repeat of the shut-out he received at the 2004 American Music Awards, where he lost to Gretchen Wilson.
West has also started his own clothing line, Pastel and his own record label - G.O.O.D. Music (acronym for Getting Out Our Dreams), which has already released John Legend's platinum selling debut album - Get Lifted and Common's latest album - "Be". Other artists on his label include Keyshia Cole, GLC, Consequence, Tom Borghard, and Farnsworth Bentley.
Kanye West is currently finishing his follow-up studio album, Late Registration, due for release on August 16th,2005. He recently released the first single from this album - "Diamonds (Sierra Leone)", which contains a sample from the James Bond theme "Diamonds Are Forever" performed by Shirley Bassey.
In 2004, Kanye appeared on MTV's prank show, Punk'd. Kanye was tricked into thinking that his music video shoot for the song "Jesus Walks" was being shut down by the Los Angeles Film Commission. To the audience's amusement, West stole back the footage from them and then jumped into his van for his safety.
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Discography
Studio albums:
- 2004: The College Dropout #2 US, #12 UK
- 2005: Late Registration
Singles:
- 2003: "Slow Jamz" (Twista featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx) #1 US, #3 UK
- 2004: "Through The Wire" #15 US, #9 UK
- 2004: "All Falls Down" (featuring Syleena Johnson) #7 US, #10 UK
- 2004: "Overnight Celebrity" (Twista featuring Kanye West) #6 US, #16 UK
- 2004: "This Way" (Dilated Peoples featuring Kanye West) #78 US, #35 UK
- 2004: "Jesus Walks" #11 US, #16 UK
- 2004: "Talk About Our Love" (Brandy featuring Kanye West) #36 US, #6 UK
- 2004: "Selfish" (Slum Village featuring Kanye West & John Legend) #55 US
- 2005: "Down And Out" (Cam'ron featuring Kanye West & Syleena Johnson) #94 US
- 2005: "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" #58 US
Awards
His complete Grammy nominations included:
- Album of the Year for The Diary Of Alicia Keys (as a producer)
- Album of the Year for The College Dropout
- Song of the Year for Jesus Walks
- Best New Artist
- Best R&B Song for You Don't Know My Name (as a songwriter)
- Best Rap Solo Performance for Through The Wire
- Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for All Falls Down
- Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Slow Jamz
- Best Rap Song for Jesus Walks
- Best Rap Album for The College Dropout
Janet Jackson's "I Want You", produced by West, was nominated for Best Female Recording (R&B).de:Kanye West