He opened the door and basically had a whole spiel. He was like, How much do you get paid doing this promotion [with Coodie]? He wasnt drug dealing, but he was telling stories of about those who were drug dealing., Consequence: The great thing about the album is, to this day, the lines still have staying power. When he was 12 or 13 years old, Kanye got into hip-hop and decided he wanted to be a rapper. Youd get a chain from them and youd be down with them, but just because he was on Roc-A-Fella didnt mean there was a plan. He had good samples, but it wasnt polished.. On February 14, 2016, Kanye West released his seventh album titled The Life of Pablo. Get in the booth. He put her right to work. His raps were really good, but I didnt really think star from those raps or that moment. Matter of fact, thats what I am going to call you from now on: The Legend. We were going through samples and came across Distant Lover. He made the beat then and there. When he was performing, people werent paying attention and he demanded their attention. I was like, Yo, What the fuck? (Laughs), Consequence: I had a little situation with this girl out in Queens, and I wanted to do a skit about her baby father. It still is, 10 years after its release (February 10, 2004). "So he steps up his lyrical game, shows off his epic production skills, reaches higher, pushes harder, and claims the whole world of music as hip hop turf. Kanye West | Biography, Albums, Songs, & Facts | Britannica I miss her every day, but I especially missed her that day. I had gotten locked up, but nothing super heavy. It became more than music., Miri Ben-Ari: He saw me perform with Jay Z [in 2001]. He agreed.. But with me, knowing the history of where these lines started and to see it turn into College Dropout, I can see how bad he wanted it and you can hear it. Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. In 2008 West released 808s and Heartbreak, an album that dwelled on feelings of personal loss and regret. Kanye told me to not be doing nothing that can get me in jail. He fooled Dame and told him that he was doing a compilation album. Santana's 1999 album Supernatural released many years past Carlos Santana's prime relevance, and while Kanye was at work on the College Dropout epitomized this approach packing. It marked a time period., Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox, A daily briefing on what matters in the music industry. 31. He was in Dions basement, bringing beats and wanting to battle me. But Dame didnt know. The rhymes were so societal and unisex, just like Spaceship. Women could relate to it. I told him he had to put J. Ivy on it. I was like, Stop bullshitting. He was a comedian, so he was always joking. Thats the kind of stuff that we were doing, we were so by any means necessary. Oh, she lives in Miami? 2.0] was like the Bible. Universal decided to go with a different single [for me]., Ferris Bueller: I was never a fan of that record. What experience would I say I can fuck with? Its a marquee thesis in his catalogue, just not for himself but everyone involved. It's not difficult to see why fans lament the loss of . When [Kanyes third solo album Graduation] came out and battled 50 Cent, it was like, Okay this is the new wave. 50 Cent represented this wave of gangsta and guerilla. It was powerful and spiritual. West's mother, Donda, was a teacher who became a professor of English at Chicago State University, and eventually, her son's manager before she died at the age of 58 from heart disease after cosmetic surgery in 2007. Of the 21 tracks on his very first album, 14 samples were used on 12 songs. When I finished the room exploded. Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' at 10: Classic - Billboard Hed give little demos where he was really rapping street rap. In July 2020, less than four months before the election, West announced that he was running for president as a member of the Birthday Party. Wed go to each others apartments, going to the studio together for almost four years.. People liked his beats but they saw hip-hop as 50 Cent, Ja Rule, streets and if he didnt fit into that perception then he wasnt really hip-hop. In January 2019, Kanye West started his weekly Sunday Service orchestration. Kanye would always play Spaceship to people, and at that time it would only have my verse on it. Kanye is the King of samples and always has been. Kanye West fought for recognition when he was 12 years old, and still thirsts for respect today. Later, I found out he was a producer, but I didnt know I had met him when I first did. It helped push Through the Wire. It affected all of our lives. I almost died. What can you expect from an album that often gets compared to the likes of "Illmatic . West returned to music in November 2010 with his fifth album with paranoid celebrity and rampant consumption the dominant themes: it was a bombastic and towering monument to self-aggrandizement that sounded "like an instant greatest hits" according to Pitchfork. West then brought a larger-scale version of his new project to Coachella in April for a special Easter Sunday show, in which he and a large contingent of singers and dancers, dressed in matching mauve robes, performed atop a man-made mountain. As of 2017 he has won a total of 24 Grammys. I figured it out. I think from there the College Dropout concept took a better form because he let go of the gangsta persona and formed a good concept. "Baby's Coming", another Go-Getters track not on this project also surfaced in 2016. I perfected it and added one more line. My aunt said he wasn't feeling art and asked me for some recommendations on some equipment. Since then West's music. I remember when I first talked to him after the accident, and his mouth was all messed up. Exclusive Kanye Videos: Never-Before-Seen College Dropout Footage, 88-Keys Founder of Locksmith Music | Producer | Rapper, Coodie & Chike Directors | Founders of Creative Control, Damon Dash Executive Producer | Co-Founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, Devo Springsteen Cousin to Kanye West | Former roomate to John Legend | Producer | Songwriter, Gee Roberson Co-Executive Producer | Manager | Co-CEO of Hip Hop Since 1978 | Co-CEO of Blueprint Group, Joe 3H Weinberger Management | Former A&R, Capitol Records, John Monopoly Manager | Co-Founder of Hustle Period, Kyambo Hip Hop Joshua Co-Executive Producer | Manager | Co-Co-CEO of Hip Hop Since 1978, Olskool Ice-Gre Former G.O.O.D. His name was Kanye the Influence, at that time. Our family is a very musical family, starting with our grandmother who was the musical matriarch of the family. I was essentially doing it on my own, but then 88-Keys introduced me to Kanye. And then, in November 2007, tragedy struck. I was just amazed by him. He launched his first collection in Paris in 2011 but it was widely panned. All that stuff that she did at the show, shed say they were real records. Ye was popular at that point, in 2002. We drove around Miami looking for Lauryn. It covered a much broader sonic sweep than Yeezus, incorporating a vast array of sounds, styles and influences, from trap to gospel to Auto-Tune crooning, to avant-pop, classic soul and dancehall. I dont know why but it was not only a no, it was a dont bring it up again. So I had to call him and say, Youre going to hate me but theres no place for you over here but I hope we can remain friends. He was mad, but wasnt mad at me. ', Plain Pat: We had put out Slow Jamz, Through the Wire, Keep the Receipt, but [Slow Jamz] took off out of nowhere. Echoing his track's lyrics about how it is his "superpower," he insisted that the condition fueled his creativity, but also admitted that it led to unfortunate consequences. "Please be easy," he said. We went back to Newark, and told Westside (its what I call him) to The Mystery of Iniquity. He had his Aha expression. Dame wanted his first dibs on his beats, so he got him the record deal so he could have first dibs., Devo Springsteen: It seemed to me, what [Roc-A-Fella] were selling, Kanye didnt fit: street. Kanye would always have dope rhymes, but he didnt have his style down at that time. He didnt know how to verbalize what he wanted them to do. I was super young, and he didnt really know anybody. Kimmel hired child actors to recite some of West's more bombastic quotes on his show. Kanye West 18-Year-Old Album 'College Dropout' Surge On Billboard With They didnt have acapella stems to give to us, but they suggested the Lauryn Hill Unplugged album. At the age of 10, West moved for a year with Donda to China, where she taught as part of a university-exchange program; he was the only foreigner in his class. But West was far from amused. He went on to release 'The College Dropout'. The song helped lay out his story more cause it was a real thing that happened to him., Near-Death Car Accident (October 23, 2002), Kyambo Hip Hop Joshua: In 2002, right after The Blueprint 2, he went out to L.A. to work with Young Gunz, and some of Roc-A-Fella and thats when the accident happened. But then I thought about it, and I was close to everyone I dreamed of being close to. Thats why we went so hard to get the sample cleared., Devo Springsteen: They experimented with John Legend at one point [in place of Lauryn Hill]., Consequence: I remember when it was called Self-Conscious and it was to a different beat. Get Em High was on some random laptop I had and John Monopoly was going through it. I wanted to show people that Im an MC and do a lot of different things. This was before anyone knew who Kanye was. I used to date his girlfriends brother. We being Kanye, me, Don C, John Monopoly, Gee, Hip Hop doing all this. He wanted me on the records they were doing, and it eventually spawned into us working together. On my flight there I was practicing. The Kane Chronicles movies release date, cast, synopsis, trailer and more He was kind of a gangsta rapper. I think the Ludacris factor was the billing factor more than the meat and potatoes of the record itself., Plain Pat: Breathe In, Breathe Out was one of the big ones back then. In Kanye's mind, the release of The College Dropout is the ultimate response to any of his haters. Most of those early years he was really rapping gangsta raps. We were scrambling. Kanyes first studio album, The College Dropout, continues to resonate in pop culture 10 years after its release, not only because of Kanye West but all of those who were a part of the creation. Thats the feel that Ive been wanting for the album that I havent been able to get. It was a very p-funk-inspired, loose, unrefined and raw feeling. Give me a piece right now. I put my hand back on the page and my hand just started moving. It was what made him rap on a table and rap for people. IceMan_674 College Dropout . J. Ivy: The album got people through school, through depression, through death in the family, through relationships, through bad jobs, through career decisions the album changed lives. Talib Kweli, the other half of Blackstar has stayed busy solidifying himself as one of the sharpest wordsmiths in hip hop. Its most successful single was Bound 2, in part because of its racy music video featuring West and his then girlfriend, the reality-television star Kim Kardashian. soundworld. Ill pay you to stay with me and help me out while I do all this stuff I know youre a star yourself but Im about to be the biggest star in hip-hop and I need your help., The ego MC in me was like, Are you serious you want me to be your personal assistant? When he approached me saying, I have to have you on this album. I finally got a meeting with the head of the company. (This was maybe six months after I met Kanye for the first time.) He also apologized to Michael Jordan for appearing to diss the basketball legend in his lyrics. It had so many versions. The College Dropout is full of absolute bangers like "All Falls Down," "Through the Wire," and "Slow Jamz" but most of the beauty in the album comes from the lower-key reminiscent songs. This and other comments resulted in Instagram and Twitter locking his accounts and removing content. People said that they were considering taking their lives but they heard my verse and they reconsidered committing suicide. Thats how it became a barber shop. It was the perfect medium of street and conscious. He invited me to fly out to L.A., the next week, to produce music in his hotel suite. [5] The album was the ninth best-selling album of 2005 in the United States. I started out as being his assistant. In response, West decided to make it better: he revised and rewrote songs and refined the production, adding stronger drums, gospel choirs and strings (he paid for orchestras out of his own pocket). I smoked me a blunt and he headed to a meeting. And Im a bigger artist than you in my city. This was in my head. If all these people jocking you and if theyre really fucking with you, why you aint signed? I remember seeing Kanye outside, standing with Consequence and Rhymefest. ', GLC: When I first heard it I wasnt really fucking with it, but let me tell you when we started doing that song in shows and saw what it did? For me, I could appreciate the perspective of the rhymes of him rapping from the standpoint of an observing drug dealer. Imagine you rapped on one part of the beat and you hear it moved to another part, and it starts on a different part. Gee had me meet Kanye to go over his budget., Joe 3H Weinberger: I met Kanye in New York City, in January 2001. He was thirsty; he wanted to learn., J. Ivy: Early 02, I had a show in Philly. I get where people that say they miss the old Kanye come from, and it has merit. Titled The College Dropout, it broke the gangsta-rap mold, with themes including consumerism (he was critical of it back then), racism, higher education and his religious beliefs. I signed to Kanyes G.O.O.D. I was like, Look, theres two acts that I really think are special. You couldnt recognize the guy for a couple of weeks.. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! I was looking for someone who was working hard. Everyone at the label were all on one floor [of the W Hotel], and they all had studios in the room. The album showcased that the man had something to . I think with Kanye, his approach brought in different types of influences away from these categories. We needed to establish Kanye as an artist first. The album was released on February 10, 2004, and continues to possess a strong influence. He also raised eyebrows by describing the history of African American enslavement in the U.S. as a "choice," his words again inflaming social media outrage and prompting another attempt at a clarifying explanation later. I told him what needed to be done. He then moved to New York in 2001. Abetted by his flamboyant personality, West quickly rose to stardom. We were formally introduced via telephone for him to work on Chapter Three, my third album., 88-Keys: In 1999, we met at Baseline Studios where Roc-A-Fella recorded all the time. He came to the studio a couple of times with me, but I couldnt get him in cause the album was close to being finished and there were a lot of spectators. It was amazing. I dont want bodyguards at my house. Kids See Ghosts, a collaboration with rapper Kid Cudi, followed shortly thereafter. Kanye West's 18 Most Career Defining Moments. We did the show then drove up. I told him, I heard your music. He was already in the studio, and he took me to the studio. He also gained attention for his widely quoted assertion that the federal governments slow response to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans in 2005 demonstrated that U.S. Pres. Set up the meetings. I told [Kanye], Lets fly you out when Jay Z is doing the H to the Izzo video. I hit him up, told him about it, drove to his crib, and dropped the CD. As kids, his room was full of crates of records. I started banging on the page saying, God, I need a piece right now. For all the talk about "I miss the old Kanye", he released like 10+ songs that can easily be part of the "Old kanye" discography . The winner of nearly two dozen Grammy Awards, West is also known for his awards-show theatrics, forays into fashion and marriage to .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Kim Kardashian. Most notably . Kanye West's 'Graduation': 10 Things You Didn't Know This is how dope Kanye was: He wanted to make an album without the beats and just the orchestration. I am running for president of the United States.". I believe he succeeded by going to that extreme, being I am the supreme, emotional male who dont take no shit. He was the rapper who had a Mercedes-Benz and a backpack. Musically, he was naive as to what he was doing and couldnt articulate. September 2, 2015, 4:45pm. He then wrote much of the rest of his debut album while recuperating in L.A. A year later, on Yeezus (2013), West continued to explore the dark corners of his psyche, at times filtering his observations through the provocative lens of racial politics, as on New Slaves. In contrast to the extravagance of his previous solo efforts, the album found him rapping over jagged minimalist arrangements evocative of house and industrial music and embellished with spare samples of soul and dancehall vocalists. Some of it was over compensation for the fact that he wasnt a street guy at all and he felt like people wouldnt respect him it if it was not tough. He used to do comedy. He chopped it, which I always give him props for. The first song he played me called Green Eggs & Ham. It was real super-early, 90s-sounding, yelling type of hip-hop record with a computer keyboard beat that was really quite funny. 1 on the Billboard 200; it marked West's eighth consecutive chart-topping album, matching the record held by the Beatles and Eminem. Wendy Day of Rap Coalition had a convention in Chicago [or] a panel that she sent me to be on. That team behind College Dropout is why G.O.O.D Music was erected, why Scott Disick says he wishes he could rap on the Kardashians. That was the album that was pretty much the launch pad for a lot of things., Common: When I heard this album, I knew itd be classic from the newness feel of it. We were playing CDs back and forth, except this time hes playing music from College Dropout. He put Spaceship on, and I start riffing on top of the track. I told him who I was, and he was shocked. The College Dropout was finally released in February 2004 to widespread critical acclaim, earning him 10 Grammy Award nominations and eventually being certified triple platinum in the US. The artist then caused a stir when his tweets veered toward his support for President Trump, calling him "my brother" and noting how they shared "dragon energy," even posting a selfie in which he wears Trump's "Make America Great Again" hat. Him and the great J. Dilla they were the ones I tried telling everybody about. "Beck needs to respect artistry, and he should have given his award to Beyonc," West said after the ceremony. West subsequently announced that he planned on acquiring Parler, a conservative social media platform. It was the second time within a week that he had ranted onstage and voiced support for Trump, and this time it sounded like a public breakdown he did not complete the show. Me and Kanye were running into the studio, 1:30 at night, and he opened the FedEx and he puts the CD in. It was weird, but he was always a genius kid, so we knew he would do something. Wests fifth fashion collection, YEEZY Season 5, was released at New York Fashion Week in February 2017. ', Plain Pat: We all thought he was making a compilation album for Roc-A-Fella, but when I met with him, hes like, Nah, Im rapping! It was shocking because nobody [at Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella) knew he was going to rap [on] the whole album., Olskool Ice-Gre: By the time Dame heard the compilation album was really his album, he revealed he had offers at record labels like Capitol. Kanye West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, when he was 26 years old. Justin Kautz was an Editorial Intern at Encyclopaedia Britannica. As Andre 3000 said, Youre only as good as your last cut. On the single "Jesus Walks" he rapped, "They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, videotapes/But if I talk about God, my record won't get played."