Kanye West
 Birthday: June 8, 1977 Age: 34 Sign: Gemini Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia Hometown: Chicago, Illinois Big Break: 'Jesus Walks' | Biography Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Ray and Dr. Donda West. At the age of three his parents divorced, causing him to move to Chicago, Illinois with his mother. His father Ray West was one of the first black photojournalists at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, but is now a Christian counselor. Dr. Donda West worked in the Chicago State University as the Chair of the English Department, but retired to be Kanye’s manager. He attended Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois. He then attended The American Academy of Art in Chicago. After he attended Chicago State University, but then dropped out to work on his music career. During school, Kanye West produced for many local artists. He then started to gain fame by producing hit singles for hip hop/R&B artists, such as Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Common, The Game, John Legend, Paul Wall, Jermaine Dupri, Scarface, Paul Wall, and Jay-z. West’s production style was influenced by RZA producer Wu-Tang Clan. His style of producing includes his own instruments, and pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs. This style is featured in Jay-Z’s “This Can’t Be Life,” and Dr. Dre’s “Xxplosive.” In 2001, West became one of the major names in hip hop production. He wanted to release his own album shortly after. He struggled to find a recording deal because many record companies didn’t think West matched to the stereotypical hip hop image. Jay-Z was unwilling to support Kanye as a rapper, because he only saw him as a producer. In October, 2002, West was involved in a severe car crash caused by snoozing at the wheel while driving. His crash and survival inspired Kanye’s first single “Through the Wire.”, and the song “Jesus Walks.” His first album, The College Dropout, was release by Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004. His second album, Late Registration, received many favorable reviews. It was number one spot of 2005 on the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop critic’s poll. The album earned him eight Grammy Award nominations. He also received Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the single “Gold Digger.” In November 2006, West’s video “Touch the Sky” failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards; he went onto the stage and argued that he should have won the award instead. He apologized for his outburst during his opening act for U2. In 2007, West changed the release date of his third album Graduation. The date was changed from September 18 to September 11, the same release date of 50 Cent’s album Curtis. The two rap stars would compete for better sales against each other. The competition fired up when 50 Cent claimed to stop releasing solo albums if Graduation sold more records than his. Kanye West eventually won the competition, but 50 Cent is said to stay in the business. Kanye West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. He was nominated for 5 awards, such as Best Male Artist and Video of the Year, and lost them all that night. Losing the VMAS two years in a row caused West to be extremely upset and angry with MTV. He vowed to never come back to MTV. In many radio interviews, Kanye confesses that it was his dream to open up at the VMAS with “Stronger”, and MTV only used Britney Spears for ratings. Kanye West stated that he is currently working on Michael Jackson’s upcoming album. West is currently with fiancée Alexis Phifer. Did you know…
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May 18, 2012
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The musician, MC, producer, fashion designer, and Fatburger franchisor, wants to continue to expand his creative reach with the debut of a short film next Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival (not for competition—just for fun, and press coverage, of course).
It’s a valid question! I’m sure Kim and Kanye would love to double date with Beyonce and Jay-Z. Kanye and Jay are best friends! It has to happen eventually, right?
President Obama was asked which hip hop artist he likes better—Jay-Z or Kanye. With a smile, Obama responded: “Jay-Z.” But he added: “Although I like Kanye. He’s a Chicago guy. Smart. He’s very talented.”
But two years ago, Barack told ABC’s Nightline that he thought Kanye was a “jackass” for interrupting Taylor Swift’s speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.
"And I'll admit I fell in love with Kim/Around the same time she had fell in love with him/Well that's cool baby girl do your thing/Lucky I ain't had Jay drop him from the team."
March 7, 2012
Kanye and some friends, including rappers Common and Pusha T, were staying at London’s ritzy Lanesborough Hotel, which is close to Buckingham Palace and
February 12, 2012
It started off on a highly somber note, with the news of Whitney Houston's sudden, tragic death on Saturday evening. The show had to be reconstructed to allow for a performance tribute from Jennifer Hudson.
The tribute was a heavy one, and although the tears could be heard in Hudson's voice, she performed a flawless rendition of 'I Will Always Love You.' The singer was met with a massive applause from the crowd. Hudson fanned away her tears.
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February 12, 2012
Nicki Minaj showed up wearing a Versace costume/outfit that looked like Lady Gaga meets Little Red Riding Hood meets The Flying Nun. Katy Perry chose to match her outfit with her hair color. Rihanna wore a black open-backed Armani dress.
Last month, the 42 year-old actor was seriously injured in a surfing accident while filming the movie Mavericks.
Gerard said the accident “was maybe one of the few times that reports were not exaggerated. It was a pretty close call."
He added that a series of giant waves "just took me in, and I couldn't get up. It was pretty hairy."
January 5, 2012
Image by wenn.com
Mostly, though, Kanye talked about his new design company, DONDA, named after his late mother. Here are some highlights from Kanye's Twitter Rant:
Backlash from his meltdown at the MTV VMAs: Kanye said he had “an office in LA that was shut down after the "MTV" moment along with my tour with GAGA.”
The controversial star made his DJ-Debut at the opening of the new nightclub 1 Oak at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Kanye DJ'd for 3 hours and spun under the name Yeezy World Peace.
That doesn't mean he's leaving his rap career, Kanye just added a new entry to his ever expanding resume. This rapper, producer and fashion designer is now a DJ. And while he may be fairly new at DJing, thanks to his famous name, he also demands a very high salary—one high profile Vegas insider tells Hollyscoop it can run as high as $1,000,000.
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