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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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.
WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP!
December 24, 2011
Lately people have been digging their hideous but festive holiday sweaters out of the back of their closets and wearing them, albeit ironically. Celebs are jumping on the ugly Christmas sweater bandwagon, too. Here are our favorite celebrity ugly Christmas sweater moments.
Justin Bieber: Bieber celebrated his Christmas album by wearing an awful Christmas sweater while performing on the Today show. Look at that thing. It’s like high school letterman jacket meets Santa.
December 15, 2011
Kim Kardashian reportedly attended the official after-party for the ‘Watch The Throne’ concert in LA earlier this week and according to the NY Daily News, Kanye West "was all over her - caressing her head, touching her waist."
December 13, 2011
Kanye was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, in this new episode of VOYR, the exclusive web series for behind the scenes footage from the Watch The Throne tour, the duo take a tour of Kanye's childhood home.
In the video, Kanye's voice is heard while "Otis" plays and he says "Always knew it was gonna happen like this," says Kanye, "Where I'm at right now is where I'm at when I was like four year old. You know like first hitting a piano or something like that."
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During an uplifting performance of the duos song “We Made It In America” Kanye was inspiring his audience, asking them to fight for their dreams and not give up. He then became emotional and confessed to the entire audience of the Los Angeles Staples Center that three years ago, after his mother passed away, he was on the brink of suicide.
The crowd was shocked to hear this news. His mom died in November of 2007, and afterwards Kanye went into a depression admitting that he never took time to grieve properly.
December 1, 2011
Nominees were announced Wednesday night at The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!!—Countdown To Music's Biggest Night.
Kanye led the nominations with seven. That should help with his ego. And Adele, Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars each got six nods.
Hollyscoop was in the press room as some of the artists discussed what it means to them to be nominated for the 2012 GRAMMYs. Bruno Mars joked, "Well, it proves that I'm the greatest right?" He then added, "It means--I'm about to get real cheesy, get ready—it means that hard work pays off."
I guess it can be a little of both.
Mars then praised Adele, who has shot to fame in 2011 with her tear-jerking hits, Rolling in the Deep and Someone Like You.
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November 14, 2011
And now, GQ magazine has listed him has one of their "Men of the Year." Not hottest man, not coolest man, just best. Best man of 2011. Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon and Michael Fassbender also made the list. But let's face it, this is really about Jay-Z.
Things weren't always so hot for the Watch The Throne rapper. As a kid, Jay-Z's father abandoned his family suddenly, something that has affected Jay his whole life.
November 10, 2011
During Wednesday night's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York, Kanye West took the stage in a surprise performance. The rapper was supposed to perform at the lingerie show four years ago, but had to cancel after losing his mother, Dr. Donda West. Kanye's mom suffered complications from a cosmetic surgery procedure.
West took the stage at Manhattan's Lexington Avenue Armory and told the crowd:
"In 2007, I was supposed to perform this song... then my mom passed away. She was my superhero - now she's my super-angel."
WATCH THE VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP!
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