Kanye West

Kanye West (born 8.6.1977) Kanye West is American hip-hop artist whose debut album, The College Dropout propelled him to international stardom and critical acclaim.

Net Worth: In 2016, the International Business Times claimed Kanye West had a net worth of 145 million USD.

Childhood: Born in Atlanta, Georgia West was three years old when his parents divorced. He moved to Chicago, Illinois with his mother. Kanye's father, Ray, was a member of the Black Panther movement, as well as being one of the first black photojournalists for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His mother, Donda, was Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University. She retired in order to become Kanye's manager. Kanye enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music. He produced music for a number of local acts and later gained notoriety producing hit singles for artists including Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Cam'ron, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and John Legend. His first major label work was on The Truth by Beanie Sigel and his trademark vocal sampling sound first emerged on Jay-Z's 'This Can't Be Life.'

Career: Kanye's work was featured heavily on The Blueprint, Jay-Z's 2001 album and he quickly became an important figure in hip-hop production. However, a number of record labels turned down the opportunity to work with him as an artist in his own right, as he did not fit easily into existing hip hop categories or stereotypes. West's debut album, The College Dropout was eventually released on Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records in 2004. The album has been certified triple platinum and included guest appearances from Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Common. During this time, he also provided the beats for Brandy's single 'Talk About Our Love.' In 2005, Kanye West released his second album Late Registration. The album, which sold over 860,000 copies in its first week, featured the singles 'Diamonds From Sierra Leone' and 'Gold Digger'. The former featured a sample of Shirley Bassey's 'Diamonds Are Forever' vocal and the latter featured Jamie Foxx, on a reinterpretation of a Ray Charles song.

Late Registration earned West eight Grammy nominations and has been certified triple platinum. Around this time, Kanye produced 'Go' by Common and 'Dreams' by The Game. In November 2006, Kanye West interrupted the presentation of the Best Video award at the MTV Europe award, arguing that his 'Touch The Sky' should have won the prize. The outburst saw him heavily criticised in many media outlets. West apologized for the outburst when he supported U2 in Brisbane, Australia. To further the controversy surrounding West, Robert 'Evel' Knievel is suing West, who impersonates Knievel in the video. Knievel claims that the video is vulgar and offensive and damages his reputation.

In 2007, Kanye West performed with John Mayer and The Police at the American leg of the Live Earth event. A month later, he also hosted the British entertainment program, The Friday Night Project. The release date of Kanye's third album, Graduation, was moved to 11.9.2007, the same date as the release of 50 Cent's Curtis. 50 Cent reportedly stated that if his album sold less than Kanye's, he would quit making solo records. Graduation, which features guest appearances from T-Pain, Mos Def and Lil' Wayne, has been certified double platinum. It sampled a wide range of music, including Laura Nyro and Steely Dan. West fared badly again, at the next MTV Music Awards, in 2007. He failed to win any of the five awards for which he had been nominated. Kanye was visibly upset at the loss and stated that he would not return to MTV again. On a more positive note, however, he won four of the eight Grammy awards for which he was nominated. During the televised ceremony, West performed 'Stronger' with Daft Punk and 'Hey Mama', as a dedication to his mother, who had recently passed away. West courted further controversy during a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, when he ventured away from his script; at one point stating "George Bush does not like black people." His microphone was cut, but his message had already reached most of the US. In the 2009 MTV Music Awards, West again caused controversy. This time, for crashing the stage during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech to take the microphone and proclaim that Beyonce actually deserved the award. He was removed from the rest of the proceedings and his tour with Lady Gaga was cancelled.

In August 2011, West released a collaborative album with rapper Jay-Z, entitled Watch The Throne which included the single "Ni**as in Paris" reaching number 5 on the Billboard Top 100. In 2013 West released his sixth studio album titled Yeezus which intended to use influences from acid house and industrial music, this included the single 'Black Skinhead'.

2015 was a busy year for West as he released his collaboration track 'FourFiveSeconds' with Rihanna and Paul McCartney. A further collaboration with McCartney saw the release of 'Only One'. He also performed his single 'All Day' on the Brit Awards with a variety of UK Grime artists and US rappers as a statement to the public. In the summer Britain also witnessed the man himself headline Glastonbury festival which divided public opinion, once again claiming that he was the 'greatest living rock star on the planet'.

In 2016 West released his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo which seems to be a disjointed self-portrait of his life. One of the singles off the album was the controversial 'Famous'; a song which caused a rift with Taylor Swift over comments made about the popstar in the lyrics and also spawned a video featuring naked wax figures of such figures as Donald Trump, George W. Bush and Bill Cosby in bed together. He later embarked on his 'Life Of Pablo' tour, which was ultimated left uncompleted when he was admitted to hospital.

Personal Life: Kanye West began a relationship with Alexis Phifer in 2002, with the couple becoming engaged in 2006. The engagement lasted until 2008, when the pair separated. West moved on to dating model Amber Rose between 2008 and 2010. In 2012, West began a relationship with Kim Kardashian. The couple had a child in 2013 - a daughter call North West. In May 2014, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were married in Italy.

In 2015, West premiered his new clothing range in collaboration with Adidas named Yeezy season 1, which now has three seasons. In the same year he also became a father for the second time to his son Saint West.

Just a month after the robbery of his wife in Paris, he was admitted to hospital for psychiatric evaluation after a string of bizarre politically-charged outbursts on stage during his 'Saint Pablo' tour. He was diagnosed with temporary psychosis resulting from lack of sleep and dehydration.