West, Kanye Omari,
1977- , African American rapper, b. Atlanta (some sources give
Douglasville), Al. West’s father, Ray, was a Black Panther who became
a photojournalist and later converted to Christianity; his mother was a
professor of English, last teaching at Chicago State University, which West
briefly attended. West began his musical career by producing the records of
local Chicago rappers and then in the mid-to-late ‘90s began working
with rap stars Foxy Brown, the Madd Rapper (Deric “D-Dot”
Angelettie), and The Notorious B.I.G, followed early in the 21st century
with productions for Jay-Z, Ludcaris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson, among
others. He began his solo career in 2002, and has since won over 21 Grammy
Awards, selling over 20 million albums and 140 million singles. As a
songwriter, West has drawn on his own life’s experiences and
Christian faith in his sometimes controversial lyrics. He began his career
experimenting with different production styles, while still enjoying
mainstream popular success. As a major cultural figure, West spoke out
against President George W. Bush’s failure to provide
relief to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and notably
interrupted the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards to protest Taylor Swift beating Beyonce in the Best Female Video
category. The ups and downs in his marriage to icon Kim Kardashian have
drawn much media attention (she filed for divorce in February 2021), as has
his suffering from psychological problems and addiction. His increasing
involvement with Christianity led him to establish a weekly “Sunday
Service” in 2019. That year he surprised fans by expressing support
for President Donald Trump and even
staged his own abortive campaign for the presidency. As an entrepreneur,
West has founded his own recording label/management company, a streaming
music service called Tidal, and worked in the fashion and fast food
industries.
See K. West, N. Elderkin, Glow in the Dark (2009); study by J.
Bailey (2015).
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