Kanye West

Kanye West, also known as Ye, is simultaneously one of the most original and trailblazing artists of the 21st century — and one of its most polarizing. 

Born Kanye Omari West on June 8, 1977, he was raised in Chicago primarily by his mother, Donda West, a professor of English who instilled a lifelong love of the arts and a profound self-confidence in her only son. By his early twenties, he’d gravitated toward hip-hop production, learning about the industry by working under more established producers like No I.D. and Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie. At the dawn of the 2000s, he became one of the go-to producers for the ascendant Roc-A-Fella Records. His breakthrough came when he produced a third of Jay-Z’s acclaimed 2001 album The Blueprint, deftly reworking vocal samples from old soul, R&B, and rock hits on songs like “Heart of the City,”  “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” and “The Takeover.” But West wanted to be more than the hottest producer in the game: He wanted to be a superstar.

Before he could get there, he broke his jaw in a 2002 car crash. He used that accident to dramatic effect on his debut single, “Through the Wire,” rapping with his jaw wired shut over a Chaka Khan sample. The song became a hit, as did his full-length debut, 2004’s The College Dropout, where West used his middle-class upbringing, his everyman image, and his generational gifts as a producer to remake himself as an unlikely rap star. Songs like “Jesus Walks” and “Slow Jamz” were unlike anything else in rap or pop music in the early 2000s, and West made the most of his unique perspective and sound. He aimed even higher with 2005’s bombastic, orchestra-assisted Late Registration and 2007’s glossy, triumphant Graduation (the latter of which memorably won a first-week-sales battle with 50 Cent, commemorated on the cover of Rolling Stone). The music was brilliant and the Grammy Awards shined bright.

West’s career took a turn after the unexpected death of his mother in November 2007. The loss affected him profoundly, and his next album, 808s & Heartbreak, was met with mixed reviews — although its moody synth-pop sound ended up proving to be a major influence on  later stars like Drake. In 2009, West stepped into a firestorm of criticism by interrupting Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards, insisting on live television that her award for Best Female Video was undeserved: “Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Instantly, West became the target of intense public anger, not all of it fair; President Barack Obama called West “a jackass.” West retreated from the music industry, reemerging a year later in 2010 with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, a spellbinding look at his own flaws and American celebrity culture that won rave reviews and largely repaired his reputation. He continued this second career high point with 2013’s harsh, minimalist Yeezus, once again wowing critics and fans.

From this point onward, though, West’s career was increasingly consumed by tabloid controversy, outrageous statements, and struggles with mental health. His 2014 marriage to Kim Kardashian put him at the center of one of the most-watched celebrity families in the world; he began putting enormous amounts of time and effort into a new career in fashion; and high-profile disputes with artists like Swift (again) and Drake began getting more attention than the music he was making. A disturbing tilt toward far-right politics became evident around 2018, when he met with Donald Trump at the White House while wearing a red MAGA hat and visited the TMZ office to express his view that slavery was “a choice” for the people who were enslaved. Two years later, he launched a failed presidential campaign of his own, drawing more condemnation. In 2022, he hit a new low with a string of hateful statements about Jews, tweeting that he planned to go “death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE.” His antisemitic hate campaign led to canceled deals with Adidas and Gap and questions about whether he will ever tour again. Rolling Stone investigations revealed a toxic environment at his fashion company, Yeezy, that allegedly included West showing pornography to employees and citing Nazis as “his greatest inspiration.” The artist who made The College Dropout and Late Registration seemed a long way away. —Simon Vozick-Levinson