Kanye West

1977-06-08 -

Kanye Omari West was born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kanye's parents divorced while he was still very young, and he moved to Chicago with his mother (an English professor) where he grew up in the Chicago suburbs. West briefly went to college, but soon gave it up to pursue a career in the music business.

Kanye West first gained acclaim as a producer. He has produced for artists such as Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Eminem and John Legend. West wanted to record his own album, but labels were reluctant to see him as anything but a producer. Because of his suburban upbringing he lacked 'street cred'.

A car crash which caused his jaw to be wired shut further delayed his first album, but inspired his first hit single, "Through the Wire" from the CD College Dropout. His second CD Late Registration produced the mega-hit "Gold Digger".