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Kanye West
Name: Kanye West
DOB: 8 June 1977
Birth Place: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Claim to fame: Rapper, producer, musician, megalomaniac
Star Facts
- Kanye’s nicknames include Ye, The Louis Vuitton Don, Konman and Yeezy
- He has produced records for Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Mos Def, Janet Jackson, among others
- Has a metal plate in his chin from near fatal car accident where he fell asleep behind the wheel in October 2002
- Kanye is set to launch his own clothing line – expect way too much fur
Biography
International hip hop superstar Kanye isn’t from Da Hood exactly. Born into a middle class home in Atlanta Georgia, his father was a former Black Panther activist and photographer and his mother a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University. Kanye was an excellent student and picked up A’s and B’s all the way through high school.
Kanye dropped out of Chicago State University so he could concentrate on building his music career. Working for Roc-A-Fella Records, initially his success was as a producer. Kanye worked on tracks for Janet Jackson, Mobb Deep, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, The Game, John Legend, Cam’ron, Common, and Talib Kweli amongst others.
In 2003 Kanye fell asleep behind the wheel of his car and only just survived a near fatal car crash. This inspired what would become his first single, Through the Wire. He has since released 5 studio albums, with his debut selling more than 400,000 inside a week, and has collected no fewer than 47 music awards, including 14 Grammy’s.
Kanye’s made a name for himself not just as a hip hop producer, but also for his unique ability to act like a clinically insane person at any given awards ceremony (see The Taylor Swift Incident).