Kanye West

Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta in 1977 and raised on Chicago's South Side. His mother Donda was an English professor. He dropped out of Chicago State University to make beats — hence the bear mascot.

He produced hits for Jay-Z (Izzo, Takeover), Ludacris, and Alicia Keys before anyone would let him rap.

Roc-A-Fella Records didn't want a rapper who wore polo shirts and talked about going to college. But The College Dropout (2004) sold 441,000 copies in its first week. Jesus Walks won a Grammy.

Through the Wire — recorded with his jaw wired shut after a car crash — became one of the most iconic debut singles in rap history.

Every album after was a reinvention. Late Registration added a live orchestra. Graduation went electronic and outsold 50 Cent.

808s & Heartbreak used Auto-Tune and heartbreak to create a template that Drake, Kid Cudi, and Travis Scott would build entire careers on. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is considered one of the greatest albums of the 21st century. The Life of Pablo was the first streaming-era album to debut at number one.

Twenty-four Grammys. Love him or not, nobody changed music more in the 2000s.

The College Dropout (February 2004) proved the doubters wrong. Jesus Walks took gospel to mainstream radio — a rapper praising God over a militant beat. All Falls Down dissected consumerism.

Slow Jamz went number one. Through the Wire — Kanye rapping through a wired jaw about nearly dying — was the most compelling origin story in rap since Eminem. The album went four times platinum and won Best Rap Album at the Grammys.

Late Registration (August 2005) raised the stakes. Jon Brion brought orchestral arrangements. Gold Digger — that Ray Charles sample, Jamie Foxx on the hook — became the biggest hit of Kanye's career and spent ten weeks at number one.

Touch the Sky, Hey Mama, Diamonds from Sierra Leone — every track was a different world. Another Best Rap Album Grammy.

Graduation (September 2007) went to war with 50 Cent's Curtis in the most hyped album-vs-album battle in hip-hop history. Kanye won by 300,000 copies in the first week. Stronger sampled Daft Punk and made arena-electronic rap mainstream.

Good Morning, Flashing Lights, Homecoming — the production was massive, the hooks were massive, everything was massive. Third consecutive Best Rap Album.

808s & Heartbreak (November 2008) came from grief — his mother Donda died from surgery complications, his engagement ended. Kanye abandoned rapping for Auto-Tune singing over Roland TR-808 drum machines. Heartless, Love Lockdown, Amazing — critics hated it, fans were confused, and then every rapper for the next decade copied it.

Drake, The Weeknd, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott — all roads lead back to 808s.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (November 2010) is the magnum opus. POWER opens with King Crimson. Runaway is a nine-minute apology over a single piano note.

Monster has the Nicki Minaj verse that launched a dynasty. All of the Lights features fifteen artists. It debuted at number one and is rated one of the greatest albums ever made by virtually every publication.

The Life of Pablo (2016) went further — Ultralight Beam is gospel perfection, Father Stretch My Hands is euphoria, Real Friends is confession.

Kanye West's influence is immeasurable. He killed the bling era with a backpack and a pink polo. He proved producers could rap.

He made it acceptable for rappers to be vulnerable, emotional, and openly imperfect. 808s & Heartbreak alone spawned an entire generation of artists.

The production innovations are staggering. Chipmunk soul (speeding up old soul samples) on The College Dropout. Live orchestration on Late Registration.

Daft Punk-sampling arena electronics on Graduation. Auto-Tune as an emotional instrument on 808s. Maximalist baroque rap on MBDTF.

Every technique became an entire subgenre after Kanye used it.

Controversial? Endlessly. The Taylor Swift VMAs incident, the political statements, the name change to Ye.

But separate the person from the music and the catalogue speaks for itself: twenty-four Grammys, the best-reviewed hip-hop album of its decade, and a production style that changed the sound of popular music more than anyone since Timbaland. The dropout bear earned his diploma.