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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