Kanye West was born on the 8th of June 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia, but his story truly began when he moved to Chicago at the age of three following his parents' divorce. His father, Ray West, was a former Black Panther and one of the first Black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, while his mother, Donda West, was a professor of English who later became his manager. Raised in a middle-class environment, West attended Polaris School for Individual Education and later moved to Nanjing, China, at age 10 when his mother taught there as a Fulbright Scholar. He was the only foreigner in his class, quickly picking up the language before eventually forgetting most of it. West demonstrated an early affinity for the arts, writing poetry at age five and rapping in the third grade. By the seventh grade, he was making musical compositions and selling them to other artists. After graduating from high school, he received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to study English. At age 20, he dropped out to pursue his musical career, a decision that greatly displeased his mother, though she would later accept it. His early production career began in the mid-1990s, creating beats for local Chicago artists. He received his first official production credits at age 19, producing eight tracks on Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. In 1998, he became the first producer signed to Hip Hop Since 1978, and for a time, acted as a ghost producer for Deric Angelettie. Unable to release a solo album due to his association with Angelettie, he formed the Go-Getters, a hip-hop group that independently released their only studio album, World Record Holders, in 1999. West spent much of the late 1990s producing for various acts, including Foxy Brown, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. In 2000, he began producing for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with extensive contributions to The Blueprint. Despite his growing reputation as a producer, West struggled to secure a record deal as a rapper because he did not fit the gangsta image dominant in mainstream hip-hop at the time. Desperate to keep him from defecting, label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella as a recording artist. A 2002 car accident shattered his jaw, but two weeks after being admitted to the hospital, West recorded Through the Wire with his jaw still wired shut. The song was first included on his debut mixtape Get Well Soon..., released in December 2002, and marked the beginning of his journey as a solo artist.
The College Dropout And Late Registration
West recorded the remainder of his debut album, The College Dropout, in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. The album was leaked months before its release, and West used the opportunity to remix, remaster, and revise it, adding new verses, string arrangements, gospel choirs, and improved drum programming. The album was postponed three times from its initial date in August 2003 and was eventually released in February 2004, reaching number two on the Billboard 200. His debut single, Through the Wire, peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for five weeks. Slow Jamz, his second single featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx, became the three musicians' first number one hit. The College Dropout received critical acclaim, was nominated for top album of the year by the American Music Awards and Billboard, and has consistently been ranked among the great hip-hop works and debut albums. Jesus Walks, the album's fourth single, reached the top 20 of the Billboard pop charts despite industry executives' predictions that a song containing such blatant declarations of faith would never make it to the radio. The album was certified triple platinum in the U.S. and garnered West 10 Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, which it received. During this period, West founded GOOD Music, a record label and management company that housed affiliate artists and producers such as No I.D. and John Legend. He also produced singles for Brandy, Common, Legend, and Slum Village. West invested $2 million and took over a year to make his second album, Late Registration. He was inspired by Roseland NYC Live, a 1998 live album by English trip hop group Portishead, which incorporated string arrangements into hip-hop production. Although West had not been able to afford many live instruments around the time of his debut album, the money from his commercial success enabled him to hire a string orchestra for Late Registration. He collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who served as the album's co-executive producer for several tracks. Late Registration sold over 2.3 million units in the United States alone by the end of 2005 and was considered by industry observers as the only successful major album release of the fall season, which had been plagued by steadily declining CD sales. When his song Touch the Sky failed to win Best Video at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for We Are Your Friends and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On the 7th of November 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident on the 33rd-season premiere of Saturday Night Live in September 2007.
West's third studio album, Graduation, was released in September 2007. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and sold 957,000 copies in its first week. Graduation continued the string of critical and commercial successes by West, and the album's lead single, Stronger, garnered his third number one hit. Stronger, which samples French house duo Daft Punk, has been accredited to not only encouraging other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the late 2000s. His mother's death in November 2007 and the end of his engagement to Alexis Phifer profoundly affected West, who set off for his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour shortly thereafter. Recorded mostly in Honolulu, Hawaii in three weeks, West announced his fourth album, 808s & Heartbreak, at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where he performed its lead single, Love Lockdown. Music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune, which typified the pre-release response to the record. 808s & Heartbreak was released by Island Def Jam in November 2008. Upon its release, the lead single Love Lockdown debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, while follow-up single Heartless debuted at number four. While it was criticized prior to release, 808s & Heartbreak is considered to have had a significant effect on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers to take more creative risks with their productions. At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video, West went on stage and grabbed the microphone from her to proclaim that Beyoncé deserved the award instead. He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. West was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and by President Barack Obama, who called West a jackass. The incident sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes. West subsequently apologized, including personally to Swift. However, in a November 2010 interview, he seemed to recant his past apologies, describing the act at the 2009 awards show as selfless.
Dark Fantasy And The Watch The Throne Era
Following the highly publicized incident, West took a brief break from music and threw himself into fashion, then returned to Hawaii for a few months writing and recording his next album. Importing his favorite producers and artists to work on and inspire the recording, West kept engineers behind the boards 24 hours a day and slept only in increments. Noah Callahan-Bever, a writer for Complex, was present during the sessions and described the communal atmosphere as follows: With the right songs and the right album, he can overcome any and all controversy, and we are here to contribute, challenge, and inspire. A variety of artists contributed to the project, including close friends Jay-Z, Kid Cudi and Pusha T, as well as collaborations with artists including Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Gil Scott Heron. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West's fifth studio album, was released in November 2010 to widespread acclaim from critics, many of whom considered it his best work and said it solidified his comeback. In stark contrast to his previous effort, which featured a minimalist sound, Dark Fantasy adopts a maximalist philosophy and deals with themes of celebrity and excess. The record included the international hit All of the Lights, and Billboard hits Power, Monster, and Runaway, the latter of which accompanied a 35-minute film of the same name directed by and starring West. During this time, West initiated the free music program GOOD Fridays through his website, offering a free download of previously unreleased songs each Friday, a portion of which were included on the album. This promotion ran from August to December 2010. Dark Fantasy went on to go platinum in the United States, but its omission as a contender for Album of the Year at the 54th Grammy Awards was viewed as a snub by several media outlets. 2011 saw West embark on a festival tour to commemorate the release of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, performing and headlining at numerous festivals, including SWU Music & Arts, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Oya Festival, Flow Festival, Live Music Festival, The Big Chill, Essence Music Festival, Lollapalooza, and Coachella, which was described by The Hollywood Reporter as one of greatest hip-hop sets of all time. West released the collaborative album Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in August 2011. By employing a sales strategy that released the album digitally weeks before its physical counterpart, Watch the Throne became one of the few major label albums in the Internet age to avoid a leak. Niggas in Paris became the record's highest-charting single, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The co-headlining Watch the Throne Tour kicked off in October 2011 and concluded in June 2012. In 2012, West released the compilation album Cruel Summer, a collection of tracks by artists from West's record label GOOD Music.
Yeezus And The Saint Pablo Tour
Sessions for West's sixth solo effort began to take shape in early 2013 in his own personal loft's living room at a Paris hotel. Determined to undermine the commercial, he once again brought together close collaborators and attempted to incorporate Chicago drill, dancehall, acid house, and industrial music. Primarily inspired by architecture, West's perfectionist tendencies led him to contact producer Rick Rubin fifteen days shy of its due date to strip down the record's sound in favor of a more minimalist approach. Initial promotion of his sixth album included worldwide video projections of the album's music and live television performances. Yeezus, West's sixth album, was released the 18th of June 2013, to rave reviews from critics. It became his sixth consecutive number one debut, but also marked his lowest solo opening week sales. In September 2013, West announced he would be headlining his first solo tour in five years, to support Yeezus, with fellow American rapper Kendrick Lamar accompanying him as a supporting act. The tour was met with rave reviews from critics. Rolling Stone described it as crazily entertaining, hugely ambitious, emotionally affecting (really!) and, most importantly, totally bonkers. Writing for Forbes, Zack O'Malley Greenburg praised West for taking risks that few pop stars, if any, are willing to take in today's hyper-exposed world of pop, describing the show as overwrought and uncomfortable at times, but it excels at challenging norms and provoking thought in a way that just isn't common for mainstream musical acts of late. West subsequently released a number of singles featuring Paul McCartney, including Only One and FourFiveSeconds, also featuring Rihanna. In November 2013, West stated that he was beginning work on his next studio album, hoping to release it by mid-2014, with production by Rick Rubin and Q-Tip. Having initially announced a new album entitled Yeezus II slated for a 2014 release, West announced in March 2015 that the album would instead be tentatively called So Help Me God. In May 2015, West was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture. The next month, West headlined at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, despite a petition signed by almost 135,000 people against his appearance. Another petition aimed to block West from headlining the 2015 Pan American Games, garnering 50,000 supporters.
The Life Of Pablo And Psychosis
West announced in January 2016 that Swish would be released on February 11, and later that month, released new songs Real Friends and a snippet of No More Parties in LA with Kendrick Lamar. On the 26th of January 2016, West revealed he had renamed the album from Swish to Waves. In the weeks leading up to the album's release, West became embroiled in several Twitter controversies. Several days ahead of its release, West again changed the title, this time to The Life of Pablo. On February 11, West premiered the album at Madison Square Garden as part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line. Following the preview, West announced that he would be modifying the tracklist once more before its release to the public. He released the album exclusively on Tidal on the 14th of February 2016, following a performance on Saturday Night Live. Following its release, West continued to tinker with mixes of several tracks, describing the work as a living breathing changing creative expression and proclaiming the end of the album as a dominant release form. Despite West's earlier comments, in addition to Tidal, the album was released through several other competing services starting in April. In February 2016, West stated on Twitter that he was planning to release another album in the summer of 2016, tentatively called Turbo Grafx 16 in reference to the 1990s video game console of the same name. In June 2016, West released the collaborative lead single Champions off the GOOD Music album Cruel Winter, which has yet to be released. Later that month, West released a controversial video for Famous, which depicted wax figures of several celebrities including West, Kardashian, Taylor Swift, businessman and then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, comedian Bill Cosby, and former president George W. Bush sleeping nude in a shared bed. In August 2016, West embarked on the Saint Pablo Tour in support of The Life of Pablo. The performances featured a mobile stage suspended from the ceiling. West postponed several dates in October following the Paris robbery of several of his wife's effects. On the 21st of November 2016, West cancelled the remaining 21 dates on the Saint Pablo Tour, following a week of no-shows, curtailed concerts and rants about politics. He was later admitted for psychiatric observation at UCLA Medical Center. He stayed hospitalized over the Thanksgiving weekend because of a temporary psychosis stemming from sleep deprivation and extreme dehydration. Following this episode West took an 11-month break from posting on Twitter and the public in general.
Ye And The Wyoming Sessions
It was reported in May 2017 that West was recording new music in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with a wide range of collaborators. In April 2018, West announced plans to write a philosophy book entitled Break the Simulation, later clarifying that he was sharing the book in real time on Twitter and began posting content that was likened to life coaching. Later that month, he also announced two new albums, a solo album and self-titled collaboration with Kid Cudi under the name Kids See Ghosts, both of which would be released in June. Additionally, he revealed he would produce upcoming albums by GOOD Music label-mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor, as well as Nas. Shortly thereafter, West released the non-album singles Lift Yourself and Ye vs. the People, in which he and T.I. discussed West's support of Donald Trump. Pusha T's Daytona, the first project out of Wyoming, was released in May to critical acclaim, although the album's artwork, a photograph of deceased singer Whitney Houston's bathroom that West paid $85,000 to license, attracted some controversy. The following week, West released his eighth studio album, Ye. West has suggested that he scrapped the original recordings of the album and re-recorded it within a month. The week after, West released a collaborative album with Kid Cudi, titled Kids See Ghosts, named after their group of the same name. West also completed production work on Nas' Nasir and Teyana Taylor's K.T.S.E., which were released in June 2018. In September, West announced his ninth studio album Yandhi to be released by the end of the month and a collaborative album with fellow Chicagoan rapper Chance the Rapper titled Good Ass Job. That same month, West announced that he would be changing his stage name to Ye. Yandhi was originally set for release in September 2018 but was postponed multiple times. In January 2019, West pulled out of headlining that year's Coachella festival after negotiations broke down due to discord regarding stage design. In July, it was reported that songs from West's unreleased album Yandhi were leaked online. The following month, Kim Kardashian announced that West's next album would be titled Jesus Is King, effectively scrapping Yandhi. By October, the entire unfinished album was available for a short time on streaming services Spotify and Tidal.
Jesus Is King And The Donda Era
On the 6th of January 2019, West started his weekly Sunday Service events, which included soul variations of both West's and others' songs and were attended by multiple celebrities, including the Kardashians, Charlie Wilson, and Kid Cudi. West previewed a new song, Water, at his Sunday Service orchestration performance at Coachella 2019, which was later revealed to feature on his upcoming album Jesus Is King. West released the album on the 25th of October 2019. It became the first to ever top the Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Top Rap Albums, Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums at the same time. On the 25th of December 2019, West and Sunday Service released Jesus Is Born, containing 19 songs, including several re-workings of older West songs. West released a single titled Wash Us in the Blood on the 30th of June 2020, featuring fellow American rapper and singer Travis Scott, along with the music video, which was set to serve as the lead single from his tenth studio album Donda. However, in September 2020, West stated that he would not be releasing any further music until he is done with his contract with Sony and Universal. On October 16, he released the single Nah Nah Nah. West held several listening parties at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for his upcoming album Donda in the summer of 2021, where he had taken up temporary residence in one of the stadium's locker rooms, converting it into a recording studio to finish the recording. After multiple delays, Donda was released on the 29th of August 2021. West claimed the album was released early without his approval and alleged that Universal had altered the tracklist. He released a deluxe edition of Donda, including five new songs, to streaming services on the 14th of November 2021. On November 20, days after ending their long-running feud, West and rapper Drake confirmed that they would stage the Free Larry Hoover benefit concert on December 9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On the 5th of January 2022, West was announced as one of the 2022 headliners of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Later that month on January 15, West released the first single for his upcoming album Donda 2, Eazy featuring The Game, to be executive produced by American rapper Future. West hosted a listening event for the album at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, on February 22. In April, shortly before Coachella, West pulled out as headlining act, then proceeded to pull out of headlining Rolling Loud. West and The Game performed the single on July 22, marking West's first performance in five months following the low profile he had been keeping since Donda 2 remained unfinished. A day later, despite cancelling as headliner, he appeared at Rolling Loud during Lil Durk's set. In December 2022, after weeks of controversial antisemitic statements, West released a new song, Someday We'll All Be Free, on his Instagram.
Vultures And The Bully Trilogy
On the 25th of August 2023, West was reported to be in the process of recording his eleventh studio album, with two sources close to him stating that the release of new music was imminent. On October 13, Billboard reported that West had finished recording a collaborative studio album with Ty Dolla Sign and was in the process of shipping the album to distributors, adding that the album was originally intended for an official release that day but was ultimately pushed back for unknown reasons and expected to drop within the coming weeks. The eponymous lead single for the album, Vultures featuring Bump J, was released on the 22nd of November 2023. Throughout late 2023 and early 2024, West and Ty Dolla Sign held several concerts previewing songs from the album. In a trailer, West announced that Vultures would be released as a trilogy of albums, with three volumes set to be released on February 9, March 6, and the 5th of April 2024. In January 2024, West co-signed 4Batz and called him his favorite new artist. On the 8th of February 2024, West released the first volume's second single, Talking / Once Again featuring his eldest daughter North. A day later, producer Erick Sermon revealed in an interview that West's upcoming eleventh studio album was titled Y3, while also stating that he had contributed to the album in 2023. West has since denied working on an album titled Y3. On the 10th of February 2024, hours after West held a listening party at UBS Arena, the first volume of the Vultures trilogy, entitled Vultures 1, was officially released. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming West's eleventh consecutive and Ty Dolla Sign's first number one album. Vultures 2 released later that year on August 3. On September 28, during a concert in Haikou, China at the Wuyuan River Stadium, West announced his eleventh solo album Bully, debuting the track Beauty and the Beast. On the 15th of March 2025, he shared a song on his X account, Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine, featuring his daughter North and vocals credited to Sean Combs, resulting in legal action from Kim Kardashian. On March 18, he shared links on X to three versions of Bully, all of which were accompanied by a short film starring his son Saint. He stated that the album was not finished and half of the vocals are AI, and added that he did not intend to release it on streaming services because of French and Jewish record labels. Bully would later be released as the screening version on YouTube for a temporary time. On the 26th of March 2025, West released WW3 under the name Ye onto streaming services, after having been previously teased by Dave Blunts and Adin Ross. A week later, DJ Akademiks announced that West was working on WW3, a collaborative album with Blunts, a few days after they held an interview where West wore a black Ku Klux Klan-inspired outfit and said further controversial remarks. West changed the album's title to Cuck on April 21, and in the following weeks released the singles Cousins and Heil Hitler. After Cuck leaked on the 18th of May 2025, West stated that he was done with antisemitism, and asked God to forgive me for the pain I've caused. He removed pro-Nazi and antisemitic lyrics from the Cuck singles, and on June 22, announced he was changing the album's title to In a Perfect World, before being scrapped. On April 29, West released Donda 2 on streaming services. On May 21, he released the single Alive featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again, as the theme song for his upcoming YZY SZN 10 fashion collection. On June 20, West released a three-track extended play (EP) preview of Bully on streaming services. On June 27, West released Never Stop, an EP by Sean Combs' son Christian King Combs. West served as Never Stop executive producer, and North appears on the song Lonely Roads. The EP's release coincided with the closing arguments of Sean Combs' criminal trial, in which he was charged with racketeering and sex trafficking; West has been an outspoken defender of Combs. On the 3rd of January 2026, after multiple delays, Yeezy updated its website with pre-orders to Bully including multi-colored vinyl, cassette, CD, bundles, and digital download. It was also announced by West's team that the album would no longer feature AI-generated vocals. Bully is set to release on the 20th of March 2026.
The Controversial Persona And Political Run
West has been an outspoken and controversial celebrity throughout his career, receiving criticism from the mainstream media, industry colleagues and entertainers, and three U.S. presidents. His conduct has been characterized as trolling or rage-baiting. In 2024, Damon Dash said: West's a person that pulls triggers... It's one publicity stunt after another. In the 2025 documentary In Whose Name?, West said that his bipolar disorder allows him to portray his controversial statements and actions as performance art. In a 2005 speech, West criticized both the media and the government's racial disparities in their response to Hurricane Katrina, stating on live television George Bush doesn't care about black people. He apologized for the comment in 2010, saying he didn't have the grounds to call [Bush] a racist and later stated in regard to the remark that he was programmed to think from a victimized mentality. West voiced his opposition to abortion in 2013, citing his belief in the Sixth Commandment, and in 2022 deemed abortion genocide and population control of black people. In 2018, West stated that the 400-year enslavement of Africans sounds like a choice, before elaborating that his comment was in reference to mental enslavement and argued for free thought. He later apologized for the comment. In late 2022, West made a series of antisemitic statements, resulting in the termination of his collaborations, sponsorships, and partnerships with Vogue, Universal Music Group, CAA, Balenciaga, Gap, and Adidas. Several former associates of West have claimed that he has espoused antisemitic views since the early 2000s, describing it as a well-known but well-kept secret within his inner circle. In November 2022, West was widely condemned after appearing at a dinner hosted by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago beside Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist. In a subsequent December appearance on Alex Jones's InfoWars, West praised Adolf Hitler, denied the Holocaust, and identified himself as a Nazi. After the interview, West used his Twitter account to post a picture of a swastika entangled in a Star of David, and his account was terminated. In July 2023, Twitter reversed the ban, citing assurances from West that he would not post harmful content. According to a 2023 report published by the Anti-Defamation League, West's antisemitic rhetoric has caused several instances of hate-speech vandalism, harassment, and violence across the United States. In December 2023, weeks before the slated release of his upcoming album, West apologized for his antisemitic remarks in a written statement on Instagram. In a subsequent interview, he said some of the stuff I was saying was true and that Black people cannot be antisemitic because they are Jew. In February 2025, he professed his love for Hitler on Twitter and purchased local advertising during Super Bowl LIX which directed viewers to his website, where he was selling a swastika T-shirt. In May 2025, Rolling Stone wrote that West's social media tirades had turned him into a cultural and business pariah. That month, West renounced antisemitism, though some questioned his sincerity. In November, West met with the Israeli-Moroccan Orthodox rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto to express remorse. He blamed his antisemitism on his struggles with bipolar disorder, which he said would take [my ideas] to an extreme where I would forget about the protection of the people around me, or myself, and expressed a desire to take accountability. In January 2026, West published an open letter in The Wall Street Journal in which he apologized for his antisemitic remarks and behavior. The apology was published as a paid full-page advertisement. West said his outbursts stemmed from manic episodes in which he gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could find, the swastika, as he refused to accept his bipolar disorder diagnosis. In the letter, West denied that he is a Nazi or an antisemite and said that he loves Jewish people. West said he was deeply mortified by [his] actions and pledged to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. On the 4th of July 2020, West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. On July 7, West was interviewed by Forbes about his presidential run, where he announced that his running mate would be Wyoming preacher Michelle Tidball, and that he would run as an independent under the Birthday Party, explaining his decision of why he chose the name, saying Because when we win, it's everybody's birthday. West also said he no longer supported Trump because he hid in [a] bunker during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuing, he said You know? Obama's special. Trump's special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden's not special. Various political pundits speculated that West's presidential run was a publicity stunt to promote his latest music releases. On the 15th of July 2020, official paperwork was filed with the Federal Election Commission for West, under the BDY Party affiliation amid claims that he was preparing to drop out. West held his first rally that weekend, on July 19. West aligned himself with the philosophy of a consistent life ethic, a tenet of Christian democracy. His platform advocated for the creation of a culture of life, endorsing environmental stewardship, supporting the arts, buttressing faith-based organizations, restoring school prayer, providing for a strong national defense, and America First diplomacy. In July 2020, West told Forbes that he is ignorant on issues such as taxes and foreign policy. West conceded on Twitter on the 4th of November 2020. He received 66,365 votes in the 12 states he had ballot access in, receiving an average of 0.32%. Reported write-in votes gave West an additional 3,931 votes across 5 states. In addition, the Roque De La Fuente / Kanye West ticket won 60,160 votes in California (0.34%). According to Reuters, on the 4th of January 2021, a Kanye West-linked publicist pressured a Georgia election worker to confess to bogus charges of election tampering to assist Trump's claims of election interference. In December 2021, The Daily Beast reported that West's presidential campaign received millions of dollars in services from a secret network of Republican operatives, payments to which the committee did not report. According to campaign finance experts, this was done to conceal a connection. West stated his intention to run for president again in the 2024 presidential election, saying at a November 2019 event When I run for president in 2024, we would've created so many jobs that I'm not going to run, I'm going to walk. He was met with laughter from the audience. In response to a request for additional information from the Federal Election Commission regarding the creation of a presidential exploratory committee, West's representatives emphasized that he has not decided whether to become a candidate for president in the 2024 election and refused to file additional paperwork with the commission. West officially launched his presidential campaign in November 2022. West claimed to have asked former president Donald Trump to be his running mate; according to West, Trump was caught [...] off-guard by the request and warned him of losing if he decided to run. In October 2023, an attorney for West said that he is not a candidate for office in 2024.