Kanye West
Kanye Omari West was born on the 8th of June 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents divorced when he was three years old, and he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Ray later became a Christian counselor and opened the Good Water Store and Café in Lexington Park, Maryland, using startup capital from his son. West's mother, Donda C. West, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as his manager.
West attended Polaris School for Individual Education in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois. At age 10, he moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she taught at Nanjing University as a Fulbright Scholar. He was the only foreigner in his class but settled in well and quickly picked up the language, though he has since forgotten most of it. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, I got A's and B's. He demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age, beginning to write poetry when he was five years old. West started rapping in the third grade and began making musical compositions in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.
After graduating from high school, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art in 1997 and began taking painting classes. Shortly after, he transferred to Chicago State University to study English. At age 20, he dropped out to pursue his musical career. This decision greatly displeased his mother, who was also a professor at the university, although she would later accept the decision.
West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, creating beats primarily for burgeoning local artists in the Chicago area. He received his first official production credits at age nineteen, producing eight tracks on Down to Earth, the 1996 debut album of Chicago-based underground rapper Grav. In 1998, West became the first producer signed to the management-production company Hip Hop Since 1978, founded by Gee Roberson and Kyambo Hip-Hop Joshua. For a time, West acted as a ghost producer for Deric D-Dot Angelettie.
In 2000, West began producing for artists on Roc-A-Fella Records as an in-house producer. He is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with extensive contributions to his 2001 album The Blueprint, which Rolling Stone ranked among their list of greatest hip-hop albums. West produced songs for label cohorts such as Beanie Sigel and Freeway, but also produced beats used by artists on other labels including Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson.
A 2002 car accident shattered his jaw, inspiring him to record Through the Wire at Record Plant Studios two weeks after being admitted to the hospital with his jaw still wired shut. The song was included on his debut mixtape Get Well Soon..., released in December 2002. Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella as a recording artist. His debut studio album, The College Dropout, was eventually released in February 2004, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
West recorded the remainder of The College Dropout in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. It leaked months before its release date, allowing West to remix, remaster, and revise the album before its official launch. He added new verses, string arrangements, gospel choirs, and improved drum programming. The album received critical acclaim and was nominated for top album of the year by American Music Awards and Billboard. Slow Jamz, his second single featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx, became the three musicians' first No. 1 hit.
West invested $2 million and took over a year to make his second album, Late Registration. He collaborated with American film score composer Jon Brion, who served as co-executive producer for several tracks. The album sold over 2.3 million units in the United States alone by the end of 2005. On the 7th of November 2006, West apologized publicly during his performance as support act for U2's Vertigo concert in Brisbane after arguing he should have won Best Video at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards.
His fourth album, 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 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.
In January 2007, West's first sneaker collaboration was released, a special-edition Bapesta from A Bathing Ape. In 2009, West collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, the Air Yeezys, becoming the first non-athlete to be given a shoe deal with the company. In January 2009, he introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton during Paris Fashion Week. The line was released in summer 2009.
On the 3rd of December 2013, Adidas officially confirmed a new shoe collaboration deal with West. After months of anticipation and rumors, West confirmed the release of the Adidas Yeezy Boosts. In 2015, West unveiled a Yeezy clothing line, premiering in collaboration with Adidas early that year. In June 2016, Adidas announced a new long-term contract with Kanye West that extended the Yeezy line to a number of stores, planning to sell sports performance products like basketball, football, and soccer.
Adidas terminated the partnership with West in October 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks. In May 2021, West signed a 10-year deal linking Yeezy with GAP to create Yeezy Gap, however, in September 2022, West announced that he was ending the deal. West also founded GOOD Music in 2004, which has released ten albums certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America.
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. 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 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. 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 April 2012, West began dating reality television star Kim Kardashian, with whom he had already been long-time friends. West and Kardashian became engaged in October 2013, and married at Fort di Belvedere in Florence in May 2014. Their private ceremony was subject to widespread mainstream coverage, which West took issue with. The couple have four children: North West born June 2013, Saint West born December 2015, Chicago West born via surrogate in January 2018, and Psalm West born via surrogate in May 2019.
In January 2021, CNN reported that the couple were discussing divorce. A month later, Kardashian filed for divorce, with the couple citing irreconcilable differences, agreeing to joint custody of their children, and declining spousal support from each other. The divorce settlement was finalized in November 2022, and West was ordered to pay $200,000 in monthly child support and be responsible for half of the children's medical, educational, and security expenses.
In January 2023, it was reported that West had informally married Australian architect Bianca Censori, who works for West's Yeezy brand, in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills. The ceremony had no legal standing; the couple did not file for a marriage license. In April 2025, West claimed in the song Bianca that Censori had left him following his controversial Twitter comments, but shared a photo later that month showing that they were still together.
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Common questions
When and where was Kanye West born?
Kanye Omari West was born on the 8th of June 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. He moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois when he was three years old after his parents divorced.
What happened during Kanye West's 2002 car accident?
A 2002 car accident shattered Kanye West's jaw, inspiring him to record Through the Wire at Record Plant Studios two weeks after being admitted to the hospital with his jaw still wired shut. The song was included on his debut mixtape Get Well Soon..., released in December 2002.
How many children does Kanye West have and what are their names?
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have four children: North West born June 2013, Saint West born December 2015, Chicago West born via surrogate in January 2018, and Psalm West born via surrogate in May 2019.
Why did Adidas terminate its partnership with Kanye West?
Adidas terminated the partnership with Kanye West in October 2022 due to his antisemitic remarks. These statements resulted in the termination of collaborations, sponsorships, and partnerships with Vogue, Universal Music Group, CAA, Balenciaga, Gap, and Adidas.
When did Kanye West announce he would run for president?
On the 4th of July 2020, Kanye West announced on Twitter that he would be running in the 2020 presidential election. He received 66,365 votes in the 12 states where he had ballot access, receiving an average of 0.32%.