Kanye West facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kanye West
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
West in 2009
|
|
| Born |
Kanye Omari West
June 8, 1977 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
|
| Other names |
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Organization |
|
| Spouse(s) | |
| Partner(s) | Bianca Censori (2022–present) |
| Children | 4, including North |
| Parent(s) |
|
| Relatives |
|
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Labels |
|
| Signature | |
 |
|
Ye (born Kanye Omari West on June 8, 1977) is a famous American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. He is one of the most well-known people in hip hop. He is known for changing his musical style often.
Ye is one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold 160 million records. He has won 24 Grammy Awards, which is one of the highest numbers ever. He has won the most Grammys for any hip hop artist, tied with Jay-Z. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Music
Ye was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. When he was three, his parents divorced, and he moved to Chicago, Illinois, with his mother. His father, Ray West, was a photojournalist and later became a Christian counselor. Ye's mother, Donda C. West, was an English professor and later became his manager.
Ye grew up in a middle-class family. When he was 10, he moved with his mother to Nanjing, China, where she taught at a university. He was the only foreign student in his class and quickly learned the language.
Ye showed a talent for art early on. He started writing poetry at age five and began rapping in third grade. By seventh grade, he was making music and selling it to other artists. He met producer No I.D., who became his friend and mentor. After high school, Ye went to art school and then studied English at Chicago State University. At age 20, he left college to focus on his music career.
Musical Career and Success
.jpg)
After leaving college, Ye started producing music for artists in Chicago. He became an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records. He helped produce albums like Jay-Z's The Blueprint (2001). Later, he signed with the label as a recording artist.
Ye's first album, The College Dropout (2004), was highly praised. It included the hit song "Slow Jamz," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He had four other number-one singles: "Gold Digger" (2005), "Stronger" (2007), "E.T." (2011), and "Carnival" (2024).
His next albums, Late Registration (2005) and Graduation (2007), both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Graduation became his most successful album at the time. Many of his albums, like 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and The Life of Pablo (2016), sold millions of copies.
More recently, albums like Ye (2018), Jesus Is King (2019), and Donda (2021) also debuted at number one. In 2023, Ye began working on new music, including a collaborative album with Ty Dolla Sign. They released the song "Vultures" in November 2023.
Musical Style
Ye's music career is known for constantly changing styles and sounds.
On his first album, The College Dropout (2004), he created his unique style. This included complex hip-hop beats and lyrics about everyday topics. He talked about things like education, money, self-awareness, and his experiences in the music industry. This was different from the "gangsta rap" style that was popular then.
Over time, Ye has explored many different music genres. He has taken inspiration from chamber pop on Late Registration (2005), arena rock on Graduation (2007), and electronic pop on 808s & Heartbreak (2008). He also used sounds from acid-house and industrial rap on Yeezus (2013). More recently, he has explored gospel and Christian rap on albums like The Life of Pablo (2016), Jesus Is King (2019), and Donda (2021).
Other Ventures
Fashion Design
Early in his career, Ye showed a strong interest in fashion. In 2006, he launched his own clothing line. He also collaborated with shoe brands. In 2007, he released a special sneaker with A Bathing Ape. In 2009, he worked with Nike to create his own shoe, the Nike Air Yeezy. He was the first non-athlete to get a shoe deal with Nike. He also designed shoes for Louis Vuitton and Giuseppe Zanotti.
In 2009, Ye interned at the Italian fashion brand Fendi. In 2011, he launched his women's fashion label at Paris Fashion Week. In 2013, Adidas confirmed a new shoe collaboration with Ye, leading to the popular Adidas Yeezy Boosts. In 2015, he launched a Yeezy clothing line with Adidas. However, Adidas ended their partnership with Ye in 2022. He also signed a deal with GAP for Yeezy Gap in 2021, but he ended that deal in 2022.
Business Ventures
In 2004, Ye started his own record label and production company called GOOD Music. He launched it with Sony BMG. Early artists on the label included John Legend and Common. GOOD Music has released many successful albums. In 2015, Ye named Pusha T as the new president of GOOD Music.
In 2012, Ye started a creative content company called Donda, named after his late mother. He said the company would "make products and experiences that people want." Donda focuses on design and has a minimalistic style in its projects.
Ye also showed interest in architecture. In 2018, he announced he was starting an architecture firm called Yeezy Home. This firm would work on affordable, prefabricated homes as part of a social housing project.
In 2015, Ye became a co-owner of the music streaming service Tidal. This service offers high-quality audio and music videos.
Philanthropy
In 2003, Ye and his mother started the Kanye West Foundation in Chicago. Its goal was to help young people get music education and improve literacy. In 2008, after his mother passed away, the foundation was renamed The Dr. Donda West Foundation. It stopped operating in 2011. In 2013, Ye and his friend Rhymefest founded Donda's House, Inc., a program to help at-risk youth in Chicago.
Ye has also helped with disaster relief. He participated in benefit concerts for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In 2020, he donated $2 million to the families of George Floyd and other victims of police brutality.
Acting and Filmmaking
Ye has made small appearances in movies like State Property 2 (2005) and The Love Guru (2008). He also voiced a character named "Kenny West" in the animated TV show The Cleveland Show.
In 2009, he starred in a short film called We Were Once a Fairytale. In 2010, he wrote, directed, and starred in the musical short film Runaway. This film featured music from his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. In 2012, he wrote and directed another short film, Cruel Summer. A documentary about Ye, filmed over 21 years and titled Jeen-Yuhs, was released by Netflix in 2022.
Presidential Campaigns
2020 Election
On July 4, 2020, Ye announced on Twitter that he would run for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. He said his running mate would be Michelle Tidball, and he would run as an independent under the "Birthday Party." He explained the name by saying, "Because when we win, it's everybody's 'birthday'."
Ye's platform included supporting the arts, helping faith-based organizations, bringing back school prayer, and having a strong national defense. He received 66,365 votes in the 12 states where he was on the ballot.
2024 Election
Ye has also talked about running for president again in the 2024 United States presidential election. In November 2019, he joked, "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." In November 2022, he officially announced his intention to run in 2024. However, in October 2023, his lawyer stated that he was not a candidate for office in 2024.
Personal Life
In August 2021, Ye legally changed his name from "Kanye Omari West" to "Ye," with no middle or last name. He said he did this for "personal reasons." He had used "Ye" as a nickname for several years before. In a 2018 interview, he explained that "ye" means "you" in the Bible, saying, "So, I'm you. I'm us. It's us."
Relationships and Family
Kim Kardashian
In April 2012, Ye started dating reality TV star Kim Kardashian. They had been friends for a long time. They got engaged in October 2013 and married in Florence, Italy, in May 2014. Their wedding was widely covered by the media.
Ye and Kim Kardashian have four children: North West (born June 2013), Saint West (born December 2015), Chicago West (born January 2018), and Psalm West (born May 2019). In 2015, they traveled to Jerusalem to have North baptized.
In 2021, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Ye, citing "irreconcilable differences." They agreed to share custody of their children. Their divorce was finalized in November 2022.
Other Relationships
Ye was engaged to designer Alexis Phifer from 2006 to 2008. They ended their engagement amicably. He also dated model Amber Rose from 2008 to 2010. In January 2023, it was reported that Ye had a private ceremony with Australian architect Bianca Censori, who works for his Yeezy brand. This ceremony was not legally binding.
Musical Impact
Ye is considered one of the most important and praised music artists of the 21st century. Music critics, other artists, and cultural figures have praised his work. In 2014, NME magazine named him the third most influential artist in music.
Many hip-hop artists, including Drake, Nicki Minaj, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, and Chance the Rapper, have said that Ye influenced their music. Artists from other genres, like Adele, Lorde, and Fall Out Boy, have also named Ye as an influence.
Awards and Achievements
Ye is one of the highest-certified artists in the U.S. for digital singles. He had the most digital song certifications by a male artist in the 2000s. He was also the fourth best-selling digital songs artist of the 2000s in the U.S.
Ye has been nominated for 75 Grammys and has won 24 of them. He has been the most nominated artist at five Grammy ceremonies. In 2008, he became the first solo artist to have his first three albums nominated for Album of the Year.
Ye has also won a Webby Award for Artist of the Year and an award from The Recording Academy. In 2015, he became the third rap artist to win the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
His first six solo albums were included on Rolling Stone magazine's 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Many of his albums have been named among the best of their time by various magazines and critics.
Discography
|
Solo Studio Albums
Collaborative Studio Albums
Compilation Albums
Demo Albums
Visual Albums
|
Videography
- The College Dropout Video Anthology (2004)
- Late Orchestration (2006)
- VH1 Storytellers (2010)
- Runaway (2010)
- Jesus Is King (2019)
- Jeen-Yuhs (2022)
Tours
|
Headlining Tours
|
Supporting Tours
|
Books
- Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar (2007)
- Thank You and You're Welcome (2009)
- Through the Wire: Lyrics & Illuminations (2009)
- Glow in the Dark (2009)
See Also
In Spanish: Kanye West para niños
- Album era
- List of Christian hip hop artists
