"I feel like I'm too busy writing history to read It" -Kanye West

Obviously, I miss the old Kanye so I’m trying to figure out where we went out with the old and in with the new. Not entirely sure that I can say Kanye is an entire genre on his own but since this is my blog and it’s Kanye we are all just going to roll with it. Kanye is influential as hell (to say the least). With twenty-one Grammy Awards and being third on Billboard’s “Top Ten Producers of the Decade,” he’s kind of a big deal. He didn’t just pop out of nowhere all of a sudden.  

His rise to fame was a long time coming, probably from his birth in 1977 but we’re going to go with when he dropped out of Chicago State University in pursuit of a music career. West’s music debut came about in 1996 when he produced an eight-track album for a fellow Chicago rapper. Kanye West got his first important break in 2000, working as a producer for various artists signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. He produced Jay Z’s “This Can’t Be Life” by speeding up the drum beat taken from Dr. Dre’s “Xxplosive”. His biggest influence in music is Wu-Tang Clan and RZA in particular and his mentor is Dion Wilson or No I.D., the godfather of Chicago rap and vice-president of Def Jam Recordings. 

In typical Yeezy fashion, producing wasn’t enough for him so he decided to make the switch to becoming a solo artist/rapper. Initially, Kanye struggled with people not wanting to back him as a solo artist (cue passive aggressive tweets several years later). Roc-A-Fella Records (who he was working for as a producer) refused to sign him, because he was not marketable as a rapper. Nevertheless, his solo career began when he rapped the third verse of Jay Z’s “The Bounce” recorded on “The Blueprint” and he was eventually signed to Roc-A-Fella Records.  

Alright, the producing stuff is cool but the real Kanye we know and love as a rapper is what all of us are here for. We start off the Kanye with the College Dropout album. This is the first Kanye era we learn to love (think of that infamous Dropout Bear). The dropout bear really needs to make a comeback @KANYEWEST!! Anyways, this is the time where we finally start to see mainstream success. College Dropout was Rolling Stone’s Album of the Year in 2004 (what a way to prove to the haters that you can be a solo artist). Basically, if you were cool, you knew about Kanye. Not like actually cool but like congrats on being basic cool. Through the Wire is the star of the show on this album. Through the Wire is a badass track that was birthed from a near fatal car accident that led Kanye to have his jaw wired shut. Hate to see it, but love the song so I just keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason. It is absolutely possible for great things to come out of bad situations.  

Fast forward a couple of years and we find ourselves in the Late Registration Era. It’s hard to get to the top but even harder to stay on top. This is where you have to have mad respect for Kanye even if you don’t like him. His second album Late Registration, was just as good if not better than the first. The album had five singles on it that made it onto Billboard’s Top 100 (that’s a lot). Gold Digger, a personal favorite made it to number one. Another Album of the Year in 2005, some other super cool awards, and three Grammys.  

Moving on, 2007 (September of 2007) brought us a super Graduation. Graduation is a pillar in the history of Kanye. Everyone, and I literally mean everyone, knows about Graduation. If you're drawing a blank, think Stronger and Can’t Tell Me Nothing. West explains that a lot of the music on this album was inspired by a wide array of musicians. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and Bobby Cash were mentioned. If you're anything like me, you're probably thinking "wtf?" This completely took me by surprise. Looking back at it, knowing what I know now, I sort of see it. He really did his research and it reflects in the depth of his music. Graduation took two years to record and debuted at number one on Billboard 200, during its first week of life and has since been certified double platinum.  

Shortly after the release of Graduation, tragedy struck the West family. Kanye's life was forever changed by the sudden death of his mother in November of 2007. West's mom, Donda West, lost her life due to complications from cosmetic surgery. This would affect any artist but Kanye and his mother were exceptionally close.  As expected, this had a huge impact on Kanye's next album, 808s & Heartbreak. This one is West's fourth studio album and possibly my favorite one. It was released in November of 2008, so I would've been eleven years old (that's insane). Anyways, this one also debuted at number one on Billboard 200. The hit singles Love Lockdown and Heartless are the two you'll likely be the most familiar with.  

The fifth album also came out in November (two years later). My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was named best album of 2010 and definitely deserved it. MBDTF was the baby of Kanye's 'self-imposed exile.' This era of Kanye is when he starts to become more and more vocal about social issues (race, excess, etc.). Have to respect Kanye for using his platform. Plus, the music is just really, really good. Again, we have an album that topped Billboard 200. POWER is my favorite track on this album. Personally, I think this is where West starts to travel down a very different road but most would still consider My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to be old Kanye.  

Yeezy's sixth album, Yeezus, changed everything. It was released in June of 2o13 by Def Jam Recordings. There is a ton of controversy over this one. A lot of critics claim that it is Kanye's best album but there is a lot of discord. Yeezus did not sell as well as some of the previous records but it did win several awards and also made it onto Billboard 200. Whether Yeezus is the best album or not, the track Black Skinhead is downright iconic.  

Last, and honestly probably least, is The Life of Pablo. This is the most recent studio album. It came out in 2016 (but recordings took place from 2013-2016) and it is so nothing like previous albums. Don’t get me wrong, it's not bad. I just miss the old Kanye. Of course, it still went platinum and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. 

There is definitely stuff before, after, and in-between Kanye recording his seven studio albums but it’s a great way to look back on the genre history (if we can even call it that) of Mr. West.