Kanye West (first name pronounced /ˈkɑn.jeɪ/) (born Kanye Omari West, June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an African-American hip hop producer and rapper from Chicago, Illinois.
After attending Columbia College, a local art school in Chicago, and then Chicago State University, West dropped out and began working on his music career. Even while attending school, West produced for local acts. He gained some fame by producing hit singles for major hip-hop/R&B artists, including Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Brandy, Talib Kweli, Hugh "MC Son" Ryan, Ludacris and John Legend. West himself worked on his solo album for a long period of time, having the release pushed back on multiple occasions.
West became a major name in hip-hop production following the release of Jay-Z's critically-acclaimed album The Blueprint, which featured four tracks produced by him, most notably the lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the Prodigy and Nas diss " Takeover." Due to his appearance and overall style, West struggled to find a way to get his own voice on record. Jay-Z has admitted that Roc-A-Fella was reluctant to support West as a rapper at first, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies put him aside because he was not a former street hustler and did not wear the orthodox hip-hop apparel. He was therefore not marketable in the way other rappers were.
A car crash on October 23, 2002 left his jaw fractured in three places. This also opened his eyes to the meaning of life to him. It was the inspiriation for his first single "Through the Wire." He recorded it two weeks after the crash while his mouth was still wired shut.