Why everybody is talking about producer-turned-rapper Kanya West

Jet, Jan 31, 2005 by Margena A. Christian

Critics might not want to hear this, but don't say he didn't tell you so. Kanye West proclaimed his debut album, The College Dropout, a "classic." Ten Grammy nominations later, people believe him.

"Before the album came out, [critics] were giving me fours," Kanye says. "They thought they were doing me a service like, 'Oh, yeah, he's a producer. That's good enough.' I'm like no, that's not good enough, and they're like, 'What is wrong with you?' Okay, ten Grammy nominations later, you saw what was wrong with me. Y'all was sleeping."

The College Dropout may get your attention, but it is Kanye who keeps it. A self-proclaimed fashion lover, the designer conscious, preppy rap star is an unlikely artist at Roc-A-Fella Records, one of the hottest labels around.

He dresses like Carlton from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." He dispels the legend of the gangsta rapper with the bling bling.

His well-constructed concept album offers a comical look at everything from believing that a college degree will guarantee a job to unpolished women pulling it together in the hopes of landing a man with money. He also touches on Black sororities and fraternities--his mom is ah AKA--and how he is using his "arrogance as the steam to power my dreams."

His music speaks simply, but for those who want to really dissect it, it can be interpreted in multiple ways.

"This is what I tried to explain to people before I came out with the records I was coming with," he says. "I said this is something that is going to be around forever and will be hailed as the curve of where music should be. Imagine seeing a person who everybody said couldn't rap and going up and telling somebody that. They are going to say, 'This dude is crazy.' Now, one year later that crazy one is a genius, but genius is crazy in itself. I always say you have to be a little postal to push the envelope."

Through The Wire, Slow Jamz (featuring rapper Twista and actor/comedian Jamie Foxx) and All Falls Down won him street credibility. The New Workout Plan showed his sense of humor and the inspirational Jesus Walks had people turning their life over to Christ.

"I'm getting away with things that you're not supposed to be able to get away with in a record," he says. "I'm a representation of real people. I speak for what everyday people go through. I'm like a class clown too. I compare my style a lot to Dave Chappelle, but I bring up really serious issues that I might cover up with a joke so that we laugh to keep from crying."

As one of the most accomplished young producers to emerge in recent years, Kanye is no newcomer.

He attended Chicago's The American Academy of Art on a scholarship, but transferred to Chicago State University as an English major. A short while later, he dropped out of school to pursue music. Then, The College Dropout was conceived.

"A lot of people stay in school just for their parents, but you have to make your own life," he maintains. "You choose your own destiny and that's what the album was saying. Choose your own path."

His production prowess got his foot in the door. His boardsmanship would become noted for speeding up vocals on R & B songs so much that it sounds like chipmunks.

In 1997, he got his start by co-producing songs on Mase's album Harlem World (JET, Aug. 23, 2004). Things came full circle when Mase, now a minister, reunited last year with Kanye for a remix of Jesus Walks.

Rapper Jay-Z, now the president of Def Jam Records, first told the world that Kanye is "a genius." He's written Jigga cuts like Encore, Izzo (H.O.V.A.), Take-over and '03 Bonnie & Clyde (featuring Beyonce); Alicia Keys' You Don't Know My Name; Twista's Overnight Celebrity and Slow Jamz featuring rapper Twista and actor-comedian Jamie Foxx); Ludacris' Stand Up; Scarface's Guess Who's Back (featuring Jay-Z and Beanie Sigel); Slum Village's Selfish; and Talib Kweli's Get By.

After making hits for everyone else, Kanye thought he'd make an album full for himself. Many thought he should stick to producing because his rhymes were lame. But Kanye knew his music would eventually redefine hip hop.

"I can call it," explains Kanye. "I say what I'm going to do and then I do it. If I said I was going to do something and it didn't happen, I wouldn't be arrogant, I would just be wrong. But since I say I'm going to do it and then it happens, then I'm arrogant."

Dr. Donda West, Kanye's mother and general manager, said, "He's always been a very confident young man. I would like people to know that he can back up what it is that he is talking about. That's a gift from God. Both of us agree."

Born in Atlanta, Kanye grew up in Chicago. His success has brought added interest to the Windy City. Crain's Chicago Business acknowledged that major record labels and private investors are now combing Chitown, hoping to find the next Kanye West of Twista, whom West helped.

Damon Dash, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, signed Kanye to The Roc in 2002. That same year a near-fatal car accident almost shut Kanye out the game.

After falling asleep at the wheel of his Lexus, the accident left his left jaw broken in three places. Sitting on the hospital bed, Kanye said that he knew that God left him here for a reason.