Kanye West is arguably the most polarizing figure in modern pop culture. He constantly reinvents himself, shifting from soulful beats to industrial rap and high fashion. While his headlines often spark controversy, his artistic journey remains undeniable. He changed the sound of hip-hop completely in the early 2000s. Beyond the music, his life story features surprising twists and humble beginnings. Consequently, even his biggest critics admit his influence is impossible to ignore. Let’s look at the strange path of the artist now known as Ye.
Kanye West
He actually lived in China for a year when he was just ten years old. His mother taught at Nanjing University, so he learned the language quickly.
Before he became a billionaire, Kanye West worked as a sales assistant at The Gap. He rapped about this humble job years later in his song Spaceship.
Surprisingly, he worked as a telemarketer selling travel packages to pay for his demo tapes. He often used different voices on the phone to entertain himself during shifts.
A horrific car accident in 2002 left him with a shattered jaw wired completely shut. Remarkably, he recorded his debut single Through the Wire while his mouth was still immobilized.
He dropped out of Chicago State University at age 20 to pursue his musical dreams. This risky decision eventually inspired the title of his groundbreaking debut album, The College Dropout.
The artist officially changed his legal name to simply Ye in 2021. He explained that this word appears frequently in the Bible and means “you.”
He possessed a deep passion for visual arts before he ever focused on making beats. In fact, he attended the American Academy of Art on a partial scholarship.
Legally, Kanye West cannot retire from the music industry due to his specific contract terms. He revealed in tweets that he must produce music for his label forever.
He and designer Virgil Abloh once interned together at the luxury fashion brand Fendi. They earned just $500 (475 EUR) a month while fetching coffee for executives in Rome.
His classic song Jesus Walks was rejected by almost every major record label. Executives feared that a song about faith would never play on the radio.
He holds a massive appreciation for the Japanese animated film Akira. Consequently, the movie heavily influenced the set design for his stadium tours and music videos.
At one point, he developed a video game titled Only One to honor his late mother. The concept involved her flying through the gates of heaven as an angel.
Michael Jackson personally called Kanye West to ask about the jacket he wore in the Stronger video. The King of Pop was a secret fan of his visual style.
He famously gifted his ex-wife Kim Kardashian ten Burger King franchises as a wedding present. This unusual business gift highlights his practical approach to building family wealth.
His production style originally relied on speeding up old soul samples to a high pitch. Critics and fans eventually labeled this unique sound “chipmunk soul.”
