Booking Kanye West

Kanye West Biography

The singer and performer Kanye West was born in 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Chicago, Illinois. West grew up in a middle-class household with his mother, who served as Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University. Kanye’s mother’s professional obligations brought the young man to China at one point, where she participated in an exchange program for a short period of time, although Kanye returned to Chicago for his more formative years of upbringing.

When Kanye was a teenager, he began to embrace the local-hop scene. His earliest attempts at composition during this time were actually sold to other artists in later years. When he was only thirteen, Kanye convinced his mother to provide funds for some studio time, and he began to record his own music. After graduating from high school, Kanye briefly attended the American Academy of Art, and then Chicago State University, but within a year he left his studies to pursue career as a musician full-time.

Kanye West’s earliest gigs were as a producer and writer. Throughout the mid 1990’s, West developed a style that placed him in demand for such high-profile artists as Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, and Ludacris. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that Kanye signed with Roc-A-Fella Records as an artist, and another four years before he released his debut album, The College Dropout. The debut was an enormous success, both critically and commercially, spawning the mainstream hits: “Through the Wire,” “All Falls Down,” and “Jesus Walks.”

The College Dropout set the stage for a career which has placed Kanye West among the era’s most notable artists. Additional albums include: Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and Watch the Throne (2011.) Notable hits from Kanye include: “Gold Digger” (with Jamie Foxx); “Stronger”; “Good Life” (featuring T-Pain); “Love Lockdown,” “Heartless,” “All of the Lights” (with Rihanna); “Otis,” “Niggas in Paris” (with Jay-Z); “Slow Jamz” (with Twista and Jamie Foxx); “Run This Town” (with Jay-Z and Rihanna); and “Forever.”

Kanye West is today considered one of the world’s most successful artists, with more than twenty Grammy Awards under his belt and nearly 100 million sales and downloads combined.  West’s additional business ventures - which include a restaurant chain, a fashion line, and philanthropic endeavors - have also made him a highly recognizable and well-respected public figure. Kanye West continues to perform and record; his most recent album, Yeezus, arrived in 2013.