Kanye before Kanye

 

Although not all hip hop artists come from the ghetto (that would be an obvious over-simplification), most of them don’t come from the Upper East Side either. Beyond the specific Gangsta rap sub-genre, the art form is often associated with the hurdles of disenfranchised communities fighting for a better life. Such is famously the case with Jay-Z, who escaped a drug bust by chance in his teens (and therefore lived to tell the tale), Dr. Dre, who was equally famously straight outta Compton (a particularly tough Los Angeles neighborhood), or even Eminem, who also famously grew up poor with a single mother in Detroit — although not in a trailer park, like the film 8 Mile might suggest…

Kanye West‘s childhood was quite different from all that. His father, a former Black Panther who left the family early, was a noted journalist. Meanwhile, his mother was a University professor and Chair of the English department at Chicago State University… Not quite the humble beginnings most rappers of his generation (and beyond) went through, and everyone thought as much: determined to get into the music industry nonetheless, a young Kanye figured producing would be the way forward. And produce he did, for artists including Nas, Eminem or Jay-Z… Work with the latter on The Blueprint proved to be a stepping stone for the young artist, who was largely credited for helping Mr. Carter create one of the most pivotal albums of his career…

But the goal remained unchanged — and unmet: become a hip hop artist himself. After meeting with every major record label looking for a performing contract, Roc-A-Fella Records reluctantly signed him in fear of losing their star producer. Following a brutal car accident in 2002, West got the inspiration for his first song, “Through The Wire”, literally sung through the wires that had been placed in his mouth following reconstructive surgery. The rest is history: from his very first album, it became evident to everyone involved that the man, no matter his not-so-humble beginnings, had all the makings of hip hop superstar…

Comedian Dave Chappelle once recalled first meeting West before that transition to performing had taken place and as he was still “just” a producer. As the pair were watching yet-to-be-released Chappelle show sketches, West took a call and explained to the person on the other hand what he was busy doing, concluding with “because my life is dope and I do dope sh*t”. That was before he was famous…