From his bilingual childhood to his controversial political beliefs, this is the untold truth
about Kanye West:
15.
Young Life
Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1977.
Kanye is said to mean “only one” in Swahili or “let’s give” in Igbo.
His parents separated when he was three, and he and his mom moved to Chicago.
His dad, Ray West, was one of the initial African-American photojournalists working
for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was a member of the Black Panther Party.
He became a Christian counselor later on and opened a store in Maryland.
West’s mom, Donda, was an English professor at Clark Atlanta University and became the
head of Chicago State University’s English Department.
She eventually became Kanye’s manager.
14.
Schooling
West discovered his passion for the arts at a young age.
When he was only five years old, he started writing poetry.
He began rapping when he was in third grade.
By the seventh grade, he was already constructing musical compositions and selling them.
When Kanye was thirteen, he wrote a rap titled “Green Eggs and Ham,” and he convinced
his mother to pay for him so that he could record it at a studio.
Kanye met producer No I.D., aka Ernest Dion Wilson, shortly after, and they quickly became
close friends.
West learned how to program sampled beats from Wilson, and he was gifted his first sampler
at fifteen years old.
When he graduated high school, Kanye was awarded a scholarship for the American Academy of
Art in Chicago.
He started attending painting classes; but, soon after, he transferred to Chicago State
University for English instead.
However, West concluded that he didn’t have time to pursue music with a busy college schedule.
So, at the age of twenty, he left school.
Although this upset his mom, she later stated, “It was drummed into my head that college
is the ticket to a good life… but some career goals don’t require college.
For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout, it was more about having the guts
to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you.”
13.
Mother
Even highly successful celebrities face extreme hardships, and Kanye West is no exception.
He was devastated in November 2007 when his mother, Donda, passed away.
She had undergone several cosmetic procedures the day before it happened.
Donda walked out of the medical center seemingly fine, and although she was advised to remain
in professional care, she went home instead, accompanied by an “experienced nurse.”
However, she collapsed the following day after experiencing “a sore throat [and] pain and
tightening in her chest.”
There was apparently no complications from the surgery, and it has been noted that his
mother might have taken too much medication afterward.
However, what truly happened is a mystery since the report was inconclusive.
Since then, the doctor, Jan Adams, lost his business, and his reputation is permanently
marred.
Kanye has blamed himself for the incident, later stating, “If I had never moved to
L.A. she’d [still] be alive…
I don’t want to go far into it because it will bring me to tears.”
He has also said that he wants to “forgive and stop hating.”
West asked his friend for advice on his upcoming album, for which he planned to use a photograph
of the doctor.
Kanye wanted Jan’s face on the cover as a representation of forgiveness; his friend
suggested the title “LOVE EVERYONE,” for the record.
12.
Kim And Kids
Everyone knows that Kanye and Kim are a power couple nowadays.
But, how did their romance blossom?
After seeing a photo of Kim and Paris Hilton, West realized that he wanted to be with her.
They met for the first time in 2003; but, Kim was with Ray-J at the time, and nothing
happened.
In 2009, his verse in “Knock You Down” stated, “You were always the cheerleader
of my dreams/ Seem to only date the head of football teams…
We were never meant to be, baby we just happened,” which many believed to be about the Kardashian
star.
A year later, Kanye made an appearance on Kourtney and Kim Take New York, and Kim said
that they’d been friends for a long time.
But, in 2011, she tied the knot with Kris Humphries, which many think was only for publicity
reasons.
About a year after, Kanye rapped in the song “Cold,” “I had fell in love with Kim/
Around the same time she had fell in love with him,” and when the track came out,
the two had allegedly already started dating.
Plus, Kim and Humphries only lasted seventy-two days.
As time went on, the lovebirds got closer, and their relationship became public knowledge.
Then, in December 2012, they announced that they were expecting a child.
Kim gave birth to North in June 2013.
She and Kanye became engaged a few months later and got married in May 2014.
They had their second baby, Saint, in 2015.
Then, in January 2018, the duo had Chicago West via a surrogate.
11.
Businesses
Kanye West is most widely known for his career in music; however, he has had numerous other
business ventures as well.
In 2004, he founded GOOD Music, a record label he established along with Sony BMG.
But, in 2015, West made Pusha T GOOD Music’s new president.
West also opened a couple of Fatburger restaurants in Chicago.
In 2012, he announced his plan to create DONDA, a company named after his late mother.
West stated that the organization would “pick up where Steve Jobs left off,” and added
that it would be “a design company which will galvanize amazing thinkers in a creative
space to bounce their dreams and ideas… [with the] goal to make products and experiences
that people want and can afford.”
West has remained covert about DONDA operations; but, they’ve worked on two film projects,
a cosmetics line, and DONDA music.
Kanye is also a co-owner of Tidal, a music streaming service.
He has even collaborated with various brands, like Nike and Louis Vuitton, to make sneakers
and apparel as well as launched the Yeezy Season 1 through 7 lines.
His footwear includes his most popular sneaker, the Boost; people have camped outside stores
for hours to secure one of these sought-after pairs of sneakers.
More recently, West claimed that he wants to “build a flying-car factory in Chicago
with the help of Tesla alums.”
10.
Evel Kanyevel
In 2006, Kanye faced a bit of trouble from America’s favorite daredevil, Evel Knievel.
In his video for “Touch the Sky,” he portrayed “Evel Kanyevel,” who makes a failed attempt
to jump over a canyon… sound familiar?
Well, the real Evel didn’t appreciate the parody, probably since it highlighted his
most significant failure.
So, he filed a lawsuit against Kanye.
He claimed copyright infringement, calling the music video clip “vulgar and offensive.”
He said it damaged his reputation and added, “That video that Kanye West put out is the
most worthless piece of crap I’ve ever seen in my life, and he uses my image to catapult
himself on the public.”
So, West traveled to Florida to speak with Knievel in person.
They ended up settling the case out of court.
9.
Travel Site
We already discussed the majority of Kanye’s business ventures, but did you know that he
was once launching a travel website?
Yep, KanyeTravel.com was the name of his prospective site, which he announced in 2008.
Kanye Travel aimed to offer low airfares, rental cars, and hotels without requiring
a membership fee.
He teamed up with Travelocity to get the business started.
As far as what’s happening to it now?
Well, apparently the site didn’t work out and is currently filled with spam.
8.
China
One of the most interesting facts about Kanye’s childhood was that he lived in China when
he was ten years old.
His mother was teaching at Nanjing University for an exchange program.
Although he was the only foreign person in his class, Kanye allegedly picked up the language
quickly.
But, don’t expect a rap album in Mandarin any time soon.
West didn’t remain fluent when they moved back to the United States.
7.
Car Accident
Kanye faced another struggle in 2002.
He was driving home after a late night at a recording studio in California when he fell
asleep driving and collided with oncoming traffic.
The driver of the car he hit had both of his legs broken in the crash, and West suffered
a shattered jaw.
The accident could have been much worse, and it was a miracle that both parties survived.
Kanye used the experience as inspiration, and he recorded his track “Through the Wire”
while his mouth was wired shut.
In 2014, West told Interview magazine, “The accident gave me the opportunity to do what
I really wanted to do.
During that recovery period, I just spent all my time honing my craft and making The
College Dropout.”
It seems that this artist can use any adverse event to his advantage.
6.
Philanthropy
Although he receives a lot of negative attention from the press, Kanye is a pretty stand-up
guy, especially when it comes to charitable work.
In 2003, he and his mom created the Kanye West Foundation, which had the aim of improving
illiteracy and dropout rates and providing music education to disadvantaged youth.
After his mother passed, he renamed the foundation “The Dr. Donda West Foundation.”
However, the movement came to a close in 2011.
West also founded Donda’s House, Inc., whose most renowned program is Got Bars, a free
program to help at-risk Chicago youth to write music.
Kanye has also given to victims of Hurricane Katrina, 100 Black Men of America, World Water
Day, and the Millions More Movement among others.
5.
Taylor Swift
Perhaps one of the most significant events that Kanye West is known for is his interruption
of Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs.
Swift was just nineteen at the time, and she won the award for Best Female Video for “You
Belong With Me.”
When she went on stage to accept her shiny, new Moonman, West rushed in.
He was upset that Beyonce’s video for “Single Ladies” wasn’t chosen instead.
He grabbed the microphone from Taylor and stated, “Yo, Taylor, I’m really happy
for you, I’mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!
One of the best videos of all time!”
Later on, Kanye apologized to Taylor and said, “I immediately knew in this situation that
it was wrong… it’s actually someone’s emotions that I stepped on…
It was rude.
Period.
And…
I’d like to be able to apologize to her in person.”
He allegedly did say sorry to Swift after that.
4.
Politics
Kanye West has received a lot of negative attention for his political views since President
Trump took office.
He is one of the few celebrities to show support for the current POTUS, especially since he
has been so controversial.
In December 2016, he went to see Trump and stated later, “I wanted to meet with Trump
today to discuss multicultural issues.
These issues included bullying, supporting teachers, modernizing curriculums, and violence
in Chicago.
I feel it is important to have a direct line of communication with our future president
if we truly want change.”
West also noted that if he would have voted, then he would’ve done so for Donald Trump.
For a short time in 2017, he deleted his tweets concerning the President because he disagreed
with Trump’s travel ban.
However, in April 2018, he reiterated his support to Ebro Darden of Hot 97 by allegedly
saying, “I love Donald Trump.”
Kanye has even posted a photograph of himself wearing a Make America Great Again hat, and
Trump has retweeted some of the rapper’s posts.
3.
Awards
Since he’s so talented, it shouldn’t surprise anybody that Kanye has taken home numerous
awards for his work.
He is one of the leading artists regarding Grammy wins in history, and he has received
twenty-one of them.
West’s Grammy wins include three from 2004, three from 2005, two from 2008, four from
2011, and several more.
He has also won two AMAs, upwards of fifteen BET awards, and six Billboard Music Awards.
Kanye’s total notedly comes to 236 wins out of 726 nominations.
2.
Ranting
We’ve already talked about Kanye’s pro-Trump political beliefs.
He has always been one to voice his opinions.
So, he donned his Make America Great Again hat once more and began his now-viral speech.
He stated, “I’ma break it down to you right now: If someone inspires me and I connect
with them, I don’t have to believe in all they policies.”
He added, “You heard ‘em scream at me…
They bullied me backstage, they said, ‘Don’t go out there with that hat on.’...
And then they say I’m in a sunken place…
If you want the world to move forward, try love.”
1.
Mental Health
Kim Kardashian recently told Vogue that her husband is doing well despite the diagnosis
concerning his mental health.
Kanye West was diagnosed as bipolar, which he confirmed in the song “Yikes.”
He opened up about it more during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel and discussed how important
it is to talk freely about mental illnesses.
Kim said that dealing with the diagnosis has been an emotion process for both of them,
but they’re working through it together.
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