Kanye West

Ye ( YAY; born Kanye Omari West KAHN-yay; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. One of the world’s best-selling music artists with 160 million records sold, West has won 24 Grammy Awards, the joint tenth-most of all time and most awarded for any hip hop artist jointly with Jay-Z. His other accolades include a Billboard Artist Achievement Award, a joint-record three Brit Awards for Best International Male Solo Artist and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.West’s first six solo albums—The College Dropout (2004), Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and Yeezus (2013)—were included on Rolling Stone’s 2020 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list with the same publication naming him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He also released the collaborative albums Watch the Throne (2011) with Jay-Z and Kids See Ghosts (2018) with Kid Cudi. West holds the joint record (with Bob Dylan) for most albums (4) topping the annual Pazz & Jop critic poll. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015. As a fashion designer, he has collaborated with Nike, Inc., Louis Vuitton, Gap Inc., and A.P.C. on clothing and footwear and led the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas.

West’s outspoken views have received significant media coverage. He has been a frequent source of controversy due to his conduct on social media and at awards shows and public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, race, and slavery. His Christian faith, high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian, and mental health have also been topics of media attention. In 2020, West launched an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign that advocated for a consistent life ethic. In October 2022, he was widely condemned and lost many sponsors and partnerships—including his collaborations with Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga—after making a series of antisemitic statements, including praising Adolf Hitler and denying the Holocaust.

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