Kanye (Swahili for ‘only one’) West was born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. After his parents divorced, he went to live on Chicago’s South Side with his mother, an English professor and spent summers with his father, an award-winning photographer. West graduated from Polaris High School and completed one year of art school at Chicago State University. But he dropped out of it because he thought he wasn’t learning fast enough, he reasoned that he learned from real life better than being in school. Real life at that time included rapping and working with local artists.

West felt it was time to pursue his music career full time, so he moved to New York in 2001. His mixes and beats were earning him the reputation as a man who knew his jams. Rapper Jay-Z noticed him and hired him to produce songs for his 2001 album The Blueprint. West blew the lid off for Jay-Z as sales of the album exceeded 420,000 in the first week alone. West later went on to produce music for more artists like rapper Ludacris, Janet Jackson and Beyoncé.

Kanye knew he was doing well, making a name for himself, but he realized that he was made for better things — going solo. He cut his own demo and gave it to whoever chose to listen to it. But surprisingly no one took notice of him despite his reputation for his work with Jay-Z and other artists. In 2002, Roc-A-Fella Records, the label that signed Jay-Z, decided to give West a chance and signed him on. West began recording soon after.

But tragedy struck just as he was getting a foothold on the music scene. On the way home from a recording session in Los Angeles, he fell asleep while driving. He was involved in a head-on car collision that left him with a broken face and fractured jaw. The accident nearly cost him his life, but destiny had a lot in store for him. He endured months of recovery, including reconstructive surgery that left his jaw wired shut. But West was persistent in his dream of bringing out his own album one day, even though he knew he could hardly open his mouth… well literally.

West returned to the recording studio to sing on a regular basis until he was satisfied with his debut release. No guesses for picking out names of songs. One song in particular, Through the Wire was the first track of several singles on West’s debut hip hop effort The College Dropout to become a raging hit. You read right, the song chronicles West’s ordeal of having to work through the wire and his days at academics. The album, released in 2004, went multiplatinum, selling 2.6 million copies and was hailed as one of the best albums of the year.

Going a little deeper into the album, a few songs focus on walking with God while trying to “be real”. West tries all the forces he has with him and also brings in a gospel choir backing him up. West usually writes lyrics on topics that aren’t really touched upon in rap music, something that every young person has gone through.

West won four Billboard Music Awards in 2004: Male New Artist of the Year, New R & B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year, R & B/ Hip-Hop Producer of the Year, and Rap Artist of the Year and earned a whopping ten nominations at the 2005 Grammy Awards. The College Dropout won the Best Rap Album award, Jesus Walks won Best Rap Song, and a songwriting credit on You Don’t Know My Name for Best R&B Song award shared with Alicia Keys and Harold Lilly.

In no time, West established his own record label GOOD Music. He also has a mascot and trademark — Dropout Bear, a teddy bear which appears on the covers of all his albums on his label as well as various single covers and music videos. West paired his beats with tongue-twisting raps and a self-assured, flamboyant personality. His outrageous sense of fashion set him apart from his rap peers, sometimes boastful, and sometimes amusing. He’s best remembered for his dig during a televised Hurricane Katrina fundraiser when he said, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” This brought in a sizeable amount of controversy, which actually only helped escalate his career.

His second album Late Registration released in August 2005, included collaborations with recording artists like Jay-Z, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and Brandy. The album had songs like Gold Digger, Heard ‘Em Say, Touch the Sky and many others. It was on this album that the first single Diamonds from Sierra Leone got him a lot of acclaim. The well-produced music video by award-winning video director Hype Williams raised awareness of the so-called ‘blood diamond’ trade of Sierra Leone. Not many know that millions of Africans have lost their lives to the mining of these diamonds. The video positions the glamorous life depicted in a modern diamond commercial against the images of the brutal blood diamond trade. The album topped the charts, as did the Gold Digger single, with the album bagging a Grammy for Album of the Year.

2007 was spent partly in releasing new artists on his record label, but at the same time also working on his next venture Graduation which was promoted well in advance of its September 11 release. The singles Can’t Tell Me Nothing and Stronger led the promotional push for the album which hit the charts in a big way and culminated in eight Grammy nominations.

In November 2008 he began work on his next offering 808s & Heartbreak, a major change of pace that saw West singing most of his emotionally pained lyrics with the assistance of Auto-Tune. Toppers on the album include Love Lockdown and Heartless.

Kanye has participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and community work that includes the Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser, Live Earth Concert Benefit and World Water Day Rally. He started the Kanye West Foundation in Chicago in 2003. Focused on helping Latino and African American children get a proper education through school and college, the foundation also helps children stay in high school by finding a path through music. Kanye has contributed over $500,000 to his foundation.

West is also co-author of the book Thank You And You’re Welcome which features a collection of Kanye’s personal philosophies. The 32-year-old Gemini says that the collection is about his thoughts and theories. He dedicated the book to his mother (who passed away in November 2007) whom he says taught him to believe in his ‘flyness’ and conquer shyness. He also says that she raised him to be the voice to allow people to think for themselves to find their own way.

Kanye’s nickname is Ye or Konman

He has a metal plate in his chin from his near fatal car accident in 2002

He lived in China for a year with his mother when he was 10 years old

His record label G.O.O.D is an acronym for Getting Out Our Dreams

His favorite band is Scottish rock group Franz Ferdinand

He performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for President Barack Obama’s inauguration

In February 2009, he was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ Magazine

He has collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe named the Air Yeezys.