Kanye West: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

You all know Kanye, whether it is his absurd rage outbursts, his political statements, or his good old fashioned contests, we all have grown to love him and what he does.  So this post goes out to him, as we review all those Kanye moments from the past.

So lets start off our Kanye moments with a  blast, shall we?  It all started in 2001, when Kanye entered the music scene.  He was featured in the song, "Izzo" which was a diss song against Nas and Mobb Deep.  Well, clearly Mr. West did not have a problem with them, he ended up doing many works with both artists as his career progressed.  So how did this song exactly make him big (considering he only became popular much later)?  Well you see it did not.  He was rejected by all record companies including Roc-A-Fella records.  This whole scenario set up the Kanye we all love and know today.  As you for sure know, Kanye West is always trying to prove someone wrong.

October 23rd, 2002, Kanye West gets into a huge car accident, on his way home from the recording studio.  Had this crash never taken place, who knows whether or not the hit single, "Through the Wire" would have ever been made.  As you all know, Kanye is a religious type of guy, as one can see from tracks such titled as, "Jesus Walks."

After College Dropout was all said and done, two years later, Late Registration was released. The album was a hit. "As ornate and bloated as West's ego." (Spin September 2005, p.99)  This quote hit it right on the spot and sums up who Mr. West is...One heck of a egotistical person. But I mean come on, who can say that his ego does not match up with what is there?  The guy has put out three amazing albums, all of which have been achieving awards and nominations for awards.  Kanye is allowed to have his ego because, he can.  If 50 Cent ever tried to act like Kanye did, then he would fail.  But then again, his ego has been known to get him into trouble. If you all remember, back in 05' there was a terrible hurricane which had destroyed most of New Orleans, sinking and completely filling up the whole city.  Kanye West was partaking in a commercial for aiding those who were hurt by the Hurricane, and when Michael Myers finished his comments on the subject of relief aid, Kanye started to speak and this is what he said. "George Bush doesn't care about black people."  That may be the case Kanye, but did you really have to say that so that everyone in America heard?  Yea you did!  We all love Mr. West for his political antics, and fearlessness, what would we do without him?

Well, here we go again!  It is now 2006, and what better way to start off the 2006 year with a picture of yourself dressed as Jesus, in the Rolling Stone, with a crown of thorns resting upon your head.  And just like we mentioned earlier, his ego had a huge role as to why he took a picture like this. "He suggested in Playboy that if a Bible were written in the present day, he is famous and important enough to be included in it. "I throw up historical subjects in a way that makes kids want to learn about them", West claimed, "[I'm] definitely in the history books already."" Talk about being egotistical.  And who can forget the infamous Evil Kanyevil?  Yes, that is right, I am talking about the ever so controversial music video for the hit song, "Tough The Sky (Feat. Lupe Fiasco)."  If you all remember correctly, Evil Knievel was suing Kanye over using his ideas and using them in a sexual connotation.  

After that, 2007 roles around, and the hit album entitled, Graduation is released.  This one you should all know about, we even talked about it on the blog for a little bit.  Both Kanye and 50 Cent had their albums set to be released on September 11th, 2007.  So they each decided to make it interesting.  Whoever sold more copies on the debut day won.  Fitty had said that he would retire from the game if he lost, as you can see, his ego is no match to Kanye's.  At the end of the day, Kanye won by a large margin, and the end result was nothing, 50 Cent was still in the music business.  Here is what Kanye had to say about the contest at the beginning. "When I heard that thing about the debate, I thought that was the stupidest thing. When my albums drops and 50's album drops, you're gonna get a lot of good music at the same time."

Just when you thought the controversy was over, there was more in store for 07'!  Kanye was heard, "In September 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the MTV Video Music Awards in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right.""  On September 9th, 2007, Kanye West had lost every single nomination his album had been up for.  The VMA's may not have been good for him, but the Grammys sure were, getting eight nominations there.

So I leave you with a bit of Kanye'isms from his book.  Get Used To Getting Used!  "To most people, the saying, "to use someone," carries a negative connotation.  But I don't see it that way. To 'mis', 'over' or 'ab' use someone is negative.  To use is necessary.  And if you can't be used, then you're useless."

Check Out Our Two Posts Relating To Kanye Below:

Kanye On SNL

Kanye vs. 50 Cent

Kanye Wests Outbursts At The VMA's:

"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" Ad:

Kanye On SNL:

SNL Season Opener Promo:

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