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Today, we celebrate the birthday of one of Hip Hop’s brightest and most brilliant superstars. Innovative, inspired and often troubled intellectually, Chicago-native Kanye Omari West has turned the game upside down since his monumental entrance nearly a decade ago.

Writing and producing hits early on for Jay-Z, Kanye West’s name, style, flow and presentation built a strong following and quickly gained him much commercial success and critical acclaim along the way. Ultimately deciding to pursue a solo career in rap, West suddenly ran into difficulty landing a record deal. Troubled by the hustle yet still writing and producing music along the way, West ran into more life-altering dilemmas including the near fatal car accident that eventually would serve as the foundation and inspiration for his debut smash “Through the Wire.”

Fueled by faith and persistent attitude, West went on release a series of monstrous mega-hits and albums including The College Dropout (2004), Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008) and last years’ controversial My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) – each charting substantially on the Billboard music charts and spawning a plethora of number one singles.

In 2007, tragedy struck when West’s mother died of complications from cosmetic surgery. Devastated and beginning to crumble under the spotlight and pressure of superstardom, West went through a very dramatic period of lashing out with frenetic appearances and making headlines in the media for all the wrong reasons. Even now, his career is often plagued by bad behavior and frowned upon outbursts.

With that aside, we still love Kanye West for his contributions to music, to Hip Hop and to the culture of a community striving to find the resolutions to many of life’s unanswered questions. Forward-thinking and dedicated to leaving his mark on the world of music and Hip Hop, Kanye West has truly become a force to reckon with. We love to love him and love to hate him all at the same time, but we can’t ignore the fact that Kanye West is here to stay.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KANYE WEST

WE CELEBRATE KANYE WEST & ALL OF HIP HOP IN A SPECIAL WAY THIS MONTH – BLACK MUSIC MONTH.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO ACCESS OUR EXCLUSIVE FEATURES & MORE.

RELATED LINKS:

Kanye West Almost Signed with Capitol Records

Kanye West Performs at Gil Scott-Heron Memorial

5 Reasons to Finally Stop Hating Kanye West

Consequence Speaks on Kanye West Beef

Top Twitter Scandals to Remember

KANYE WEST MAKING HEADLINES:

Kanye West Sparks Abortion Controversy

Kanye West Caught Kissing Random White Woman at Cannes Film Festival

Kanye West & Jamie Foxx Perform “Gold Digger” at Cannes Film Festival

Kanye West & Jay-Z Perform “H.A.M.” Live at the Museum of Modern Arts

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