Who did he send nudes to? Who did he make his only call to when he went to jail? Kanye West is a divisive celebrity, constantly making headlines that you'll often roll your eyes at. People know his music, and people know how controversial he is with his egotistical antics. What if that was only the surface, though? Kanye West was born in Atlanta and was raised by his mother, and he clawed his way up to becoming one of the most successful rappers of all time. From living in China when he was ten to now living in a mansion, there are a few shocking stories that offer some insight to how he got to where he is today. It might not come as a surprise to you that Kanye West has both scandalous and heartwarming stories beneath the surface, but you might be surprised about how little you knew about him. Here are 15 bizarre facts about Kanye West that you won't believe, and, in result, your opinion of the rapper might be swayed.
15 He Rapped One Of His Hits With A Broken Jaw
The story of his hit single on his debut album Through The Wire is a well known one, but if you're not familiar with Kanye, the story might absolutely shock you. After Kanye fell asleep at the wheel early in the morning in 2002, he collided with another vehicle – the accident was nearly fatal. Kanye had his shattered jaw wired to his face to hold it together, but after only a few weeks in the hospital, the rapper was out recording the famous song. He's been quoted to say that 'the only thing promised in life is death', and his fatal accident probably has something to do with that mentality. When he was asked to comment on how the accident changed his music, he said “To nearly lose your life, to nearly lose your mouth, your voice, your whole face, as a rapper... 'Through The Wire' is the worst thing that could've possibly happen to me, and now it's obviously the best.”
14 He Said He Would've Voted For Trump
Once upon a time shortly after the tragedy that was Hurricane Katrina, Kanye went on live TV and strayed from the script, stating that “George Bush doesn't care about black people.” He shocked the world with that political statement, and one week after the 2016 election, he shocked everybody again. He told his fans at one of his concerts that if he would have voted, he would have voted for Trump, and the crowd responded with a herald of boos. He interrupted a concert with this 25 minute spiel justifying why he would've voted for Trump and what he likes about the guy. He also made comments about how America is just a racist nation and that's the way it is, and how voting for Trump doesn't mean he doesn't think black lives matter or he's against women's rights. While that's true, his comments certainly didn't bode well with his fans.
13 Evel Knievel Sued Him
Everything about the sentence “Evel Knievel sued Kanye West” is weird, but it's true. Kanye's life is filled with bizarre facts, and this is one of the strangest. Knievel sued Kanye and his recording studio in 2006 when he took issue with the rapper's music video for 'Touch The Sky', which features Kanye encompassing the persona Evel Kanyevel” and trying to jump over a canyon in a rocket powered motorcycle. This evidently upset Knievel, because he failed to jump the Snake River Canyon in 1974. While Knievel was infuriated with how his image was used, the lawsuit was settled amicably according to the retired stuntman. Why? Meeting the rapper changed his mind, and Knievel “thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman.” Weird? Yup, everything about this story is weird, but when it comes to the infamous rapper, weird barely touches the surface. You totally want to live in a world where Evel Knievel and Kanye West are best buddies.
12 He's Been Engaged Twice
Kanye's love life is dripping with drama. Everyone needs a reminder that the rapper wasn't only engaged to Kim, and the love of his life was someone else for a while. Alexis Phifer, a fashion designer, dated Kanye on and off for six years. In 2006, she and Kanye got engaged over a lobster and pasta dinner while they were on vacation in Capri – romantic, right? Unfortunately, it wasn't long after that Kanye's mother died, and the tragedy ultimately made him focus on preparing for his tour so intensely that him and Alexis hit a rough patch they couldn't fix. They split in 2008, and later that year, Kanye became obsessed with Amber Rose... until Kim Kardashian, who Amber dubbed a “home-wrecker”, had an affair with Kanye while he was still with Amber. Apparently, Kim had been sending pictures to Kanye, but it's also been rumoured that maybe she had something to do with Alexis and Kanye splitting up as well. Yup, Kanye's love life was totally crazier than you expected.
11 He Received An Honorary Doctorate
That's right, you can call him Dr West. Not really, but he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which happens to be one of the top art schools in America. While he never completed his English degree, his beaming expression while he received his award was probably just as gratifying. The university said that those honoured have created material which is “imaginative and aesthetically rich, and sometimes also provocative and controversial, shifting the cultural landscape in significant ways.” This was definitely an overwhelming honour, and Kim tweeted out how proud she was of her husband, saying that she knows his mom would be proud too. You're totally surprised Kanye has an honorary doctor, but sometimes it's hard to remember how successful the rapper truly is. His music has definitely shifted the cultural landscape as the university stated, which can be hard to comprehend, but the rapper is truly an influential artist.
10 His Middle Name Is Omari
Born on June 8th 1977 in Atlanta, Kanye was given the middle name Omari. Kanye Omari West doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, but the meaning of his given names might suit him better than you thought. Omari is a Swahili name that means “God the highest”, and Kanye has definitely implied he thinks he's godly a few times. His first name is also Swahili, and means “the only one.” Both are fitting for a man that certainly likes to stand out in a crowd, and you have to wonder if his late mother Donda foresaw the fame her son would have, and how he would wear it all over his personality at any given moment. Given the way he presents himself and his namesake, maybe it isn't a surprise at all that he named his son Saint. Kim and Kanye certainly have a Hollywood family with Hollywood names for all of them, but we bet you were pretty surprised to learn that his middle name is Omari.
9 His Grammy Success Is Unbelievable
Tied for the most Grammy wins by a rap artist with Jay Z, his success is one of the most unbelievable things about him. Kanye literally just keeps winning. Out of an astonishing fifty seven nominations, he's won twenty one Grammy's during his career, but his talents allow him to be a presence in a lot more than just rap. As a songwriter and producer, he's almost guaranteed to be in the running for a handful of awards. Every Kanye solo album has won the Grammy for the Best Rap Album, except for aberrations and experimental albums like Yeezus and 808's & Heartbreaks. He's also been nominated nearly every year since 2005 for Best Rap Song. Basically, he's guaranteed to be snagging a Grammy or two every year, but will he ever grab the elusive Album of The Year Award? There are a lot of things about Kanye that will make you raise your eyebrows, but his success is as undeniable as it is shocking. He's done unbelievable things for music.
8 Roc-A-Fella Records Didn't Want Him
No record label would sign Kanye, until Roc-A-Fella did it very reluctantly. Before everyone knew who Kanye West was, he worked as an in house producer for the recording label. While he's credited for much of the success of Jay Z's album The Blueprint for his talents and success as a producer, his priority was to make it big as a rapper. Unfortunately, he was seen as an established producer and that was the only role the record label would see him in initially. Eventually, Roc-A-Fella Records signed him, only to ensure they wouldn't lose him as a producer. Before success, most people get knocked down, and Kanye is the perfect example of that. Is it surprising that one of the most successful rappers of all time was overlooked? Can you imagine a world where Kanye's bizarre antics aren't making headlines? Roc-A-Fella Records definitely made a decision that changed the face of music.
7 He Lived In China
When Kanye was only ten years old, he lived in China with his mother while she taught at Nanjing University as part of an exchange program. Photos of the ten year old rapper eating Chinese food circulated the internet, posing as a fascinating window to his childhood. Does this explain why he once used his one phone call from jail to order Chinese food? Yup, that's a true story that Kim relayed back in 2014, probably with glee, because that's what every wife looks for in her man, right? When they arrest you for destroying a paparazzi's camera, the only logical thing is to order takeout to jail. It's reasonable to say that Kanye's love for Chinese food is well documented at this point, but what do you consider more shocking? That he actually lived in China, or that he would use his phone call in jail to order Chinese food? Yup, that's actually a question you have to think about.
6 He's A Perfectionist
When it comes to his music, Kanye wants and needs it to be perfect. The proof of this is the arduous production process it took to create his hit 'Stronger'. Him and his team reportedly mixed the song seventy five times, even after it was officially released. He worked with eight audio engineers and eleven different mix engineers, and at this point, you're probably wondering what the hell a mix engineer is. However, despite enlisting all sorts of professional help to perfect the song, he was still dissatisfied with the result. He eventually asked Timbaland to redo the drum programming, but even that wasn't enough for Kanye to believe the track was good enough. Kanye does unconventional things with his music, revolutionizing the sound on a yearly basis, and that doesn't come from being complacent or not caring how the music develops. It might be a bit shocking, but when it comes to his art, Kanye actually is a perfectionist.
5 He Was A Telemarketer
Kanye didn't come from much, but everyone has to start somewhere. After his parents divorced when he was three, his mother raised him all on his own while she worked as an English Professor. When Kanye dropped out of Chicago State University to pursue music, it broke his mother's heart, but she allowed him to live under her roof if he paid her rent. “I really started grinding, just trying to sell beats to people. I worked a telemarketing job,” he told Complex during an interview. He would come home from his job and immediately start working on his music. He would be up until four in the morning, focusing on his dream and praying for the day he could do it all the time. That sort of work ethic is certainly inspirational, and it's what everyone should do if they're given the chance to pursue their dream.
4 South Park Hurt His Feelings
Apparently, he's a sensitive soul. When the satirical but often crude comedy show South Park portrayed Kanye West as an egomaniac, he said it had been hurtful and that he was trying to work on his infamously over-inflated ego. He took to his blog to comment on the episode and as he often does, he wrote in all capital letters, so just imagine him yelling all of this enthusiastically. First, he stated, “South Park murdered me last night and it's pretty funny.” He goes on to ramble, “It hurts my feelings but what can you expect from South Park! I actually have been working on my ego though. Having the crazy ego is played out at this point in my life and career. I use to use it to build up my esteem when nobody believed in me.” This provided a lot of unexpected insight that most wouldn't expect, but have we seen much proof that he actually worked on his ego at all in recent years?
3 He Sold A Plain White Shirt For $120
Kanye does a lot of questionable stuff, but this decision certainly had a lot of people frustrated. He designs a variety of clothing for French clothing label A.P.C., including jeans, hoodies, and T-shirts. When he designed a shirt priced at one hundred and twenty dollars that was literally just a plain white T-shirt, he didn't just sell it for one hundred and twenty dollars. The shirt sold out instantly. Seriously. It crashed the website because of how quickly it sold out, and the website had to start taking pre-orders for the next lot shortly after. While this says a lot more about society than it says about Kanye West, it's still ridiculous. It might be because he's such a divisive rapper, it might be because he's hip hop's prince of high fashion, but some how those plain white shirts flew off the rack. No matter what the rapper is doing, it's bound to be controversial.
2 His Stylist Went To Yale
With a name like Cassius Marcellus Cornelius Clay, you might assume this person went to Yale. Well, he certainly did, but his world changed one day when he ran into Kanye West at Barney's. Kanye liked the undergrad's style, so naturally, he asked if he wanted to travel the world as his stylist or aka right hand man. The gist of it is that they immediately hit it off, talked for over an hour and a half, exchanged e-mails, and then the next day Kanye asked him to come over so they could talk about shoes. Cassius isn't exactly a self made man—he comes from a rich family, and owns at least six estates in the New England area. Now, he's rising to fame as Kanye West's stylist, and we can't think of a more Kanye way to find his next stylist. It's quite a story, but it's obviously totally bizarre.
1 He's Thought About Being In "Other" Films
We told you that before he was famous, he was a telemarketer. That wasn't the only job that was on Kanye's mind. In a 2007 interview, the rapper admitted he mulled over the opportunity once or twice. He said, “that career choice popped into my head once or twice. Which guy doesn't want that? Just sometimes in their life. This was my mentality before I was engaged.” While Kanye is always saying things that will garner headlines, there is a dimension out there where Kanye never made music and instead starred in "other" films. Is this why he allegedly sent nudes to the "other industry" film star, Lisa Ann? Kanye definitely is a bit scandalous at times, but would you have guessed he'd admit to this? There are a lot of facts about the rapper that are challenging to believe, but when he openly admits them himself, what can you say? The facts are facts.
sources: music.yahoo.com, rollingstone.com, buzzfeed.com, bustle.com, capitalxtra.com, consequenceofsound.net, theguardian.com, mic.com, businessinsider.com, theguardian.com
