Kanye West is one of the most talked about and successful rappers of the 21st century. He is one of the most widely successful musicians of the decade, having amassed 21 Grammys and 21 million album sales worldwide to date. The musician first found fame in the early 2000s as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, owned by Jay-Z. By 2004, Kanye released his first debut album, titled ‘College Dropout,’ to much critical acclaim and commercial success.
The celeb has since founded his own record label, GOOD Music, and has released a handful of follow-up albums, including Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), Heartbreak (2008), and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Most recently, Kanye released his latest album The Life of Pablo in 2016. Apart from his music, Kanye has also found success as a fashion designer, has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and APC, just to name a few. Most notable, his collaboration with Nike led to his Yeezy collection, which continues to make waves to this day.
Aside from his career, Kanye has also become known for her colorful personal life and controversial, outspoken views. The rapper has come under fire for his bizarre behavior throughout the years, including inappropriate conduct at awards shows (yep, we’re totally referencing the famous Taylor Swift incident), intelligible rants on social media, and very public meltdowns. Kanye is also known for his high-profile marriage to reality star Kim Kardashian, with whom he shares three children (daughters North and Chicago, and son Saint).
Check out these interesting facts from Kanye’s childhood that may explain some of his odd behavior and choices throughout the years. What fact are you the most surprised about?
18 His Dad Used To Be A Black Panther
Many fans will be surprised to learn that Kanye West’s father Ray West was a celebrity in his own right.
The famous father is known for being a figure in Black history; he was the first ever black photojournalist at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a former Black Panther in the '60s and '70s, Rolling Stone reports.
It seems like it was in Kanye’s family to make waves and inspire headlines.
Kanye hasn’t said much about his father or childhood to the media, but he has referenced him in his songs. After the release of his latest album Life of Pablo, Kanye tweeted confirming that the track “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” was written about his father. The rapper wrote, “I cried writing this. I love my Dad.”
Lyrics from the song include: “Sorry that I ain’t call you back/ The same problems my father had/ All his time/ All he had/ All he had/ In what he dreamed/ All his cash/ Market crashed/ Hurt him bad/ People get divorced for that/ Drop some stacks, Pops is good/ Momma pass in Hollywood.” Many fans speculate that the lyrics are a reference to Kanye’s father’s financial problems that he had during his son’s childhood, leading to the strained relationship between the rapper and his father.
17 He’s A College Dropout
Although it shouldn’t be too surprising given his mom is a University professor, many fans will be surprised to learn that Kanye went to University before becoming big. Technically, the rapper attended college for one year before deciding to pursue music full-time, Rolling Stone reports.
After graduating from Polaris High School, the singer went on to complete a year of art school at Chicago State University. At the same time as he was taking University-level classes, the future celebrity was making beats for local acts on the side to fund his tuition. Eventually, he went on to make tracks for top-ten albums by musicians including Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim, and Jermaine Dupri.
Despite his mother always insisting that education is one of his first priorities, Kanye has defended his decision to drop out of University and says he has no regrets. In a 2004 interview with Ebony magazine, the rapper explained, "I dropped out of school because I wasn't learning fast enough... I learned from real life better." It wasn’t long after leaving University that Kanye moved to New York in 2001 to better chase his chances at stardom, which eventually led to Jay-Z hiring him as a producer and the rest is history.
16 His Family Had Financial Issues Growing Up
Nowadays, it’s clear that Kanye enjoys the finer things in life… or else why would a pair of Yeezys cost an arm and a leg? But things weren’t always that way for the rapper, whose family struggled to make ends meet as a kid. During the school year Kanye would live with his mother, and then spend the summers with his father. Although the star’s mother was an established professor, his father didn’t have it so great in his career. Kanye has admitted that his father would often jump between jobs in order to make enough to support his family.
“I remember he was in vacuum cleaner sales,” Kanye once reminisced to Complex Magazine about one of his father’s random jobs.
“And he’d sit up there and show people how powerful the vacuum cleaner was by putting a penny on the floor and then the vacuum cleaner over it and then Pop! It would come out and he would have bent the penny.” Kanye added, “I remember some days we would ride around and he had vacuum cleaners in the back and we’d be going up a hill and the car would stop. And I just see him, like, ‘Not today. Not today.’”
Previously, Kanye has also claimed that his dad was formerly a medical illustrator, a photographer and paparazzi, a Blank Panther, and even a marriage counselor.
15 His Dad Once Photographed The President
Ray West had a variety of interesting jobs throughout Kanye’s childhood, but nothing tops the time when he was a photographer for the President, Bustle reports. Ray had a successful career as a photojournalist for most of his life, becoming the first ever black photojournalist for the Atlanta Constitution-Journal. Through the position, Ray had the opportunity to photograph tons of major celebrities, including former President Ronald Reagan and Maya Angelou.
Despite his father’s accomplishments, it appears the singer has had a difficult relationship with him. In his 2007 song ‘Champion,’ Kanye compares his relationship with his dad to that of Will Smith and his son in the movie The Pursuit of Happiness. “I don't know I just want it better for my kids/ And I ain't saying we were from the projects,” the singer raps. “But every time I wanna layaway or deposit/ My dad say ‘when you see clothes, close your eyelids’/ We was sort of like Will Smith and his son In the movie — I ain't talking 'bout the rich ones/ Cause every summer/ He'll get some brand new harebrained scheme to get rich from/ And I don't know what he did for dough/ But he'll send me back to school with a new wardrobe.”
14 He Thought Disney Was Boring As A Kid
Most kids grew up watching Disney movies and TV shows, and came to form a special love for and connection to the characters who defined our childhood. But the same can’t be said of Kanye, who evidently hated Disney from a young age for being too boring. Speaking to Radar Online, Kanye’s stepmother Brenda Bentley recalls that the future rapper was interested in abstract art as a child, rather than the things kids are usually into- ie. Disney.
“Kanye love museums and art. His father helped him develop sophisticated tastes,” she explained.
“He used to love animations, artsy stuff, not Disney, that was too mundane. His father helped him to develop sophisticated tastes and become culturally rich.”
She adds that Kanye was always interested in extracurricular activities that were advanced for his age. At the age of 10, when he was living in China with his mother, he was already speaking Mandarin and learning Tai Chi. Very sophisticated!
Nowadays, Kanye is always gloating about how cultured he is and how he seems to have an enlightened perspective on everything. We guess that this attitude started developing early in his childhood!
13 His Mom Was A University Professor
Unlike some of his counterparts, Kanye didn’t come from the bad side of town or grow up in an underprivileged setting. It turns out that the celebrity was the son of a higher education University professor. Kanye’s mother, Donda West, used to be an English Professor at Clark Atlanta University and was also the Chair of the English Department at the Chicago State University. Donda was reportedly extremely upset when Kanye decided to quit University in order to pursue music full-time.
“So when you look at all of the obstacles that there are in raising kids, you can sort of see why it's really, really important to try to keep their minds straightened out,” Donda wrote in her book Raising Kanye, which discussed the parenting techniques she used in raising the future musical icon. “But at the same time being sensible enough so they can be creative and come into their own.”
Of her son dropping out of University, the professor also wrote, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life […] But some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you."
12 He Lived In China At Age 10 (And Spoke Mandarin)
Kanye was an international jet-setter even before he became famous! The celebrity had the opportunity to live in China for several years from ages 8-10 thanks to his mom’s job. Donda West was asked to teach at Nanjing University as part of an exchange program, and she brought her son with him.
The professor has said that Kanye was even learning Mandarin during his brief time living abroad. It was around this time that his mom says he began taking a keen interest in music.
Kanye has always had an affinity for Chinese culture that can definitely be explained by his time living in the country. No fan can forget the time his wife Kim Kardashian admitted just how far the rapper will go to get his hands on Chinese food- he’ll risk his freedom. Back in 2008, Kanye was arrested for destroying a photographer’s camera. Instead of using his one call to contact his family or lawyer, Kim says the celeb ordered Chinese food. “They arrested him, and you know you get to make one call in jail, so he called Mr. Chow’s and ordered takeout to jail,” she said. We’re not sure if that’s impressive or worrisome…
11 He Used To Charge Kids To Watch Him Dance
Evidently, Kanye always knew he was talented (and could make a profit from it). His mother Donda West recalled in her book Raising Kanye all of the creative ways the future celeb would make money, even when he wasn’t a teenager yet. “He’d charge other kids to see him breakdance. He could spin on his head and everything,” she wrote in the book, describing how Kanye would charge his classmates to watch him dance.
At the age of 13, Kanye began writing and producing his own tracks. While he was still in high school, the celeb began selling his music to local artists. His business began growing and he started working with bigger names by the time he hit University. He eventually dropped out of college because he could see that his career was becoming so lucrative. It wasn’t long before he was hired as a producer by Jay-Z, which eventually launched his rap career.
"I really started grinding, just trying to sell beats to people. I worked a telemarketing job," Kanye told Complex about how he started in the music industry. Through his biographer Jake Brown, Kanye once wrote, “[I] would be up until 4 in the morning […] focusing on my dream and praying for the day where I could just do that all the time."
10 His Dad Was Once A Celeb Paparazzi
Both Kanye and his wife Kim Kardashian have spoken out more than once against the paparazzi, who they explain invade both theirs and their kids’ privacy by snapping them whenever and wherever. Thus, many will be surprised to know that Kanye’s own dad, Ray West, was at one time working as a celebrity paparazzi.
Ray is a renowned photojournalist, who is said to have moved between a lot of jobs throughout Kanye’s childhood. One of those gigs happened to be working as a paparazzo.
Kanye admitted this during a deposition in a civil lawsuit that was brought against him by a paparazzi who had been involved in a commotion with the rapper, the Daily Mail reports.
“My father was a paparazzo himself. My father was a medical illustrator, a Black Panther, a Christian marriage counselor,” the rapper said of his father in defense of himself. He continued, “My mother was the first black chair of the English department in Chicago State. They didn't raise me to be out here wrestling with random paparazzi in front of LAX.”
9 He Turned Down A Scholarship To Study Art
People could tell from a young age that Kanye was something special, which is likely why the future star was offered a scholarship to study the arts at a University setting. But, surprisingly, Kanye later went on to reject the scholarship in favor of pursuing his dream- music.
In 1997, Kanye received a scholarship offer from the Chicago’s American Academy of Art, where the singer was interested in pursuing painting. Eventually, the future celeb transferred to Chicago State University where he intended to pursue a degree in English Literature (which effectively nullified his scholarship). In the end, Kanye decided to leave college at age 20 before receiving his degree. He eventually moved to New York at age 21 where he found success in a short amount of time.
Kanye has always considered himself an artist, so it should come as no real surprise he originally wanted to pursue a career in painting or writing. "My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater,” Kanye said during his lectures at Oxford University in 2014. “That always sounds so funny to people, comparing yourself to someone in the past that has done so much, and in your life, you're not even allowed to think that you can do as much. That's a mentality that suppresses humanity."
8 His Mom Passed While Getting A Cosmetic Procedure Done
It was always very clear that Kanye was exceptionally close to his mom. He always used to take her as his date to red carpet events, speak about her lovingly in interviews, and write tracks devoted to her. That’s why it was especially heartbreaking when Donda West tragically died in 2007 following a routine cosmetic procedure.
Only a day prior to her death, which occurred at her home in Playa del Ray, the famous mother had undergone various cosmetic procedures at the hands of Dr. Jan Adams, who was controversial even before Mrs. West’s passing.
Immediately after her passing, Kanye’s family announced a statement where they blamed the cosmetic procedure for her untimely passing, saying it was “the result of complications from a cosmetic procedure.”
Ultimately, it could not be concluded whether the surgery was completely to blame for Kanye’s mother’s death. “The final manner of death could not be determined,” the coroner said following an autopsy, People Magazine reports. “Multiple post-operative factors could have played a role in the death. The exact contribution of each factor could not be determined. There was no evidence of a surgical or anesthetic misadventure.”
7 Kanye Still Blames The Surgeon For Her Passing
Although the coroner ruled that the cause of death was indecisive, Kanye has continued to criticize the doctor who performed his mother’s plastic surgery the day before her death. Just this past Arumorsumours were spreading that suggested Kanye might use a photo of Dr. Jan Adams on the cover of his next album.
In response, the doctor issued a public letter to the rapper addressing the events the led up to Donda’s passing and asking that he refrain from using his photo on any album covers. The letter asked that Kanye “cease and desist using my photo or any image of me to promote your album or any of your work.” Adams added, “I don’t want to appear ungrateful […] [but] inappropriate to drag the negativity of the past with it.”
Adams continued to emphasize his innocence and the fact that he had tolerated Kanye’s “incorrect” claims for years.
“If you want to heal, first call out the people in your own camp who knew better and persisted with the charade in order to hide their own guilt,” the doctor added. Kanye took to Twitter to respond to the letter, writing, “Open letter from Jan Adams. This is amazing. Thank you so much for this connection brother. I can’t wait to sit with you and start healing.”
6 He Was Actually A Well-Mannered, Polite Kid
Kanye isn’t known to be the most polite or reserved celebrity on the planet. After all, there was that time he interrupted Taylor Swift’s award speech merely to say that Beyonce should have won the award instead. Yeah, that’s not mild mannered at all. But a 2016 interview with his step-mother, Brenda Bentley, revealed that the future superstar was actually a very polite, well-behaved child. Speaking to Radar Online, Brenda recalls that Kanye would always refer to her as ‘Miss Brenda’ when he would come spend the summers with his dad and her.
“We were on the Metro going to a parade downtown,” Kanye’s stepmother recalled. “He was with his father, so he knew he had to behave. Ray wasn’t too strict as a dad, and it was summer- so that was playtime. He was a well-spoken boy and his father always insisted he had good manners.” She continued, “At home, he did his chores like making his bed. He was well behaved and if he ever had a tantrum it would not last long and he would go back to being a good boy again.”
Who would have ever guessed such a mild-mannered young boy would grow up to be the egomaniac that is the Kanye West of today!
5 He Started Writing Poetry at 5 Years Old
Kanye credits himself for being a genius, and evidently, he started showing signs of his intellect at a young age- well, at least according to his mom!
Donda West once said that her son was writing poetry at the tender age of 5, and that it was easy to realize his creative ability from early on. She said that she specifically recalls recognizing his passion for music and creating art when he was a third grader, adding that he began composing his own music by the time he entered seventh grade. When Kanye became a teenager, he was actually good enough that he started selling his original tracks to other musicians in the Chicago area, which eventually helped him get hired as a producer by Jay-Z in 2001.
Despite his obvious intellectual ability, Kanye continues to maintain that dropping out of school was the right choice for him. He actually named his first debut album ‘Dropout’ in order to acknowledge his academic history.
"The name of my album is called The College Dropout," he told MTV two years before the album debuted."All that's saying is make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.' Society told me, 'Man, don't move from Chicago.' People told me to stay in school, this music is this, this music is that."
4 His Alma Mater Gave Him A Ph.D. (Even Though He Dropped Out)
How does someone get a doctorate without even finishing their undergrad? Do what Kanye did. It turns out that the rapper has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, which he originally was awarded a scholarship from in 1997 to pursue painting.
Less than a year after enrolling, Kanye transferred to Chicago State University to study English literature, but eventually dropped that as well to pursue music. It was until 2015 that his alma mater gave him an Honorary Doctorate for his success and work in the music industry. Well, that sounds easier than years upon years of all-nighters and grueling final exams!
“I'm successful in learning about the beauty that is afforded rich people,” Kanye said in a 2014 lecture at Oxford University about how he’s self-taught. “But in learning that, being brought up, middle class, it's something that is beating out of my chest. 'Wait for a second, I was middle class, and I didn't get to see any of this [explicit].' Let's have an NBC telethon moment, and say that beauty has been stolen from the people and is being sold back to them under the concept of luxury!"
3 His Mom Helped Him With His First Track
From a young age, Donda West could see that her son had immense musical talent. So much so, the mother took it upon herself to help her son cut his first track when he was only 13 years old so he would have a demo to take to producers, Mic reports.
Donda reportedly booked a dingy basement studio for her son to record in, and she also got in contact with the mother of Chicago producer No I.D., who would later collaborate with the young Kanye.
"The microphone was hanging from the ceiling by a wire hanger. But he was so excited, I couldn't say no," his mother told RedEye in 2007. It was here that Kanye produced his first track, which he titled “Green Eggs and Ham.” "He was just learning how to make music, but he was the most persistent person who I've ever met." No I.D. told Billboard about Kanye’s work ethic... "He was always trying to prove himself, and he kept getting better and better."
Throughout his career, Donda West was famously supportive of her son, and later publicly acknowledge that she was alright with his decision not to pursue his University education, even though she was a college professor. Kanye has sung about his mom on tracks like “Hey Mama” and “Coldest Winter.”
2 He’s Always Had An Alter Ego
It’s hard for the public to separate the man from the celebrity when it comes to Kanye. The rapper often comes across as eccentric and fame-hungry to the public when he goes on his infamous Twitter rant or has a bizarre stint of behavior in public. Many people have claimed that this isn’t how the celeb really acts in real life. His wife, Kim Kardashian, has on more than one occasion said that Kanye is as normal a husband and father as he can be when he’s home and away from the cameras.
Evidently, Kanye has always had an alter ego, ever since childhood. During an interview with Radar Online, his stepmother Brenda Bentley explains that Kanye has been perfecting his stage persona for years, but that he’s a totally different, totally normal person IRL. “He was a cute little boy and he was always very good at school- his mother and father demanded he excel,” she explained. “I think most people misunderstand what he is really like. The person you see on stage is just a persona. He is not like that in normal life. He’s regular. One of his favorite things to do backstage is to play Connect Four.”
1 He Named His Daughter After His Hometown
Kim and Kanye have become known for giving their kids over-the-top names, such as North and Saint. But there turns out to be a very simple reason why they decided to call baby no. 3 Chicago- it’s after Kanye’s hometown. "I just felt Chicago was cool and different," Kim has said of their choice. "We call her Shy, so it's North, Saint, and Shy,"
During an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Kim admitted that she and Kanye thought they were going to go in a completely different direction with their second daughter’s name, with the reality star saying she prefers one-syllable names like her older two kids have. "It really messes with me," she said about Chicago’s name not matching her older siblings’ monikers. "I really wanted the one syllable thing."
The celeb admitted that Kanye and she were debating a few different names at one time, but Chicago just seemed to stick.
"We were going to name her Jo, because of my grandmother, Mary Jo. We were going to go with Grace," Kim told Ellen."But then it was Chicago." She added that Kanye also wanted to name their daughter after his mother, who passed away in 2007. "He really wanted his mother's name, and I love that name too, but I just wasn't sure," she revealed. "It's so much to live up to."
References: Rolling Stone, Notable Biographies, Bustle, The Famous People, Billboard, Harper’s Bazaar, Mic, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, Hollywood Life, Radar Online
