Kanye West by Jeff Burlingame

Author:Jeff Burlingame [Burlingame, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781622852130
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2014-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Image Credits: ©AP Images/Damian Dovarganes

After The College Dropout became the hottest album out, Kanye’s fan base exploded. He was now one of the top artists in the world.

Image Credits: ©AP Images/Paul Beaty

After forming the Kanye West Foundation, Kanye started raising funds by performing concerts that strictly benefitted the foundation. This picture is from his concert in 2009 at the Chicago Theatre.

Years later, Kanye told Sabotage Times why he felt his first album had been so successful. He said, “… when I came out with College Dropout it was weird. It was one of the most hip-hop albums in a while but one of the most pop albums at the same time. So it kind of broke the barrier of people saying that hip-hop wasn’t pop, because pop has a negative connotation. But pop just means ‘popular’—Michael Jackson was pop.”

The College Dropout all but took over Kanye’s life for more than a year. He continued to produce for other artists and work on his follow-up album as the accolades for The College Dropout piled up. In 2005, Kanye was nominated for ten Grammy Awards, eight for his album and two for his work with singer Alicia Keys. Kanye also was nominated for several more honors—from Billboard, MTV, and the NAACP. Many were surprised at the success of Kanye’s first album. Kanye was not among them. He already had a reputation of being boastful. The success of The College Dropout gave him even more reason to brag. It also allowed him to start his own fashion line, his own record label—G.O.O.D. Music—and the Kanye West Foundation, a charity he began with his mother aimed at helping keep kids in school. Even MTV gave Kanye his own special TV program. It was called All Eyes on Kanye West.

Kanye’s popularity was so great following the release of College Dropout that his hometown of Chicago dedicated an entire day to him. Kanye West Day was held February 27. The star attended a concert at the House of Blues and was given a key to the city by Mayor Richard Daley. The day gave Kanye one more reason to brag. And to be thankful:

“For someone who loves to stunt about how many records he’s sold and how much money he’s made, I can’t believe you guys gave me this to stunt about. You gave me my own day. Lately, I’ve had to defend myself for being confident all the time, but when something like this happens, you should be able to talk just a little bit. …Three years ago I was standing outside the House of Blues begging to get in, and now I’ve got Grammys and Mayor Daley giving me the key to the city.”

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