Kanye West: Controversial and Influential | A Video Essay

Kanye Omari West or Ye has made an impact on the Hip-Hop/Rap world we will still see for years and years to come. He is one of the world’s best selling artists of all time, selling roughly 160 million records at the time of me writing this. Kanye has won 24 Grammy Awards tied with Jay-Z, notably winning the award “Best Rap Song” and “Best Rap Performance in 2013 for Somebody is in Paris. At other shows, winning Best Rap Album for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Graduation, Late Registration, and The College Dropout and a plethora of other awards. West’s first six albums were included in 2020’s Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time being in chronological order earliest to latest, The College Dropout (2004), Late Registration (2005), Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and Yeezus (2013). In the fashion design business, he has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, Gap, and APC, and is behind the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas. Kanye has not been one to shy from controversy, discussing his political values, race, religion, details of his relationships, mental health, and statements on slavery. So how did Kanye reach this point, and how much of the industry has he changed in 20+ years.