Kanye West celebrates 43rd birthday: 5 cool facts about the rapper
Kanye West is celebrating his birthday today. The rapper has turned 43 years old.
The Atlanta-born musician is s one of the world's best-selling music artists with over 140 million records sold worldwide.
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1. Kanye West's father was an activist and mother was a professor
After his parents divorced when he was three years old, he moved with his mother to Chicago. His father, Ray West, is a former Black Panther and was one of the first black photojournalists at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. West's mother, Dr Donda West, was a professor of English at Clark Atlanta University and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as his manager.
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2. Kanye West is more than a rapper
Ye is a fashion designer and has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and A.P.C. on both clothing and footwear. His most prominent work is a Yeezy collaboration with Adidas beginning in 2013. He is also the founder and head of the creative content company DONDA.
3. Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s
He started out by creating beats for local artists. His first official production credits came at the age of 19 when he produced eight tracks on Down to Earth, the 1996 debut album of a Chicago rapper named Grav. West got his big break in the year 2000 when he began to produce for artists on Roc-A-Fella Records. It is believed that he revitalised Jay-Z's career with his contributions the hit album album The Blueprint.
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4. Kanye West was engaged in 2006
West began a relationship with designer Alexis Phifer in 2002 and they got engaged in August 2006. The pair broke up in 2008.
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5. Kanye has influenced other artists
Drake, Nicki Minaj, Lil Uzi Vert and Casey Veggies have acknowledged being influenced directly by West. He has been cited as a direct influence by artists and musical groups outside of hip-hop including Lorde, Halsey and Fall Out Boy.
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It was previously reported that rumours are circulating the internet suggesting there might be trouble in paradise for Kim Kardashian-West and Kanye West. According to The Sun, the reality star is looking o spend some time apart from Kanye.
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Source: YEN.com.gh