Hip-hop’s introduction can be traced back to the 1970s in the Bronx borough, U.S.A. History has witnessed many legendary hip-hoppers such as Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Tupac Shakur, Cardi B, Drake, Pitbull, etc. Kanye West is one of those legendary hip-hopers and rappers in the U.S.A.
He is a multi-grammy award winner, and he is known as an innovator, tastemaker, and influential artist as he brought back that hip-hop taste in a rather digestible way, so that people could understand the hip-hop culture pretty well. Forbes estimates his net worth to be around $400 million in 2024.
Let’s delve into this artist’s journey, struggle, and ingress in people’s hearts, and how he built that massive net worth even after incurring a loss of $1.5 billion from Adidas.
Intros of His Life
Kanye West’s real name is Kanye Omari West, born on June 8, 1977, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father’s name is Ray West, and his Mother is Donda West (Knee Williams.)
Ray West was a former black panther, and the first black photojournalist, while Donda West was a college professor.
He was the only child of his parents. His parents got separated when he was just three years old, and he settled with his mother in Chicago, Illinois.
His mother Donda West ended up being a single mother, and the father later became a Christian counselor.
Education
After residing in Chicago, he got his education at Polaris School, on the outskirts of Oak Lawn. But, again he shifted to Nanjing, China with his mother when he was 10, and learned the Chinese language.
His affection for the arts was shown at an early age, as he became a poet, musician, and rapper before entering adolescence.
Just after his school graduation, he started attending painting classes at Chicago’s American Academy of Art, since he got a scholarship in 1997.
But, again he shifted to Chicago State University to study english at the age of 20. His interest in music picked up and he dropped out of the university to pursue his musical career.
His Initial Struggles
West’s career in the music field began to shape in 1996 when he produced as many as eight tracks to underground rapper Grav’s debut album “Down to Earth.” West signed as a producer for the label company “Hip Hop Since 1978” and he also worked as a ghost producer for Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie.
In 1999, he collaborated with GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar the Go-Getters a hip-hop group to release the “World Record Holders.”
He also worked with female rapper Foxy Brown, as he produced the third song of her album Chyna Doll (1999). The album was a US Billboard 200 topper.
The Upsurge of His Career
At this point, his career was creeping along, from 2000 through 2002, Kanye worked with Rock-A-Fella Records with artists like Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel, and Freeway as a producer, making “The Blueprint” album, that secured a place in Rolling Stone’s greatest hip-hop albums list.
Due to the lack of unconventional rap technique, he struggled to make a breakthrough as a recording artist, but finally, Rock-A-Fella head Damon Dash signed him.
His career kicked in when he recorded his debut song “Through The Wire” in 2002, with a jaw, that was surgically operated on, reflecting his valor, and perseverance. Billboard Hot 100 ranked this song 15th place for the next five weeks.
“The Collage Dropout” album was a great success considering the nominations on Billboard, and American Music Awards.
Songs like “Jesus Walks”, and “Slow Jamz” were the highlights, earning major kudos from the people, and prestigious award shows.
His second album “Late Registration” came in 2005, again made a place in the Billboard 200, and the third album “Graduation” became his most-sold album to this date.
West’s other albums like 808s & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Life of Pablo, and Yeezus brought him widespread acclaim, along with several awards.
Awards and Triumphs
Awards were a meager testament to Ye’s talent, skill, and hard work. Kanye West has won 24 Grammy awards, sharing the 11th position with Jay-Z, most of which came in collaboration with Jay-Z.
This again is a record, that no rapper has won that number of Grammys while in alliance with Jay-Z.
His 808s & Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Life of Pablo albums were honored by triple platinum, while Yezee got a double platinum certification.
His total of 84 singles got platinum certification, he also got his first-ever diamond certification in 2021 for his single song “Stronger.”
He has totally bagged 273 awards across the world: including 5 MTV Video Music Awards, 11 BET Awards, 3 American Music Awards, and 18 Billboard Music Awards.
Business Collaborations
Apart from music, he holds a significant interest in fashion, so he started his own clothing line in 2006, which eventually closed in 2009. West released his unique Bapesta collaborating with the “A Bathing Ape” Japanese fashion brand In 2007.
He also collaborated with prominent footwear and apparel corporation Nike to release his Air Yeezy shoes. However, his most curious deal was with The German apparel and footwear company “Adidas” for Adidas Yeezy Boosts.
He made substantial income from the deal. The deal is set from 2016 through 2026, this deal turned out lucrative for Adidas and Kanye West both. Even after terminating the partnership with “Ye” or “Kanye West” the company made nearly $2 billion from the so-called brand.
As per Forbes Kanye made $228 million annually as long as the deal lasted.
By spewing anti-semitic remarks, West shot himself on the foot, as Adidas officially terminated the deal on October 25, 2022, by pointing out that anti-semitic remarks violated company’s “Diversity and Inclusion” and “Mutual Respect and Fairness” policies.
Gap Inc. also severed its ties with Kanye following the “White Lives Matter” controversy.
He also did ventures like establishing restaurant named “KW Foods LLC”, the creative content company “Donda”, starting an architecture firm, and also co-owned Tidal. He also did an unsuccessful presidential run, and featured in some movies, as well as tried a hand in filmmaking, but nothing seemed to workout for him as much as the music industry.
Net Worth and Assets
Kanye West started his career as a hip-hop artist, and did a lot of music production, before getting his first break. But, after that, his entrepreneurial mind came into play, which made him an approximately $400 million stakeholder.
His net worth portfolio is diversified amongst cars, real estate investments, possession of marine, and aerial vehicles, stock investments, etc.
Moreover, west holds ownership of 15 brands of cars, of which $1 Million worth of Lamborghini Aventador, and $900,000 of Bentley Continental GT are the highlights.
He also owns 4 yachts and 2 private jets. He first bought his real estate property in 2014, with his wife Kim Kardashian at Hidden Hills Mansion, spending $20 million. Kim reportedly said that the house was worth $60 million after the renovation.
After the duo’s separation, reports say that Kim bought the house from his ex for just $23 million.
In 2021, West purchased $57.3 million worth of a Malibu beachfront home, renovated by a Japanese architect, he said to make this his bomb shelter or ‘Batcave’, but left it abandoned after some renovation work.
Currently, he has put the house for sale and is still waiting for a buyer, even though he has slashed the price to $15 million.
West also possesses $16 million worth 320 acres of property in Calabasas, while he sold the $14 million Monster Lake Ranch within $11 million. He also sold the $2 million worth Commercial building in Cody, Wyoming, for an undisclosed amount.
Final Reflections on His Odyssey
When overviewing his life, it turns out that he’s certainly clear about his decisions, and backed them, no matter what. He was named in one of the most influential people’s list by Time.
But, his divorce from Kim, the notorious abrupt interception of Taylor Swift, his anti-Semitic views, and frequent hate comments on them, and his presidential run are signs that he is in conflict with his own mind.
If we negotiate further, he also supported homo-sexuality and faith-based organizations. Ye indicated a loophole in the thirteenth amendment, and favored the modification.
In 2018, it reportedly came to light that, the diagnosis of West came out as a “bipolar disorder” which he declined saying that he might be autistic.
However, he probably helped Jay-Z uplift his career, and founded “Donda Foundation” to fight illiteracy and dropouts. Also, there are some instances that show, West is also known to handle some of his trophies to eligible candidates, and for some other things too.
But one thing is for sure, he didn’t want to settle in one thing, he just wanted to continue engaging in other stuffs, and eventually screw the things up. So, it’s really hard to gauge his singularity. His net worth portfolio is as fluctuating as his life.