Ye ( YAY; born Kanye Omari West KAHN-yay oh-MAH-ree, June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He has been listed among the greatest rappers of all time and referred to as one of the most prominent figures in hip-hop. His music, characterized by frequent stylistic shifts, has been credited with facilitating the emergence of rappers who did not conform to gangsta rap conventions. He is also known for his controversial public persona, including his polarizing cultural and political commentary.
West was born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago. After dropping out of college to pursue a music career, he became a producer for Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and garnered recognition for his "chipmunk soul" production style before signing with the label as a recording artist. His debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), received acclaim, and his second album, Late Registration (2005), became his first of eleven US Billboard 200 number-one albums. He has five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles―"Slow Jamz" (2003), "Gold Digger" (2005), "Stronger" (2007), "E.T." (2011, as a featured artist), and "Carnival" (2024)―and was the first rapper to top the chart across three decades. Beyond his musical career, he has collaborated with Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Gap Inc. on clothing and footwear, and led the Yeezy collaboration with Adidas.
West's life has been the subject of significant media coverage. He has been a frequent source of controversy due to his conduct on social media, at award shows, and in public settings, as well as his comments on the music and fashion industries, U.S. politics, race, and slavery. His Christian faith, relationships, feuds with other celebrities, and mental health have also been topics of media attention. From 2014 to 2022, he was married to Kim Kardashian, with whom he has four children. In 2020, West ran an unsuccessful independent presidential campaign. From 2022 to 2025, West drew widespread condemnation—and lost sponsors and partnerships—for expressing antisemitic views and support for Nazism; he praised Adolf Hitler, used swastika imagery, and denied the Holocaust. He apologized for his remarks and behavior in 2026, blaming his antisemitism on his struggles with bipolar disorder.
West is one of the best-selling music artists, with 160 million records sold. He has 24 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists at the award show. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2005 and 2015. Rolling Stone listed six of West's albums―The College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation (2007), 808s & Heartbreak (2008), My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), and Yeezus (2013)—in its "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list and named him one of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time".
