Anytime Jay-Z and Kanye work together on a project, the outcome is always a hot track.
Kanye fought hard to be taken seriously as a rapper. He carried around recordings of his songs wherever he went and played them for anyone he believed could help him become a solo artist. No one would take him seriously. Kanye was thought of as a producer. After several rejections, it seemed as if Kanye might never get the chance to become known as a rapper.
In 2002, Roc-A-Fella finally took a chance on Kanye as a solo artist and signed the twenty-five-year-old to a contract. Kanye finally had the shot at his dream. But an incident that occurred that fall threatened to ruin Kanye’s chances at superstardom—not to mention his life—before he had hardly begun.
Anytime Jay-Z and Kanye work together on a project, the outcome is always a hot track.
In the early morning of October 23, Kanye crashed his Lexus rental car in Los Angeles. He had just left the recording studio and nearly died in the accident. DJ Whoo Kid, who was with Kanye in the studio that night with rapper Ludacris, said Kanye had sped off from the studio because he was upset with how the evening had went. Kanye ended up in the hospital. His jaw was broken in three places and had to be wired shut for several weeks so it could heal.
Kanye soon turned his near-tragedy into a positive. In a 2011 issue of the Sabotage Times, Kanye said: “It gave me the chance to really focus on my music. That was the first time in my career when I could tell people, ‘I can’t go to the studio with you,’ and people weren’t trippin’. Because at that time I was an established producer and everybody wanted me to go to the studio to work on their music, and they didn’t’ even take it serious when I said I was going to work on mine.”
Kanye poses with one of his first awards, after winning New Male Artist of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards.
Instead of resting at home to help recover from his injuries, Kanye snuck into the studio to work on finishing his debut record. With few exceptions, most of the songs already had been written. One of those exceptions was a track called “Through the Wire,” in which Kanye rapped about his accident, his recovery, and his desire to succeed as a rapper. He recorded his vocals while his jaw was wired shut.
“Through the Wire” was released in September 2003 as the first single off Kanye’s forthcoming debut record. The song’s video featured footage from his surgical procedures and pictures of a swollen-faced Kanye taken shortly after his accident. The song and the video were well received by critics and by the public. “Through the Wire” found its way into Billboard’s top twenty and peaked at number four on the Rap Albums chart.
The song’s biggest impact was that it left many people wondering what the rest of Kanye’s debut record was going to sound like. That question was answered in February 2004. Kanye’s debut—aptly titled The College Dropout—was a smash hit. It debuted at number two on Billboard’s chart and sold nearly a half-million copies in its first week. Those numbers were comparable to what Jay-Z’s records received. By July, The College Dropout had sold more than 2 million copies. Critics loved the album, too. AllMusic gave it a perfect five-star rating, saying it was “nearly as phenomenal as the boastful West has led everyone to believe.…we were more than aware that West’s stature as a producer was undeniable; now we know that he’s also a remarkably versatile lyricist and a valuable MC.”
In addition to “Through the Wire,” The College Dropout featured the number one single “Slow Jamz” (with Twista and comedian/actor Jamie Foxx), “All Falls Down,” “Jesus Walks,” and “The New Workout Plan.” Other songs included all-star guest performers. Jay-Z rapped on “Never Let Me Down,” Ludacris rapped on “Breathe In Breathe Out,” and Talib Kweli and Common traded verses on “Get Em High.”
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.
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.”