Kanye Bio

Kanye West

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1996

College Dropout

An English major at Chicago State University, where his mother, Donda, chairs the department, West quits school to pursue his music career full-time. "He said, 'Mom, I can do this, and I don't need to go to college, because I've had a professor in the house with me my whole life,'" Donda West tells Time. "I'm thinking, this boy is at it again. He always could twirl a word." (West's parents divorced when he was young.)

2001

September 18

Jay-Z's Architect

After turning out hit singles for Common, Ludacris and Cam'Ron, among others, West gets his big break when Jay-Z asks him to produce several tracks on his chart-topping album The Blueprint.

2002

October 23

Near Death Experience

On his way home from a marathon recording session in L.A., West crashes his Lexus after falling asleep at the wheel. While recovering in the hospital, West pens "Through