Kanye West is an American rapper, producer, composer, designer, and husband of reality TV star Kim Kardashian. The singer has been called the greatest artist of the 21st century several times. And he is trying with all his might to maintain this title.
Musical career
Kanye West was born into a very intelligent family, his father was a photojournalist, and his mother taught at the University of Clark Atlanta, where she had the title of professor. When the boy was 3 years old, his parents divorced. Kanye stayed with his mother, moved with her to Chicago, and then they lived in China for a while.
Already in his teens, Kanye begins to rap, writes music and sells his works to other artists. After leaving school, Kanye West entered the American Academy of Arts, and later transferred to the University of Chicago, where his mother worked at that time.
At the age of 20, the rapper quits school and decides to pursue a musical career. At first, he was engaged in the promotion of local musicians, creating compositions for them. Kanye has formed an unusual and very memorable style of his works: accelerated samples of soul compositions.
In 2000, Kanye began working on the promotion of the rapper Jay-Z's album. He carefully selected compositions, processed them, and as a result, "The Blueprint" was called by the critics a classic of hip-hop. the album was a resounding success, hitting all the charts in the country, making the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Despite all the successes, Kanye West still dreamed of performing on stage on his own. And in 2003 his life changed dramatically. The producer got into a car accident, where he received significant damage to his jaw. to forget about the trauma and pain, Kanye begins to write songs. This is how the rapper's debut album, The College Dropout, was born. It was released in February 2004 and sold 500,000 copies in its first week.
The College Dropout was certified platinum three times, and Kanye West himself was nominated for 10 Grammy nominations in 2005, 3 of which he won: Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Collaboration.
After such a resounding success, Kanye West's style was impudently copied, so he decided to change his style of performance. Already in the fall of 2004, the rapper was able to open his own music label, which allowed him to publish his works on his own.
The singer's second album came as a surprise to many fans. Kanye West used a live string orchestra, and also involved the creation of the compositions of the famous American composer John Brion. In the first week after the release of the album, 860,000 copies were sold. And again, the work of Kanye West was appreciated, the album became three times platinum, brought the singer not only deafening fame, but also not a small fee.
Fashion industry
in 2009, the rapper takes a break from his musical career, deciding to take up fashion. For 4 years he worked on the creation of the Pastelle clothing line. But after signing a contract with Nike, Kanye West closed his production. For this sports brand, Kanye designs the Air Yeezy sneakers. and in 2011 the company "Adidas" lured the rapper to itself, releasing his collection of sneakers "Yeezy Boost" and boots "Yeezy 950 Boot". For the use of his name and idea, the singer received impressive royalties.
Income
Oddly enough, but the bulk of Kanye West's income comes from the fashion industry. After signing a contract with Adidas and launching a line of shoes, the rapper began to receive regular payments from the sale of each pair of sneakers and boots. Earning on sneakers was enough to purchase a huge house in California, where West now lives with his wife Kim Kardashian and four children.
The house has 2 spas, many dressing rooms, a library with rare books, a collection of items by the artist Takashi Murakami. All this is located on a plot of 3.5 acres, there are vineyards, flower gardens, and a swimming pool.
in 2019, sales of footwear under the name of Kanye West amounted to $ 1.5 billion. The rapper draws all sketches on his own, paying great attention to details and color scheme. As a result, West receives 15% of the turnover of the collection.
In 2015, Kanye launches his collection of clothes and shoes. Kim Kardashian actively promoted her husband's business on her Instagram account. In turn, West takes an active part in his wife's business. constantly editing her sketches, correcting inaccuracies, bringing all the details to perfection.
And although Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have separate budgets, in 2017 they decided to team up to create a brand of children's clothing. The collection featured models for boys and girls aged 2 to 8 years. The price segment of clothing can be attributed to the average, for example, a jacket for young fashionistas costs around $ 250.
Despite such fabulous fees, rumors of Kanye West's bankruptcy are constantly circulating. This is due to its increased wastefulness. The rapper loves to give expensive gifts not only to his beloved wife Kimberly Kardashian, but he also presents various expensive gifts to his friends.
Most of the singer's income goes to the maintenance of two huge houses and an apartment in a prestigious location in New York. All these expenses do not allow a large amount of money to accumulate in Kanye West's bank account. But, nevertheless, the rapper, producer and creator of the sneaker line is constantly working, developing and looking for new opportunities to make money.
