Lately, Kanye West has had a constant presence in the media, being chastised for his wild and unpredictable behavior. He has been on a streak of getting on people’s bad side, and many celebrities have stepped up and called him out. Most recently, he claimed that President Obama “calls the house phone” to talk with West. He still insists that he does, even after President Obama himself said, “Look, I love his music. He’s incredibly creative. I don’t think I’ve got his home number.” West’s antics have earned him an infamous reputation for being “that guy,” but it has also definitely propelled him to higher levels in terms of his music.

Kanye West was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. . Since that time, he has grown into arguably the most influential rapper of all time. His parents divorced when he was 3 years old, so his mother, an English professor, raised him on Chicago’s South Side. Starting at an early age, he took an immediate interest in the arts including poetry, music and art. He started rapping in the third grade and writing musical compositions in the seventh grade. He continued his artistic hobbies such as painting and writing poems into high school and took them to college at Chicago State University where he received a scholarship, completing a year of art school. While in school and even after he dropped out, he worked alongside local artists, focusing on hip-hop and perfecting his craft.

In 2001, he got the opportunity of a lifetime when Jay-Z, then a well-known and respected rapper but not the mogul he is today, hired him to produce his album The Blueprint. The album was a great success, and it led to his work of producing for other rappers and singers. In 2002, he signed with Roc-a-Fella records, Jay-Z’s label, and officially started making his own music. Unfortunately, just as he began to hit his stride, he was involved in a head-on collision that left him with a fractured jaw that had to be wired shut. Remarkably, that did not stop him from going back to the recording studio and starting his debut album, The College Dropout, which sold 2.9 million copies and won him a Best Rap Album Grammy in 2005.

Since then, West has been on a hot streak with his music, creating hit after hit. He has also come to be known for his wild outbursts in public, most famously when he interrupted Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Music Awards as she accepted her Best Female Video award. Despite this, West has some of the most loyal fans in the hip-hop industry. In fact, fans have established a serious religion in his honor called “Yeezianity,” playing with his nickname “Yeezy.” People absolutely love his music and quite literally worship him for it. He has also begun to delve into the world of design and fashion, releasing a clothing line and shoes called “Yeezy’s,” which sold out within hours and resold for several-thousand dollars. He may be seen as wild and childish by some, but it seems he is going nowhere fast and will no doubt continue his musical genius, especially with his upcoming album, “So Help Me God.”