In an effort to broaden his fanbase, Kanye toured with U2 to promote Late Registration, his experience of performing in front of packed arenas going on to inspire its follow-up. “Touch the Sky,” meanwhile, features Lupe Fiasco and samples Curtis Mayfield to magical effect. The album also featured a heartfelt ode to his mother in the shape of “Hey Mama,” while “Celebration” pairs the most wilfully silly of Kanye lyrics with Brion’s ravishingly grandiose orchestral score. Jamie Foxx with inspiration from Ray Charles) and “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix),” which found West probing the ethics of the diamond trade and bling-obsessed hip-hoppers’ role in it.

Instead, there were pop tunes aplenty, such as the smash hit singles “Gold Digger” (feat. It has some of Kanye West’s best songs, even though the trademark high-pitched samples were nowhere to be found. Late Registration found Kanye working with soundtrack composer Jon Brion, who helped give the album a grander, more expansive sound. Riding the crest of the wave, he went straight back into the studio to begin work on its follow-up, released later that year. The College Dropout brought Kanye West huge commercial and critical success, winning Best Rap Album at 2005’s Grammys. “All Falls Down,” featuring Syleena Johnson, was yet another hit from the smash album. Lead single “Through The Wire,” written and recorded while West’s jaw was wired shut following a near-fatal car crash, is a self-reflective, heartfelt moment of carpe diem expression driven by an irresistible, pitched-up sample of Chaka Khan’s “Through The Fire.” “Spaceship” is a gospel-inflected tale of low-wage job struggles, while on “Jesus Walks” Kanye delivered a pro-Christian message over an ingeniously constructed infantry march. One of the most multi-faceted and idiosyncratic releases in rap history, it was nevertheless packed with enough pop nous to conquer the charts.

His 2004 debut album, The College Dropout, proved to be worth the wait. The Blueprint was Jay-Z’s fourth US chart-topper and turned Kanye West into hip-hop’s most in-demand producer, but a frustrating few years followed, as West sought to gain acceptance as a rapper in his own right. West’s productions, such as “Izzo (HOVA),” typically featured sped-up samples of Motown classics backed with stark, clipped beats. The beat tapes he sent out found him work for the likes of Foxy Brown and Jermaine Dupri, before Jay-Z snapped him up, putting Kanye to work on his 2001 Roc-A-Fella Records album, The Blueprint. Part of a close-knit Chicago hip-hop scene, West began his musical life as a producer for hire.

Kanye west dark fantasy soundcloud