How Kanye West's college trilogy changed rap music forever: A closer look at his artistry

Hip-Hop in the 90s was saturated with "gangster" rappers like Tupac, Biggie, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and many more. Most of the rappers back then talked about the gang affiliations, police brutality, racism, drug addiction and more conscious matters. This genre of music was thought to be predominantly for the African-Americans. However Kanye's revolutionary sound and style changed the way modern music is produced.

Career before Kanye's first debut album

Donda West gave birth to Kanye in Atlanta, Georgia but was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. According to Donda, her son was a creative youngster as ever since he was 13 years old Kanye has already started to pick up the musical instruments. He enrolled into the Chicago State University but because of his artistic progress he eventually dropped out at the age of 20, sacrificing his education for a chance at being a successful musician. During the mid 90s West started to create beats for a few local Chicago artists and he even managed to make his way to the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 chart as he had hands on the production of the third track on Foxy Brown's second studio album Chyna Doll.

Roc-A-Fella records : The first step

During the early 2000s Roc-A-Fella records consisting of artists like none other than Jay-Z , Ludacris and Alicia Keys took keen interest in Kanye's unique production style. He used old soul samples, chopped them up into segments and conjured beats nobody ever thought of. His name has started to pop up around the music industry after his contributions in Jay-Z's critically acclaimed 2001 album The Blueprint, which is on the top of a lot of people's all time rap album rankings. Here is a clip from a studio session during The Blueprint era where Kanye shows one of his amazing beats to Jay-Z

Kanye eventually signs to Roc-A-Fella records not only as a producer but also as a rapper. Record labels hesitated to sign him as he did not fit into the image of a "gangster" rapper which was the trend in those times. In 2002 a horrible car crash loomed upon Kanye, shattering his jaw. However this only inspired him to create his first hit single as a rapper "Through the Wire" while his jaw was wired shut! The following video shows Pharrell Williams first time listening to this song. His reaction says it all.

The College era

It was February 2004, Kanye West's debut album The College Dropout has been making waves in the Billboard Hot 100. The critics and the fans loved the fresh new sounds from the pink polo man. How was his sound fresh? The mainstream media thought of rap as a "gangster" genre. Even though Kanye was an amazing storyteller like the other popular rappers at the time, his delivery was unserious, wholesome and goofy. This vocal style went well with the sped up pitch shifted soul and R&B vocal samples, exquisite drums and gospel choirs which was still uncommon to the masses. The topics of Christianity, self-consciousness, materialism and family were all rapped through the verses of this album. His bright colored outfits, a confident aura and his sense of humor are what separated him from his peers.

In his second project "Late Registration", the expansion and the diversity of sound is very much audible. The effects of G-Funk has been added to the already versatile and stylistic roster of sounds. The listeners can also notice the applications of new instruments like Chinese bells, berimbau, Chamberlin and celesta. He has started to shift the vibes of the music industry and it only gets better from here.

After visiting U2 and The Rolling Stones in their respective concerts, Kanye wanted his next project to be more leaned towards concerts and live events. His music went "electric" as he developed an interest in Euro-disco. Hence, Kanye's third studio album Graduation (2007) was formed. His biggest hit "Stronger" featuring the pioneers of electronic music Daft Punk was from this album. The heavy use of synthesizers is what truly made this new. West also drew inspirations from the biggest rockstars like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for their chord progressions and melodies.

50 cent's Curtis dropped on the same day as Kanye did. 50 cent was no stranger in the industry. He was THE gangster in 2007. The rivalry of the polar opposite albums was hence formed but Kanye emerged victoriously as "Graduation" outsold "Curtis" by a large margin. The transition of rap was visible. Modern rap was finally born and we moved on from gangster rap.