Lil Yeezy: Kanye West Before Fame
Quick Links
Today, Kanye West is a billionaire and the richest African American pop star in the history of America. The rapper has a mind-blowing net worth of about $6.6 billion, and it can be safe to say that he is an all-rounder. Though Kanye is best known for his rapping skills, he is also a businessperson with his clothing and fashion line.
West, who likes to call himself Yeezy, has also established a brand by the same name. It was a historical partnership with Adidas, and it has earned him a considerable chunk of the massive wealth that he now possesses. Looking at Kanye’s achievements makes a person wonder about his early days before the billions. A few chapters from Lil Yeezy’s life have recently popped up, and they offer much better insight into how he became the person he is today.
Before Becoming A Popstar
Kanye Omari West moved to Illinois, Chicago, with his mother after his parents got divorced when he was about 3. His mother, Donda West, is an influential figure in his life, and she did everything she could to support the young Kanye prosper and make his dreams come true. For instance, when West was about 13 years old, she sponsored making his first record that producer/DJ No I.D. was remarkably impressed by a few years later.
In 1997, West landed a scholarship from the American Academy of Art, but he soon dropped out to study English Literature at Chicago State University. After which, he dropped out of school at the age of 20 to pursue music. He started building a career in music before having his big break in 2000.
In 1998 he sold his first beat to local Chicago rapper Gravity and earned $8,000. Then he sold another one for $5,000 to Jermaine Dupri for his debut album called ‘Life in 1472’. He soon landed an interview with Columbia Records to decide upon signing him, but West got quite upset when they left him dangling in uncertainty. It can be said that the rapper’s success today is like a slam on the face of every organization that failed to recognize his talent when he was a struggling artist.
West’s Childhood Artwork
The secret behind Kanye’s mind-blowing skills at designing fashion items and shoes for Yeezy was discovered recently. West was a natural when it came to art from a young age. He began attending the Hyde Park Art Academy in Chicago when he was only four years old.
After getting enrolled at the Chicago State University, West went to study at the Art Institute of Chicago. He also attended Nanjing University in the People’s Republic of China and then Polaris school for Individual Education. West’s plan behind joining all of these programs was to enroll for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the American Academy of Art in Chicago while also pursuing music to build a real career out of it.
Having a glance at where he is today, it can be said that Baby Yeezy did make his dreams come true. Today, West is both a successful musician and a fashion designer, and his life has turned out exactly as he had planned it.
The story of Yeezy’s interest in art resurfaced when a lawyer-cum-entrepreneur from DC bought his artwork from his childhood days, currently holding a value of about $23,000. After watching an episode of the PBS series Antiques Roadshow, this lawyer Vinoda Basnayake took an interest in West’s childhood artwork.
Kanye West’s Childhood Home
Kanye might be going around in the world with his newfound wealth and success, but it turns out that the rapper is very attached to his childhood home in Chicago. Donda West purchased a house in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago in the early 1980s when she had moved there with Baby Yeezy after her divorce. She later sold this property in 2004 to move elsewhere.
The rapper is attached to the memory of the house and the memory of his late mother, with whom he spent all of his childhood in that house. He decided to repurchase it at a price of $225,000.
Kanye even got into trouble with the authorities in Chicago because he was trying to preserve a house that was in a dangerous and unstable condition while construction and renovations were unadvisable. However, this was not simply another house for West, and it was the memory of when he and his mother had dreamt of buying this house one day since they were still tight on money and were living in a Roseland-area apartment.
The hard part of life may be over for Baby Yeezy, and he can afford most properties that he lays his eyes upon. Kanye West has an average annual income of at least $100 million from his various business endeavors, music career, record producing, endorsements, and royalties. The brand Yeezy is worth about a jaw-dropping $5 billion, and Kanye draws at least $1.5 billion out of it.
Source: Celebrity Net Worth, Stuff, Billboard, Washingtonian, Revolt.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEq6CcoJWowW%2BvzqZmq6GTnXqxu9aeqZ%2BtnGS4orrYnmSwnaOpeqOxxaipnmWWlrqmew%3D%3D