The Influence of Kanye West

By Ruben Ayala

As his legacy in the Hip-Hop industry continues to grow, Kanye West has already proven to be one of the more important artists and producers ever in Hip-Hop. He has given this generation such modern-classics like: “Graduation”, “Late Registration”, “College Dropout”, and “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. He is certainly one of the greatest artists that would go from producer to rapper. If it was not for Kanye West, would there be artists like Chance The Rapper, Childish Gambino, Lupe Fiasco, or Kid Cudi? Artists that listeners could tell are heavily influenced by Kanye’s production and beat making. Kanye changed Hip-Hop as far as a new sound and beats is concerned.

Kanye West’s career started earlier than some may think, but initially Kanye was just a producer with the aspirations of being a rapper. He was a producer for years throughout the 1990’s, but his first big single he produced was called “The Truth” for rapper Beanie Sigel in 2000. The song sampled Graham Nash’s “Chicago”. The song was a small sample size of the sound Kanye would make so popular only a few years later. Only a year after the underground success of “The Truth” Kanye had the opportunity of a lifetime and was asked to produce on Jay-Z’s iconic album “The Blueprint”. Kanye produced five out of the thirteen songs on the album, more than any other producer. These included “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and “Takeover” the controversial diss track about Nas and Mobb Deep’s Prodigy.

Kanye was not the only notable producer making their “debut” on “The Blueprint” producer, Just Blaze, also contributed heavily on the album. It is hard to think what “The Blueprint” would sound like without Kanye’s influence with his production and the use of soulful beats. Could not imagine songs like “Izzo” sounding any different than what it is now. Unfortunately, Kanye still had not done what he truly wanted to do and that was to both be a rapper and producer. Even though the rapper had appeared on mixtapes as a rapper as far back as 1995–1996 people still looked at him as a producer only.

Kanye West did not get his shot to rap on a mainstream level until 2003, when he released “Through The Wire” which would be one of the singles off his debut album “The College Dropout” in 2004. The song detailed the events prior to and following the near fatal car crash Kanye was involved in in 2002. One of the key things about the single was that Kanye actually had his jaw wired shut while recording the song. This is what gave it that key lyrical sound that it is known for. Kanye also would establish his continuous use of soulful beats and samples with this song, sampling Chaka Khan’s “Through The Fire”.

The success of “Through The Wire” and “The College Dropout” proved that Kanye West belonged in Hip-Hop both as a producer and rapper. It proved that he actually had a story to tell through his lyrics. The album was a really groundbreaking sounding album especially for the time. By 2004, sampling was certainly nothing new in Hip-Hop, but Kanye took it to a whole other level. Kanye’s use of beats from classic artists like Chaka Khan, and Marvin Gaye, but also Hip-Hop artists like Lauryn Hill and Outkast in “The College Dropout” was certainly new and it gave it a old but new sound.

Immediately following the success of “The College Dropout” Kanye became a huge star. Winning awards for “The College Dropout” throughout 2004, but also establishing himself as a legit rapper. Immediately after in 2005 Kanye released “Late Registration” and further established his sound and influence. Like his previous album, “Late Registration” would have a heavy dose of samples from a wide range of artists and continued to establish this new funkier sound. From sampling Ray Charles’s “I Got A Woman” on “Gold Digger” to sampling The Notorious B.I.G.’s “What’s Beef?” on “Late”, Kanye again had a wide variety of beats and the famous production skills that made “Late Registration” another proven modern-classic. Kanye also featured a future star in Lupe Fiasco on “Touch The Sky”.

By 2007, Kanye West was a legit star. He had two Grammy winning albums in “The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” and if it was not proven already that Kanye was a future Hip-Hop legend he definitely proved his case for that title when he released “Graduation” in 2007. Kanye had already proven that he was there to stay for the next decade or so. For many this album is Kanye’s best work and many grew up on this album. The album was more futuristic sounding with sampling’s by artists like Daft Punk on “Stronger”. He also had a strong use of synthesizers on the album. He also famously sampled Michael Jackson’s “PYT” on “Good Life”.

One of Kanye West’s boldest album certainly has to be “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”. The album is certainly considered to be one of Kanye’s best by many fans. It is also known for its many contributions by artists like Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, RZA of The Wu-Tang Clan, and interestingly enough Elton John. On this album Kanye West took many risks lyrically. It is really noticeable that he tried a more aggressive sound for this album and for how the album’s production and beats are made it really fits well. Kanye might have hit his musical peak with this album as of experimentation and use of synthesizers.

Kanye West’s influence can be heard all throughout Hip-Hop today. A perfect example of this is actually the album “To Pimp A Butterfly”. Even though Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West are much different lyrically the jazz sounding beats and samples on the album are very reminiscent of “The College Dropout” or “Late Registration”. If it were not for Kanye’s influence maybe a jazz sounding album would not work. Other artists that seem to be highly influenced by Kanye’s sound are Chance The Rapper, Childish Gambino Lupe Fiasco, and Kid Cudi. Whenever listening to one of their songs or albums you can hear that influence and the similarity in sound.

Chance The Rapper no doubt has created his own sound, but it is hard not to know where the majority of his influence comes from. “Acid Rap” is somewhat of Chance’s version of “Graduation” it has that same feel and sound and in “Coloring Book” there are glimpses of “The College Dropout” and “Graduation”. Same can be said about Kid Cudi “Man On The Moon” gives out the same vibe. Childish Gambino’s “Because The Internet” can be seen having that same influence as well. Lupe Fiasco kind of gives out a “Late Registration Kanye” vibe both lyrically and with his earlier work.

Kanye West has quickly become a modern day legend in Hip-Hop. His influence can even be traced to some “trap rappers” like Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi. It is crazy when thinking about how much Kanye really has changed the sound of Modern Hip-Hop. Certain albums would not sound the way they do without Kanye’s input and influence. Kanye’s influence will continue to spread as long as the next generation of rappers come along.