Tope Delano
Kanye West needs little or no introduction in the entertainment world. Since hitting the limelight many years ago, he has gone on to not only become a multi-award winning rapper but also a successful business man.
Kanye’s mom Donda West, was a member of the Department of English and Speech at Chicago State University. Donda then went on to head the department for years. While serving as head of the department, she was also Foreign Expert to the People’s Republic of China, where her and son Kanye lived for a few years. Donda retired from CSU after 24 years then went on to manage her son’s career, She became Kanye’s full-time manager in 2004.
The rapper on his part received a scholarship to attend the American Academy of Art but left the school to attend CSU so as to study English. But he again dropped out before proceeding to release his debut record, College Dropout.
Not many people also know that Kanye lived in China from a very young age, in fact, from the age of 10 and at some point was very good at speaking Mandarin.
Donda’s book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar, also revealed how she moved with her son to Nanjing in China in the 1980s, after her job required her to do so. Kanye was able to settle into school as the only foreigner and in no time picked up the language and had good grade.
Kanye is also known for his charitable spirit. The rapper reportedly co-founded a charity to curb high school drop-out rates for under privileged youths. the charity was however closed in 2011. A forrmer executive director, Joseph Collins, wrote on the closure saying, “The Kanye West Foundation has officially closed its doors after a successful four-plus years of programming and events. It’s been an incredible experience working with Kanye and the board to realise his mother’s vision and I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead the Foundation.”
The rapper is also a successful businessman who owns a restaurant that licensed Fatburger franchises in 2008. He also owns a digital agency known as DONDA as well as a footwear line; Yeezy.
The award-winning artiste is mostly called a genius as he churns out great content to his teeming fans. It has also been revealed that Kanye has synaesthesia and sees sounds as colours.
The rapper is also married to reality TV star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian with whom he has 3 kids.
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