Kanye Omari West born June 8, 1977) is an American musician, film director and fashion designer.
West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson.
His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments.