Kanye Omari West (born June 8, 1977), now legally known as Ye, is a groundbreaking American rapper and producer whose stylistically shifting albums, such as The College Dropout (2004) and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010), have cemented his status as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history. Rising from a middle-class upbringing in Chicago, he dropped out of college to produce for Jay-Z before achieving massive commercial success, selling 160 million records and earning 24 Grammy Awards. His life has been as polarizing as his music, marked by a failed 2020 presidential run, a high-profile marriage to Kim Kardashian, and public struggles with bipolar disorder. Between 2022 and 2025, West faced widespread condemnation and lost major corporate partnerships after expressing antisemitic views, praising Adolf Hitler, and denying the Holocaust, though he issued a formal apology in 2026, attributing his behavior to his mental health. Beyond music, his Yeezy fashion line with Adidas and collaborations with luxury brands solidified his cultural influence, while Time named him among the 100 most influential people in 2005 and 2015. Despite his controversies, his early work remains critically acclaimed, with six of his albums appearing on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.