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- I remember playing demos for all these different labels
in here, bring different people in.
And everybody wanted the sound to sound like something
that was already out there.
And to me that was blocking,
that was a form of blocking your artistic freedom.
Not allowing you to just express what you wanted to do
and bring some type of change to the game.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] A man with a musical gift,
whose words spread controversy wherever he goes.
Kanye West became the most important new rap star
of the 2000s.
A character who made the mainstream come to him
rather than the other way around.
Proud winner of 21 Grammy Awards,
his ego is almost justified.
Kanye is one of the most recognizable rappers
of the 21st century,transforming the sound of music
through his production style and passionate lyrics.
- Kanye West is the super producer turned rapper
to reality star who's never at the headlines
and made some of the best rap hip-hop music
of the last two decades.
- Any opportunity I get to express my music,
I try to take it.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] However, controversial statements
will be a constant factor in his career,
affecting his life and causing uproar
around the pop culture world.
On top of that, Kanye's marriage to Kim Kardashian
added another layer to the stars overwhelming fame.
The constant hounding of the press
would affect Kanye's mental state later in his career.
But despite his outspoken behavior,
Kanye West has changed theworld with his sound and image,
developing a new Sunday service church in 2019
and releasing a gospel album.
- Only thing bad about performing was that,
while I was performing, I couldn't actually see it.
- [Narrator] It seems Kanye is turning his favor to religion
and staying out of the public disputes.
The past decade of his career has been turbulent.
But he maintains his status as one of the greatest rappers
of his generation.
- Around the time of the European Awards,
I think my public perception was at an all time low,
they made me look like I was just an animal
for running on stage and basically saying,
"This is how I feel,"
I felt like I was robbed at the awards and everything.
And you know, a lot of people would say negative things
about me, a lot of magazines pulled out on me,
a lot of people turned their backs on me
and inspired me to of into the studio and make music
that people couldn't deny,inspire the course for stronger.
That that don't kill me, it only make me stronger.
[upbeat music]
[soft music]
- Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia,
and he moved to Chicago when he was three years old.
His parents got divorced so he was raised solely by his mom.
And they had a great relationship,
they're really, really close.
She was a teacher.
He was very much brought up
in a very middle class background.
He had a good schooling.
He went to university to study art,
but dropped out after one year
because he really wanted to focus on his music.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] Kanye West's ambition in life
was always to become a professional rapper.
By the year 2000, Kanye was making a name for himself
in the music production scene.
This would solidify the beginning of his career.
[upbeat music]
- In the beginning, Kanye was working
with lots of unknown artists, lots of underground stars,
but it was his collaboration with Jay-Z
on his "Blueprint" album that really got Kanye noticed.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] After his persistent attempts
to get a contract, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella records,
Damon Dash, reluctantly signed him
to keep him from defecting to another label.
- It actually took Kanye quite a while
to persuade the other guys he was working with
that he should be taken seriously as a rap star.
You know, he didn't have the kind of gangster rap pedigree
that these other guys had.
At the time, it was like you needed to be,
a drug dealer or have been shot
in order to be taken seriously as having any credibility.
Kanye was this guy who'd grown up
in a beautiful suburb of Chicago.
His mother was a very respected academic.
He'd lived in China when he was 10 years old
and learned Chinese.
He certainly didn't have that kind of pedigree.
Ironically, it was a tragedy that gave Kanye
his first break as a solo artist.
- [Narrator] On the 23rd of October, 2002,
Kanye's life was to change dramatically.
He had been working late at a California recording studio,
when he eventually decided to drive home.
Kanye fell asleep at the wheel
causing a near fatal car crash.
The crash left him with a shattered jaw,
which was wired shut during reconstructive surgery.
- He was involved in a really serious car crash,
which involved him breaking his jaw in three places.
The jaw was then wired back together,
and it really provoked him in thinking life is for living,
let me live it.
- He talked about that he'd been kind of saved
because he's a religious man.
And I think he had this sense,
this could have confirmed that,
that he had this sense of purpose,
and that's why he'd been saved.
And people who worked with him said that from then on,
it was like a different character,
he was even more fired up, he was even more purposeful.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] Kanye used his life changing crash
to his advantage.
If anything, it encouraged him to fulfill his ambition
of becoming a rapper.
While suffering with his jaw wired shut,
he recorded his first single, "Through the Wire".
- "Through the Wire" was kind of a surprise big hit.
But in the background story behind it,
it's actually pretty incredible
the fact he had a life threatening car crash
and wrote and performed the song with his jaw wired shut
hence the name of the track,
just weeks after he'd had his jaw wired.
I think fans really pick up on on the pain
and the truth behind that track,
rather than just a gangster throwaway track
that a lot of other rappers were putting out at the time.
- There were so many different Polaroid pictures
that you see which take him through his life
through his journey.
And it shows that he's obviously really thought
about where he's come from, and probably where he's going.
♪ For breakfast, an Ensure for dizzert ♪
♪ Somebody ordered pancakes I just sip the sizzurp ♪
♪ That right there could drive a sane man bizerk ♪
♪ Not to worry the Mr. H-to-the-Izzo's back to wizzork ♪
♪ How do you console my mom or give her light support ♪
♪ Telling her, her sons' on life support ♪
♪ And just imagine how my girl feel ♪
♪ On the plane scared as hell that her guy-- ♪
- This was this kind of formative event.
And he emerges from sort of almost dying.
And as a sort of rap star and it worked.
It's sort of a self fulfilling prophecy.
He tells the story of who he's going to become
and he becomes that.
- You know it happened for a reason.
God knew I had a message, He knew I had a mission,
but He knew no one cared about me.
He said, "Kanye, I'm gonna make somebody care about you."
Bam, I nearly died.
That's one of the best things that can happen to a rapper.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] Kanye's first album,
titled "The College Dropout" was recorded in Los Angeles
while he was recovering from the accident.
Unfortunately, the album was leaked
months before its official release.
Kanye, however, used this to his advantage,
reviewing the album and making changes where he seemed fit.
It was then pushed back from its 2003 release date
and officially released the album with Roc-A-Fella Records
in February 2004.
"The College Dropout" went on to become
a certified triple platinum album in the U.S.
This accumulated Kanye 10 Grammy nominations,
leading to three wins, including Best Rap Song
for the track "Jesus Walks".
- I changed my name this week from Kanye to The Face,
which stands for the face of the Grammys.
Due to the fact that 10 nominations
is the third most in history, and from now on,
I prefer to be called The Face.
- [Narrator] It was safe to say that Kanye West
had established himself as a chart-topping rapper.
He was eager to show that offat the Grammy's after party.
- Somebody call hip-hop and tell him
that his artist won three Grammys tonight.
Let him know.
[crowd cheers]
I wanna thank my man Zekaya for co-writing
for helping me come up with my speech.
I wanna thank Brooke for helpingme come up with my speech.
I don't think I'll be on the internet like
we should take these Grammys away here write this speech
on the shelf.
I love y'all and y'all know I love the rap, right?
So I just, play that J Love E right quick,
and imma spit a verse with y'all right quick.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
♪ Now I wish I hear the alarm
♪ Y'all gotta know it's J. Lo with the cons ♪
♪ They claiming Kanye in the Vans ♪
♪ By the way he pop dollars on Louis Vuitton ♪
♪ Roc-A-Fellas are on
♪ And you know you lost sweet and get a lucky charm ♪
♪ If you ain't in Vegas ringingon the sweet of the palm ♪
♪ This song is about the jewelry in his arm ♪
♪ In fact, we gon' blow like Johnny Depp ♪
♪ And yep, I'll wake up with spouses ♪
♪ So let me break down what my vows is ♪
♪ I need John, he drunk like louses ♪
♪ Hop on couches, remove your blouses ♪
♪ Girls who go wild
♪ Is making Perry surprise
♪ How the hell the club allowed it ♪
♪ We gotta arrange it beforethe Range can afford to pay me ♪
♪ But can't afford that to happen ♪
♪ So hey man, give back
The Rockas in the building,Roc-A-Fella Records, good music.
I love y'all, 2005, hip-hop is alive.
It's your boy, Kanye and Louis Vuitton dog,
the Grammy winner.
Please get your frustrations out,
we better tape them with a run baby.
TLC, holla at me.
[crowd cheers]
[soft music]
- [Narrator] With the money gained from the sales
of "The College Dropout", Kanye was able to bring
a whole live orchestra into the recording session
for his second album, "Late Registration".
A bold move that would change the overall sound
of his music.
- You've got collaborations with people like Jamie Foxx,
Adam Levine.
You're seeing here that Kanye is respected
within the industry because he's got these great names
on board.
But it also shows that he's developing as an artist
with his skill at producing rap as well as melody.
[soft music]
- [Narrator] "Late Registration"sold over 2.3 million units
in the United States alone, and also broke a record
for the most digital downloads in a week.
When the single "Gold Digger" sold over 80,000 copies.
- "Gold Digger" was one of the most successful songs ever
and certainly one of the biggest hits
of Kanye West's career.
I think for mainstream people, people who, like myself,
who weren't really rap fans, everybody likes that song.
How can you not like that song?
It doesn't matter if you're into rap music or not.
It's a fantastically catchy crossover tune.
And the fact that he got Jamie Foxx to duet with him on it
was just perfect timing.
It's a fun video, you see KanyeWest looking extremely cool.
♪ [She give me money]
♪ Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger ♪
♪ [When I'm in need]
♪ But she ain't messin' wit no broke, broke ♪
♪ [She give me money]
♪ Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger ♪
♪ [When I'm in need]
♪ But she ain't messin' wit no broke, broke ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
♪ Get down girl, go 'head get down ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
♪ Get down girl, go 'head get down ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
♪ Get down girl, go 'head get down ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
♪ Get down girl, go 'head
♪ [Yeah, she give me money]
♪ Cutie da bomb
♪ Met her at a beauty salon [When I'm in need] ♪
♪ With a baby Louis Vuitton
♪ Under her under arm
- It was a great song, it was widely received
across all genres, and it reallyput Kanye West on the map.
- [Narrator] "Late Registration" also won Kanye
another Grammy for Best Rap Album.
♪ But she ain't messin' with no broke, broke ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
♪ Get down girl, go 'head get down ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
♪ Get down girl, go 'head get down ♪
♪ [I gotta leave]
- Now when I say get down,
that means for y'all to get up actually,
it's reverse psychology.
♪ Get down girl, go 'head get down [I gotta leave] ♪
♪ Cutie da bomb
♪ Met her at a beauty salon [When I'm in need] ♪
♪ With a baby Louis Vuitton
♪ Under her under arm [She give me money] ♪
♪ She said I can tell you rock
♪ I can tell by ya charm [When I'm in need] ♪
♪ Girls you got a flock
♪ I can tell by ya charm and ya arm [I gotta leave] ♪
♪ I'm lookin' for the one
♪ Have you seen her?
[soft music]
- [Narrator] Kanye's image in 2005 however,
changed dramatically.
Just days after "Late Registration" release,
during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims
on live television, Kanyeexposed his controversial views.
His comments reached much of the United States,
leading to mixed reactions.
George Bush will later call it,
one of the most disgusting moments of his presidency.
- In 2006, Kanye did one of the most shocking things
that he's ever done.
It was during a Hurricane Katrina telethon
where celebrities went on TV to try and raise money
for victims of the terrible events in New Orleans.
And Kanye West is standing there next to Mike Myers
and they are reading a teleprompter
talking about the devastation that happened.
And all of a sudden Kanye goes way off script.
It's absolutely hilarious to watch Mike Myers' face
because he literally looks like he's gonna die.
He's so uncomfortable, he's completely stuck
like a deer in the headlights.
He doesn't know what to do and Kanye is just going for it
and just ranting.
- I hate the way they portray us in the media.
If you see a black family, it says they're looting,
if you see a white family, it says they're looking for food.
And you know, it's been five days
because most of the people are black.
And even for me to complain about,
I will be a hypocrite because I've tried to turn away
from the TV because it's too hard to watch.
- Kanye is just ranting way and then finally at the end,
he says that George Bush doesn't like black people.
- It may end up being the most tragic loss of all.
- George Bush doesn't care about black people.
- [Director] Please call.
- In the past few days, America and people
has been stepping up.
- The producers quickly, quickly cut to somebody else
to get Kanye off camera as fast as possible
but because the show went out live,
there was no way to edit any of that from appearing.
It caused an international sensation.
It was the biggest headline to come out of the entire thing
that Kanye West went on TV
and basically called George Bush a racist.
- It proceeded to have a devastating effect really
on Kanye and his reputation.
[soft music]
- [Narrator] Throughout 2005 and 2006,
Kanye had been in the studio working on his third album.
He wanted to change the sound of his music again,
and after listening to songwriters,
Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash,
Kanye wanted to develop his wordplay
and storytelling ability.
[upbeat music]
Kanye third studio album, "Graduation"
gamored major publicity when its release date
pitted him in the sales competition against rapper 50 Cent.
Upon the September 2007 release,
"Graduation" outsold 50 Cent's,Curtis, by a large margin.
Debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart
and selling almost 1 million copies in its first week.
- I'm just very like internationally charged, you know,
it's fueled by all the places we visited,
Australia, New Zealand, touringwith the Rolling Stones,
touring with U2 and Bono was like,
nobody in the community's ever figured this out
except from Michael Jackson.
And that's making these stadium songs,
these songs that connect with people's,
their hearts, their minds and spirits,
10 years down the line.
When you look at "Through the Wire", it gets just as big
and that better response than "Gold Digger".
So this album right here is the stadium status.
Like I said on Big Brother, it's just stadium status.
[soft music]
- [Narrator] Kanye's life took a different direction
when his mother, Donda West died of complications
from cosmetic surgery involving breast reduction
in November 2007.
- I think the great rupture in Kanye's life
is the death of his mother.
He'd found success, he was on a certain path
and she died relatively young.
He felt guilty because if he hadn't moved to LA
and she hadn't moved there with him
that she'd still be alive.
Which of course, that's not a rational response.
- His first show after her funeral
was actually here in England, at the O2.
And he included a tribute to her in his set.
And he continued to attribute, I believe he perfromed
Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'",
and he played that on every single date of the tour.
So it shows you how much he wanted to celebrate her
at his gigs.
- [Narrator] Months later,
West and fiance, Alexis Phifer ended their engagement
and long term intermittent relationship,
which had begun in 2002.
These events profoundly affected Kanye,
who set off for his 2008, Glow in the Dark tour
shortly thereafter.
[soft music]
Feeling his emotions could not be conveyed through rapping,
Kanye discovered the voice audio processor autotune
to use while singing.
This would go on to become akey feature in his next record.
[upbeat music]
Recorded mostly in Hawaii,
in three weeks, Kanye announced his fourth album,
"808s & Heartbreak".
At the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards,
where he performed its lead single, "Love Lockdown".
Music audiences were taken aback
by the uncharacteristic production style
and the presence of autotune.
[upbeat music]
- "Love Lockdown" is a really beautiful video
and you know Kanye West is a big fan of black and white.
And I think in this video, you can really see that,
he has this all white room that he's in
and it's almost like he'shaving this dream like sequence.
♪ ya love lockdown, ya love lockdown ♪
♪ Now keep ya love lockdown, you lose ♪
♪ I'm not loving you, way I wanted to ♪
♪ I can't keep my cool, so I keep it true ♪
♪ I got something to lose, so I gotta move ♪
It's a beautiful video.
It's very unusual, it's very attention getting
and like Kanye himself, it's completely unpredictable.
- [Narrator] "808s & Heartbreak"contains themes of love,
loneliness, and heartache and was released in November 2008.
The record's singles demonstrated
outstanding charts performances.
- The 808 album was definitely quite a sad record
to be honest.
Even for the artwork with the heart
ripped down the middle.
So I think his personal life
could have affected that release.
I think with the use of the synths and the auto tune,
it was as much as him experimenting
and innovating with his sound.
Across all his albums, he's never stayed the same.
He's always kind of mixed up and tried to do something new
with the production or the vocals.
So I think this was just an extension of that.
- [Narrator] Upon its release, the lead single "Lockdown"
debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
While the follow up single "Heartless"
performed similar and debuted at number four
on the Billboard Hot 100.
While it was criticized prior to its release,
"808s & Heartbreak" had a significant effect
on hip-hop music, encouraging other rappers
to take more creative risk with their productions.
Kanye's controversial incident, the following year,
at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards
was arguably his biggest controversy to date
and led to widespread outrage throughout the music industry.
- Kanye West really outdid himself
in the unpredictability department
or let's say the loose cannon department.
When Taylor Swift won at the VMAs and he stormed the stage
saying that Beyonce should have won for Best Video,
it was shocking.
It had never really been done before,
not in this high of a profile scenario.
[audience cheering]
- Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you.
Imma let you finish, but Beyoncehad one of the best videos
of all time.
[audience cheers]
One of the best videos of all time.
[audience boo]
- He thought he was doing the right thing
and sort of standing up for art
and standing up for Beyonce's art.
But to viewers, it just seemed like he was this guy
interrupting somebody, who at that time,
was a very young woman.
And it wasn't just a sort of breach of protocol,
it seemed aggressive and there was an enormous backlash.
- Taylor Swift at this point, and still is,
the nation's sweetheart.
She's got the nation wrapped around her finger.
This is like the worst thing you can ever do
on live television.
- [Narrator] Because of his outburst at the VMAs,
Kanye had lost a lot ofrespect from the press, critics
and the music world.
The incident caused Kanye to disappear from the public eye.
[soft music]
"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy",
Kanye's fifth studio album was released in November 2010
to rave reviews from critics.
Many of whom described it as his best work
that solidified his comeback.
"Dark Fantasy" adopts a maximalist philosophy
and deals with themes of celebrity and excess.
The record included, the international hit
"All of the Lights" and billboard hits "Power",
"Monster" and "Runaway".
- "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"
was dubbed Kanye's greatest work of all time.
And truthfully it needed to be,
he needed to get the public back into his arms.
- This was a lot warmer, a lot brighter, bolder.
It was kind of returning to the sound,
that we know him and kind of fell in love with him for
but he also had those big commercial songs
like "All of the Lights" and "Power"
that really resonated with fans and I think
that was a welcome returned to form
for him after the 808 album.
- [Narrator] Following a headlining set at Coachella 2011,
that was described by The Hollywood Reporter
as one of the greatest hip-hop sets of all time,
Kanye released the collaborativealbum, "Watch the Throne"
with Jay-Z.
- Kanye teams back up with Jay-Z
for the "Watch the Throne" album
and then subsequently the tour.
Can this get any better?
You've got hip-hop royalty together for an album,
they're on tour, they're touring the world.
I think literally every hip-hop fan
was just going nuts for this.
- Jay-Z and Kanye they have different flows and stylings
but I think they worked really well together.
They knew when to take the backseat
and when to step forward.
And they just combined very effectively
to make one of the best rap albums of the last decade.
- [Narrator] By employing a sales strategy
that released the album, digitally,
weeks before its physical counterpart,
"Watch the Throne" became one of the few major label albums
in the internet age to avoid a leak.
"In Paris" became the records highest charting single
peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.
- I think the reason "In Paris" was so big
was it had massive buildup in terms of the music
leading to that really heavy baseline.
Then once that came in, it really stole the show.
So you had these two great rappers,
but it was really the base and the production
and the beat behind it that got people moving around.
It was such a big hit.
♪ Ball so hard, I'm shocked too, ♪
♪ I'm supposed to be locked up too ♪
♪ You escaped what I've escaped ♪
♪ You'd be in Paris getting fucked up too ♪
♪ Ball so hard, let's get faded, ♪
♪ Le Meurice for like six days
♪ Gold bottles, scold models, spillin' Ace on my sick J's ♪
♪ Ball so hard bitch behave, just might let you meet 'Ye ♪
♪ Chi town's D. Rose, I'm movin' the Nets ♪
[soft music]
- [Narrator] After touring the world with Jay-Z
on the "Watch the Throne" tour,
West began dating reality star and longtime friend
Kim Kardashian in April 2012.
It was the beginning of a Hollywood romance
that would take the showbiz world by storm.
- Kanye and Kim, the longest running love story in showbiz.
It was nine years of to-ing and fro-ing
before they finally got it together.
And she'd been through twomarriages by that point anyway.
- I think at first when Kim and Kanye started going out,
there might be a little bit of skepticism around it,
like, is this a showmance?
Kind of how serious is it because a reality star
with a huge rap star that has this integrity
and is really focused on his image
and wants to protect that.
I think it soon became apparent
that they were serious about each other.
[upbeat music]
- [Gemma] The biggest reality star,
teaming up with the biggest hip-hop star.
Together, they became a force, a united showbiz force
and it's continued to this day.
[upbeat music]
- According to Kanye West,
he has just been in love with Kim Kardashian for so long
and I think it's terms of Kim's perspective,
I think she never took Kanye seriously
as a romantic interest until she was really at rock bottom
picking up the pieces of her personal professional image
following her disastrous marriage to Kris Humphries.
And I think Kanye showed himself to be a true friend.
And I think in that moment,
she finally started to take him seriously
as a romantic love interest and the rest is history.
- [Narrator] Kanye's sixth studio album, "Yeezus"
was released in June 2013
to highly positive reviews from critics.
Kanye touched upon controversialand sensitive topics
and delivered a bold record,
described as his most confrontational
and bravest album to date.
Despite leaking four days early upon its release,
"Yeezus" sold almost 327,000 copies during it's first week
and the album's lead single, "Black Skinhead"
was certified gold by mid October.
[upbeat music]
- With "Watch the Throne" you had
like we're kings kind of thing.
And then with "Yeezus" the title again alludes to Jesus
which is a quite bold, arrogant statement
but Kanye doesn't really care.
He wants people to know he's the man,
he's confident in what he's doing, he's an innovator.
And while it did top the charts,
but it was actually his lowest selling record on release
even though critically, a lot of people said,
it was his best since "The College Dropout".
So it was interesting, but I think it was more down
with the music industry in general
rather than the quality of the the album.
- He's always been religious
but in quite an idiosyncratic way
and certainly an irreverentway, calling an album, "Yeezus",
calling a song, "I am a God".
There's a lot of humor in hip-hop
and I think sometimes people miss his humor
and assume that he's just sort of demented.
And a lot of the time he's sort of playing around
with being sacrilegious
and with taking symbols of the church
or symbols of the civil rights movement
and kind of treating them in quite a profane way.
And that's part of the game of hip-hop.
- I think "Black Skinhead" the lead single from the album
is a very powerful choice.
One, you had that driving, real driving beat in there
with quite an aggressive delivery from Kanye.
But with this whole "Black Skinhead",
you also have the race elements in there
that he wasn't shying away from delivering that
and he was saying, "This is me like it or hate it."
♪ Came to see me in my black skin ♪
♪ Number one question they asking ♪
♪ Fuck every question you asking ♪
♪ If I don't get ran out by Catholics ♪
♪ Here come some conservative Baptists ♪
♪ Claiming I'm overreacting
♪ Like them black kids in Chiraq bitch ♪
♪ Four in the morning, and I'm zoning ♪
♪ They say I'm possessed, it's an omen ♪
♪ I keep it 300, like the Romans ♪
♪ 300 bitches, where's the Trojans? ♪
♪ Baby we living in the moment
♪ I've been a menace for the longest ♪
♪ But I ain't finished, I'm devoted ♪
- Black Skinhead was a very controversial video
because it got leaked online before Kanye was done with it.
You know, Kanye is one of the most controlling,
famously kind of OCD artists out there
and bearing in mind he had a hugely successful career
as a producer before he became a solo artist.
He really takes control from the beginning to the end
of everything he does.
He quickly took it down, he rejigged a little bit
and then released it himself a week later.
- [Narrator] 2013 also proved to be a personal milestone
for Kanye, as he became a father for the first time
with partner Kim Kardashian giving birth to a baby girl
in June of that year.
- After Kim and Kanye started dating relatively quickly,
she fell pregnant she had a very difficult pregnancy.
The first thing was that we noticed
was she put on a lot of weight and for Kim Kardashian,
that is, I mean that's a fate worse than death, probably
not to be slim and beautiful.
So she struggled a lot withthat and the press made fun ofher
in various outfits.
And compared and very unkindly talked about her
during her pregnancy in that way
and I think that was very painful for her.
But additionally, and far more seriously,
she had actual physical issues, she had preeclampsia,
which meant she had to deliver North early
and then following the birth, she had a placental abruption,
which meant that she had to have the placenta removed
and it was also again life threatening and serious.
- [Narrator] Kanye and Kim became engaged in October 2013
and married on May 24th 2014 in Florence, Italy.
- Kim and Kanye's wedding in 2013
was the biggest showbiz story of the year.
So they decide to get married, there's a huge proposal
that ends up on YouTube.
And then they decide that the wedding is gonna be in France.
Versailles, beautiful, wonderful.
All of the guests get flown to France,
only to be told the night before the wedding,
that they're getting flown to Florence in Italy.
This is what happens when you got Kanye in charge
of wedding plans.
Anything is possible.
He wants to make changes at thelast minute and Kim says yes
because why not?
They've got the money to do so.
In May 2015, it was announced that Kim and Kanye
were expecting their second child.
On June 21st 2015, Kim confirmed via Instagram
that she and Kanye were expecting a boy in December 2015.
- Following the birth of North,she did get pregnant again
with Saint and carried to term.
But again had all kinds of medical issues
and was advised, according to her in the show,
that she should not be pregnant anymore
and so they had gestational carriers
carry the next two babies.
- I think Kanye's got quite broad shoulders
when it comes to dealing with attention on him.
I think actually he's just quite like that.
Then again, being with the Kardashians
brings a whole another level of scrutiny on you.
They are the biggest reality stars in the world.
Everyone knows them across the globe.
I think what's surprising about Kanye
is that he actually allowed himself
to be featured on the reality show.
I didn't think he'd wanna be associated, really,
with that product but he seems to be okay with it.
The other side of it is the Kardashian women
haven't had the best luck in relationships
with guys who have appeared on the show
so you didn't worry, would that jinx things
but he seems to have taken it in his stride.
- [Narrator] The next month, Kanye headlined
the Glastonbury Festival in U.K.
despite a petition signed by almost 135,000 people
against his appearance.
Toward the end of the set, he proclaimed himself
the greatest living rock star on the planet.
- Kanye West is one of those artists
you either love or you hate.
A lot of people have called Kanye West,
like Rolling Stone Magazine, one of the greatest artists
of our time.
But there are plenty of other people who fail
to see the magic of Kanye,
including the crowds at Glastonbury.
In fact, when Glastonbury organizers announced
that Kanye West was going to headline,
they actually got death threats.
You know, there's a lot of people who fail to see the talent
and vision of this artist.
And I suppose, you know, Kanye
who considers himself the greatest artist of all time,
would say that, you know, prophets,
I mean, like Jesus, who he compares himself to,
aren't always appreciated at the time
is probably what he would say.
But I just think not everybody likes his music.
Not everybody thinks that he's quite as good
as he thinks he is.
- In the last few years,
I think probably starting with Jay-Z in 2008,
there's this annoying habit
of fairly reactionary Glastonbury goers making a big fuss
that gets picked up by the media about how so and so,
Jay-Z or Metallica or whoever,
does not deserve to play Glastonbury.
So there was this massive petition
with thousands of signatories say that Kanye
was a kind of, booking Kanye was a disgrace
and he had nothing to do with the spirit of Glastonbury.
And it is kind of ridiculous because
there's tons of differentpeople who play Glastonbury,
there isn't one thing that you're allowed there
and there is something aboutKanye that really riles people.
He's hugely outspoken in an abrasive way.
And I think people particularly,some people particularly
find it difficult coming from a black man,
coming from a rapper.
And as everyone is entitled to like or dislike an artist,
but I do think there's a kind of an unsavory undercurrent
to how much people hate Kanye,
whose I think artistic achievements on some level,
are kind of inarguable the way that he's reshaped music,
his influence is sort of undeniable,
even if you don't like him.
And he had every right to be there.
What surprised me atGlastonbury was that beforehand,
I was saying this is either gonna be
one of the best things ever or one of the worst things.
There was a real thrill of like, what's gonna happen?
And I was watching it and it started off
and it was fantastic for the first few songs
and it was just on stage on his own
with this bank of lights, and it was kind of intense
and weird and paranoid and stark.
And then nothing else really happened and as it proceeded
and around me people were looking a bit bored.
And they weren't angry and they weren't thrilled.
They were just like, "Oh, is that it?"
And that in a way disappointed me more
than if it had been terrible because I thought,
"Oh dear people should not be reacting to Kanye
"in a kind of shrugging way."
And it was a real if you're star rating the reviews,
it was a sort of three out of five set
when you wanted it to really be like one or five.
You wanted him to polarize and within the field,
he didn't really polarize.
There were good bits of the set,
and there were bad bits to the set.
And it almost felt like he fell to earth a little bit
and I know that he was quite unhappy
with aspects of that performance.
♪ And we'll do anything when the time's right ♪
♪ Uh, baby, you're making it
♪ Harder, better, faster, stronger ♪
♪ Baby, you're making it
♪ Now that that don't kill me
♪ Can only make me stronger
♪ I need you to hurry up now
♪ Cause I can't wait much longer ♪
♪ I know I got to be right now
♪ Cause I can't get much wronger ♪
♪ Man, I've been waiting all night now ♪
♪ That's how long I been on ya
[soft music]
- [Narrator] On the 14th of February 2016,
Kanye finally released his much anticipated
eighth studio album.
The album went through four name changes
before Kanye finally settled with "The Life of Pablo".
- What was really interesting about "The Life of Pablo"
was it was kind of an evolving living album,
unlike any other album that had come before.
Rather than having that official release,
this is the end product it's done and dusted
and just enjoy it what is.
He continued tinkering with it and editing it
after it'd being released.
So the final product wasn't really the final product.
It was evolving.
So that was interesting.
I think, as well with the sound of "The Life of Pablo"
it was more organic, maybe family sound,
I think you could tell that his home life
kind of seeped into that record,
sort of like gospel stuff in there and religious references
and just kind of warm, uplifting album
that showed he's hopefully back to his best
and he's moved on from his mental health troubles.
- The album "The Life of Pablo" people like that more.
It seemed like people are really feeling the vibe of it
and everything.
It's because I was able to make the Yeezys.
You know what I'm saying?
I guess as a creative person,
you gotta have a bunch of creative outlets.
- Kanye's in quite a strange phase creatively
because he's sort of famed for producing albums
which are very complete cohesive works.
Very different to the one that came before,
maybe you know dropped unannounced still impressive.
And with "The Life of Pablo", it was talked about
for over a year before it came out.
It had different titles, he released singles
that ended up not appearing on it.
And then they're kind of reinstated.
There was this messy launch and then the confusion
over whether it was gonna be,
how it was going to be available
until you can be able to buy it on CD
and then you couldn't because it was only gonna be
through Tidal.
And then because it was on a streaming platform
and nobody actually owned it,
he was then able to kind of tinker with it.
So there was a sense in which at one point you think,
is this record ever gonna be finished?
Was he just gonna keep working on it?
And it's quite a strangely messy,
oddly sequenced record anyway.
And from somebody that's used to sort of coming out
with these quite emphatic statements,
there's a strange sort of development
which makes me wonder ifperhaps there's some uncertainty
or self doubt or what exactly he's trying to achieve
by having this kind of constantly unfinished album.
[soft music]
Kanye premiered the new album at Madison Square Garden
as a part of the presentation of his Yeezy Season 3
clothing line.
The album was met with mixed reviews from critics.
Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed it both a mess
and a masterpiece.
However, despite the reviews, the album was still able
to make it to number one on the US Billboard 200.
- At the time, "The Life of Pablo" was released,
it was actually the most successful streamed album.
It still went to number one in the charts.
It was released only on Tidal
through his pal's Jay-Z's streaming service.
But despite that limited release,
it's still racked up platinum status
and was the first album to do so.
- [Narrator] After Life of Pablo's release,
Kanye's music career seem to be back on form.
However, in late 2016, Kanye experienced a series of events
which really affected his mental state.
- I think one of the major factors that plays a part
in his mental breakdown was Kim's robbery ordeal in Paris
when massed armed robbers entered her hotel room,
tied her up and stole millions of pounds worth of jewelry.
- The five men all dressed as police officers
entered through this door, theythen handcuff the concierge
before putting a gun to his head
and demanding that he took them to her apartment.
Kim Kardashian was then herself tied up,
she has said to be badlyshaken, but physically unharmed.
- Kanye wasn't with her at the time,
but understandably it had a massive effect on him
knowing that his wife was in danger
and how shaken up she was with it.
Shortly after that, Kanye canceled his tour
and he was hospitalized for a period of time
where he underwent treatment for his mental health
and his own benefit, really.
- I think when two very famous people are in a relationship,
there's sort of it operates on two levels on the one hand,
it's these two people who are in love.
And on that level, there's this great,
the way that Kanye talks about Kim,
the way that he responded when she was robbed in Paris,
just going short up a show.
Everything he says he reveals
this great affection and admiration.
And you know, he loves the family they started together.
He thinks she's just a fantastic human being,
an entrepreneur.
But then it's also this kind of chemical reaction
of two very famous people, makes life very hard
and much harder than if he was with somebody
who was not in the public eye.
And she's very good at being famous.
She's very kind of relaxed.
It's like, that's her art form is celebrity.
Whereas his art form are elsewhere,
it's music and he would like thinking of fashion and art
and all these other things.
And he's not actually very good at being famous.
He can't relax into it.
When you compare him to Jay-Z, his friend and mentor.
Jay-Z again, very good at it, very smooth
and Kanye just seems so stressed out by fame.
And yet, now more than ever, he can't escape it.
- [Narrator] These events really damaged Kanye's career
leading to a vast array of controversial outburst.
- One of the things is really hard to work out with Kanye
is how much of his provocations are calculated
to sort of get attention or to make points.
And how much is simply him splurging.
And I think there's been quite a few cases
where somebody has set him off, there's been a tweet
or there's been someone making fun of him on a chat show
and he lashes out.
And that, to me, doesn't seem like a thought through thing
and I sometimes wonder about his stage invasions
at award ceremonies.
Is he thinking in the car on the way there
that's what I'm gonna do or does it just sort of erupt
and there's probably like a bit of both
but I think a lot of his more outrageous tweets
it's just him uncensored.
And then I think he feels that there's a value
in being uncensored.
So he doesn't then go back and regret
or apologize for all these things.
But I think a lot of it comes out spontaneously
and then he justifies it.
And some of the stuff I find as a fan
is kind of embarrassing.
It's like, why are you wasting your time doing that?
Why are you feuding with this person?
Why are you making this kind of crass remark?
Why are you sort of stooping to that?
But that's because that's him.
That's part of him that he can make this fantastic art
and then make you put your head in your hands
with some stupid tweet.
[soft music]
After his rehab visit, Kanye surprisingly met
with the then President Elect, Donald Trump
to discuss politics and life.
News footage of the meetingshowed a peculiar side to Kanye
as he just smiled and said nothing
during the whole press conference.
- I think Kanye meeting with Donald
took everyone by surprise because Donald wasn't known
for being popular among the black community.
And seeing Kanye visit him at Trump Tower
and then have a rather lengthy conversation and come out
and endorse the president was quite surprising.
- I made a hat that said, "Make America Great"
without the again and Trump wore the hat
because he said he's willing to adjust
because he realized that the word again hurts us as people,
specifically black people, the idea.
Because we say, "Whenwas America ever great for us?"
So we made and updated hatthat said, "Make America Great"
and Trump wore the hat.
So he is open to adjusting and listening.
I just wanted y'all to put this online
so everyone can definitely see it.
- I think despite Trump winning the election,
I think among Kanye fans, they weren't too pleased
that he had endorsed Trump
because of some of thecontroversial things he'd said.
He seems kind of backtracked on that support
that he gave him but I think the damage was already done
when he was pictured at the meeting
and what he came out with after that.
- I think it's the bravery
that helps you beat this game called life.
They try to scare me to not wear this hat, my own friends,
but this hat it gives me power in a way.
- [Narrator] On top of that,
Kanye was still getting involved
with online Twitter controversies
having a go at a variety of organizations and individuals
such as the Grammys, music critics,
and even stating that he is thegreatest rapper of all time.
- Kanye's mother said that one of the things he got
from his father was this sort of intolerance for injustice.
And sometimes that manifests itself
in a political statement.
And then at other times what he defines as injustice
seems kind of trivial.
It's like he's upset because he hasn't got a Grammy
or an MTV award.
And his rage about those things, seems to be equivalent
to his rage about political things.
In fact, sometimes it seems to eclipse that
from some more about award shows than he has about
Black Lives Matter.
And he has the sense in a way
that success is like a science or like sport
and that there are rules
and there are winners and losers
and it should just be obvious who is the best and who isn't.
And of course, in art, it's not like that
and people just have preferences
and maybe they prefer another video to his video
or a Beyonce video.
And there's part of him that just cannot accept that
and despite his enormous success,
feels, in some way, hard done by.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] It was easy to say
that at this point in Kanye's career,
his mental state and attitude to life
had changed from his earlier career.
- This thing that the media tries to make
this ongoing story and everything for hits and about that.
I don't think people care about me and her in that way.
People care about their families.
If you like my music, listen to it.
[soft music]
- [Narrator] After a period of Kanye only hitting headlines
for controversy reasons, some positivity was much needed.
This came in 2018 when Kanye and his wife, Kim
announced the birth of their third child.
A daughter named Chicago who was born via gestation carrier
in January.
- For that third child Kim decided to use a surrogate
rather than giving birth naturally.
There was a lot of media speculation
about who the surrogate was.
I understand the family wanted to keep that private.
They did let people know
that they had handpicked this person,
they were happy with her carrying the baby.
[soft music]
- [Narrator] The couple's happy news
reaped high level of media coverage,
not just because of Kenya's recent trouble
but also because of their daughters manner of birth
and her name.
- Kim's always been quite open
about why she used a surrogate.
She has couple of high risk conditions
after her previous births that could cause harm to her
and potentially the baby.
So her and Kanye explored all the options available to them
and they decided that surrogacy
was definitely the best option for them.
- [Narrator] In May 2019, Kanye and wife Kim,
welcomed their fourth child, Psalm West.
[upbeat music]
On January 6th 2019, West started his weekly Sunday service
church orchestration.
Which includes soul variations of both West
and others songs attended by multiple celebrities.
- Kanye himself has had some kind of spiritual reawakening
related to his Christian faith.
And he has been expressing that through the setting up
of what he calls his Sunday service,
where he performs and organizes a Sunday service.
The location changes, it's by invitation only.
It's not a normal church, it's usually outside.
He controls and tells people what to wear,
there's a dress code because, God forbid,
Kanye's senses are assaulted by ugly colors or fabrics.
And he has a choir that he leads and they sing
and it's mostly singing.
- They say like with this whole like Sunday service
is supposed to spread positivity.
- [Interviewer] Promoting it.
- Yeah, so that's the whole point of this,
it's supposed to bring everybody together
and just have a good time and just vibe as well
and enjoy his music.
- As Kim has said, there's no preaching, there's no sermon,
it's a lot of singing, and it's a chance
to just connect to a higher power.
A lot of celebrities go, we've seen Brad Pitt there
on more than one occasion.
We've seen the Kardashian clan,Kendall is there frequently
and they attend and it is,
a lot of criticism has been leveled at it
because it seems like everyone's worshiping Kanye.
In fact, the other choir membersare seen as his disciples.
And we do know he calls himself Ye
and even like this whole Jesus kind of comparison.
So there has been some criticism
that Kanye has actually createdsort of a cult of Kanye.
Are they worshiping him or are they worshiping God?
Kanye says no, I mean his albumwas called "Jesus is King".
So he would argue that that's not true.
But this has been a real expression, I think,
of his personal recommitment to Christianity.
♪ Jesus walks
♪ Jesus walks with me
♪ Jesus walks
♪ Jesus walks with me
- Interestingly, and unsurprisingly,
Kanye's newfound faith has caused tension at home,
he doesn't want North wearing makeup,
he doesn't want him wearing all the sexy outfits
that she favors.
He wants her to tone it down as his wife,
which is, you know, fair enough.
But Kim is not happy with this.
She doesn't want the rules changed
at this stage of the game.
And that has definitely been a source of tension
which we've seen play out on the show.
- [Narrator] Kanye performedthe first public Sunday service
at Coachella on Easter weekend, April 2019.
♪ You're the only power
♪ That can save this world today ♪
♪ Power
♪ Power that can save us today
♪ Beautiful morning
- I think it's more of a message of spreading kindness,
caring for others, especially in a society
in which we live today.
I think that's important.
And so if we're not gonna listen to our parents,
well, we're gonna listen to Kanye.
- He performs a lot of that type of music
that are performed in churches around the world
and the country.
So it's not like it's just his music
and he's not even the one
that's doing most of the performances in the past.
Like he has other people helping him out.
And he's just kind of there to promote it and do his thing
and vibe to it like everyone else is I guess.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] On October 25th 2019,
he released "Jesus is King", a Christian hip-hop album.
On the U.S. charts, the album became the first
to ever top the billboard 200 top RnB hip-hop albums,
top rap albums, top Christian albums
and top gospel albums at the same time.
On December 25th 2019, Kanye released
a sort of prequel album to "Jesus is King"
called "Jesus is Born".
This is also a part of this gospel Sunday service.
It has 19 songs, which includesa cover of West's own song,
"Ultralight Beam".
♪ We on an ultralight beam
♪ This is a God dream
♪ This is everything
♪ We on an ultralight beam
♪ This is a God dream
- I believe that the world can be changed,
the world can be saved through design,
through unselfish design, through unselfish creation.
[upbeat music]
- [Narrator] Despite Kanye West's outspoken behavior,
it is hard to deny that he is one of hip-hop's
most influential rappers the world has ever seen.
- Kanye West will definitely be remembered
as one of the greatest rappers of all time
when all is said and done.
His production is second to none,
even throughout his meltdown that he had,
it hasn't done too much to dent his reputation.
Even his reality star family, love them or hate them,
haven't done anything to take away
from the quality of his music.
I think if he keeps innovating the way he has done,
he's gonna be remembered as one of the best for sure.
[soft music]
- We were never trying to make radio,
we were trying to break radio.
That's a lot of artistic freedom.
We keep on trying to break records and allow the artist
to be free.
That's the whole movement.
[soft music]
- [Narrator] Kanye's future may always be uncertain
but it is safe to say that his legacy will live on
and his albums will go down in history
as some of the most influentialalbums of the 21st century.
- People make the mistake of taking Kanye too literally
when he's making these bombastic statements.
And one of the reasons he does it
is because it's sort of gets attention.
Another thing is to goad himself into being better
if you make these outlandish claims,
you have to try and at least live up to them.
Plus, there's always been a tradition in hip-hop
of saying you're the best.
Way back when people in the first ever hip-hop record,
people were saying how great they were with women
or how good their watch was.
And he's doing that, he's doing it
on this kind of massive nuclear scale.
- [Narrator] Kanye's genius is noticeable around the world
and he will forever be one of the greatest hip-hop artists
of all time.
[soft music]