Check Out: Through the Wire

For those that didn't know, Kanye West did not start his hip-hop career as a rapper. West emerged into the game as producer, known for his classic R&B and soul sampling. His first major single was on Jay-Z's "The Blueprint" titled Izzo (H.O.V.A.), which was a tremendous success for Jay-Z and Kanye himself as the track basically became Jigga Man's anthem and enjoyed a nice chart performance. Kanye also produced the song "Ain't No Love (In the Heart of the City)", which samples Bobby Bland's classic "Ain't No Love" and also the "Takeover," which appeared on the Blueprint. By 2002 West was a renowned producer, but not recognized as a rapper.

In 2002 West was involved in a car crash that almost took his life. This fueled his first ever rap single titled "Through the Wire", which Kanye raps with his jaw wired shut (and basically hardly sounds like the Kanye that we hear in any other songs). The song sampled Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire" and spent a significant amount of time on the charts. Kanye's dedication and surprising lyrical talent led him to get a studio album released by Roc-A-Fella records in 2004. This, of course, was "College Dropout," which went triple platinum since its release. The album received positive reviews, getting an "XXL" rating from the magazine XXL, which is the best rating possible and was also praised by critics like Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and Pitchfork, to name a few.

The albums production was handled solely by Kanye himself. The album contains a high percentage of tracks that were sampled from older songs, which is a trademark of West. The lyrical content of the album ventured away from the gangsteresque style and focused more on wordplay, metaphors, fashion, religion and struggle amongst African Americans - a style that remained consistent through West's later albums.

The most successful single off of the album was "Jesus Walks," which was praised by critics for its bold lyrics that pushed the limits on what was really said on singles that made the radio/music videos. The song was used in numerous movies and commercials over the years and received a Grammy for Best Rap Song. This album proved Kanye's skill and his dedication and willingness to rise to the top and do things his own way. Now look how far he has come.

The album produced five singles:

Through the Wire

Slow Jamz Featuring Jamie Foxx & Twista

All Falls Down

Jesus Walks

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