Career Profile: Music Producer :Kanye West

Career Profile: Music Producer :Kanye West 

            Music has been a part of my life since the age of six. My grandfather was a musician and I always enjoyed watching and listening to him play percussion and the accordion. At the age of 9 I began to play percussion at church three days a week, that same year I began playing music at my schools first ever Latin Percussion group. Years later I know that I want to become a successful, Grammy Decorated Music Producer. The opportunity and ability to create a great sounding cohesive record, as well as the creativity developed to write and put together hit songs, are aspects of being a producer that make my skin tingle with excitement. To me this has always been a mystical profession, I used to think you had to get lucky or get a record deal to become a successful producer. However, we dont have to look to far from Chicago to find an example that teaches us that this is not the case. Like any other profession, a constant, incremental and steady approach to developing skills, relationships, a portfolio and reputation is what it takes to make it in the industry.

In the past five years no producer has caused as much controversy as Kanye Omari West.  Recently critiziced for his stunts at the video music awards, as well as for "questioning" the president's racial priorities; he is much better known for his ample catalog of hit songs and hot tracks. He has produced singles for Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, Alicia Keys, The Game, and even Janet Jackson, Kid Cudi and Jay-Z (to name a FEW). Even though some people now see Kanye as too arrogant for his or anyone elses good, he has attained an uncanny reputation for being able to produce hit singles. Kanye did not begin his career as a producer; it is a career that he developed over time.

          

  Kanye West started making beats in his early teens, at the age of 20 he was already co-producing tracks for Harlem World and Mad Rapper. Taken as a protege by No.I.D. when his career and talent was just budding, he made the wise decision of finding a mentor with a record for success. No I.D. invited him to sit in on his sessions. Having worked on past hits for Jermaine Dupree and Common, No I.D. was a strong influence on Kanye's musical style and method of production. Working with his mentor also afforded him the opportunity to meet Roc-a-fella's A&R rep Kyombo "Hip Hop" Joshua, years later this would be the same A&R person that would help him get his first big break. At this point in his career Kanye was making money by selling beats to local acts as well as recording demos and tracks. However, being able to work with a more established producer allowed him to push his comfort zone and he began to keep his publishing and song writer rights. 

Kanye West attended Chicago State University, as most people know from his album releases and from his lyrics, he dropped out to pursue his music career. This was not an unmeasured risk by Kanye, he knew that with the industry connections he had established, as well as with the momentum he was experiencing, he would be likely to obtain success as a producer.  If there is anything I have learned from following Kanye's career is the importance of networking. It was Roc-a-fella's "Hip-Hop" who would later get him hooked up with Jay-z, who's "Heart of the City" and "Lucifer" would gain him a reputation as a talented producer. Kanye has obviouly parlayed his success as a producer into a career as an artist and song writer, something that seems to be a popular approach ( esp, Pharrel, No I.D. and now even Timbaland who have put out solo albums.)

Coming to school for Audio Production has been a very important step in pursuing my passion for music and 

my career goals. I am currently developing myself as a person, business, artist, musician, producer and 

marketer, all roles I will have to continue to improve as I pursue my career. Working with other artists is a 

step that I am enjoying very much, not only am I networking and exposing others to my work, but I am also 

developing my recording, producing, song writing and people skills. It is important for you to find ways to 

network with others in the industry. What steps do you think are important in doing this?

Heres a video of Kanye and Timbaland in the Studio working on the track "Stronger."