Ye, formerly Kanye West: See the polarizing rapper, fashion mogul over the years
Born Kanye Omari West, Ye transformed himself from a college dropout in Chicago to an undisputable icon of music and fashion. But a string of controversies has the rapper facing a fallout. In October 2022, several companies, including Adidas and Balenciaga fashion house, cut ties with the star after he made antisemitic remarks.
We look back on Ye’s life and career, from his marriage and divorce from Kim Kardashian to his polarizing political statements. Here, Kanye West and Bianca Censori attend the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 2, 2025 in Los Angeles.
Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty Images For The Recording Academy
Kanye West hit the 2025 Grammys red carpet donning a black shirt and pants, sunglasses and a chain. Meanwhile, his wife Biance Censori wore a black fur coat that she removed to pose in a nearly nude, see-through dress as photographers captured the couple’s appearance.
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Kanye West and Bianca Censori attend the Marni Fall/Winter 2024 Fashion Show on Feb. 23, 2024 in Milan, Italy.
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Kanye West and girlfriend Bianca Censori are seen in the stands during the UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg football match Inter Milan vs Atletico Madrid at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Feb. 20, 2024.
Marco Bertorello, AFP Via Getty Images
Charlie Wilson (L) and Kanye West attend Wilson’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony on Jan. 29, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Valerie Macon, AFP Via Getty Images
Ye attended the premiere for “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold: George Floyd and the Rise of BLM,” a documentary by conservative political commentator Candace Owens, on Oct. 12, 2022.
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Ye and Owens posed together at the premiere screening for Owens’ documentary, which reexamines the the 2020 death of George Floyd. Ye’s reflection on the documentary during an appearance on the “Drink Champs” podcast a few days after the event found the rapper making controversial statements on the manner of Floyd’s death.
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Ray J and Kid Rock also posed with Ye for a group photo at the premiere screening for “The Greatest Lie Ever Sold.”
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Ye and his children Saint West, Chicago West and Psalm West, who he shares with ex Kim Kardashian, attended the Balenciaga womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show at Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 2, 2022.
Jacopo M. Raule, Getty Images For Balenciaga
Ye performed during Playboi Carti’s set during 2022 Rolling Loud New York at Citi Field on Sept. 23, 2022.
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Jared Leto, left, and Ye attended Vogue World: New York on Sept. 12, 2022, in New York City.
Sean Zanni, Getty Images For Vogue
Ye hugged Sean “Diddy” Combs onstage during the 2022 BET Awards on June 26, 2022, after presenting him with the ceremony’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Rocking a mask covering his entire face, Ye gave an impassioned speech about Diddy, who he called his “brother.”
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Ye, right, and Chaney Jones attended an NBA game between the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves at FTX Arena in Miami on March 12, 2022. Ye and Jones were rumored to be romantically linked at the time.
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Ye, left, and fellow rapper Future sat courtside during the first half of an NBA game between the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 12, 2022.
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Ye attended an NBA game between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on March 11, 2022.
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Ye attended the Super Bowl LVI match between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Feb 13, 2022.
Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports
Ye, right, and then-girlfriend Julia Fox, an actress and model, attended the Kenzo Fall/Winter 2022/2023 show during Paris Fashion Week on Jan. 23, 2022.
Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images
Ye was seen at the “Donda by Kanye West” listening event at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on July 22, 2021, in Atlanta. Hetemporarily moved into the venue following the event while he finished work on his 10th studio album “Donda,” named after his late mother Donda West.
Paras Griffin, Getty Images For Universal Music
Ye and North West appeared at the Yeezy Season 8 show during Paris Fashion Week on March 2, 2020.
Marc Piasecki, WireImage
Ye and Kim Kardashian married in 2014 and Kardashian filed for divorce in 2021. They share four children. Here, they attended the NBA All-Star Game at United Center in Chicago on Feb. 16, 2020.
Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports
Ye and Kim Kardashian shared a smooch at the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX, AFP Via Getty Images
Ye and Kim Kardashian attended the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 9 in Beverly Hills, California. Ye donned an all-black suit with matching shades, while Kardashian wore an off-white dress.
Kevin Mazur/VF20, WireImage
Ye has released 11 studio albums with one album, “Jesus Is King,” having a Christain theme. In 2019, he produced the album “Jesus Is King” featuring his Sunday Service gospel choir. Here, the choir performed along with his pastor, Adam Tyson, at the annual Strength to Stand Youth Conference at the LeConte Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on Jan. 19, 2020.
Calvin Mattheis, USA TODAY Network
Ye presented his “Jesus Is King” album and film experience at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on Oct. 23, 2019. The album, which saw the rapper take on a rap-gospel sound, peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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Ye, front, performed anEaster Sunday service during the 2019 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival on April 21, 2019.
Rich Fury, Getty Images For Coachella
Beyond music, Ye became a force in the fashion world, boasting collaborations with Nike, Louis Vuitton, The Gap and his Yeezy brand with Adidas. Here, Ye, fashion designer Rick Owens and Kim Kardashian attended Fashion Group International’s 2019 Night of Stars at Cipriani Wall Street on Oct. 24, 2019, in New York City.
Taylor Hill, WireImage
Ye caused political uproar in 2018 when he met with then-President Donald Trump during a visit to the Oval Office on Oct. 11, 2018. During their conversation, Ye delivered a long soliloquy on “male energy,” North Korea and his “Make America Great Again” cap, which he said made him “feel like Superman.” Trump called him “a smart cookie.”
Pool, Getty Images
Ye’s son Saint threw out ceremonial first pitches at the Cubs versus White Sox game on Sept. 23, 2018. A week later, Kanye opened the new season of “Saturday Night Live,” performing dressed as a bottle of Perrier and delivering a scathing post-show rant that included a MAGA hat and a call to repeal the 13th Amendment.
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West also caused controversy in May 2018 when in an interview with TMZ, the rapper said slavery was “a choice.” In June 2018, he released his eighth studio album, “Ye.”
Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images
In January 2018, Ye’s family expanded with the arrival of Chicago West, born by surrogate.
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Kanye was seen out in Manhattan on Feb. 12, 2017.
Josiah Kamau, BuzzFoto Via Getty Images
In November 2016, Ye abruptly canceled the remainder of his concert tour and reportedly sought treatment for exhaustion at UCLA Medical Center.
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On Oct. 3, 2016, Ye left a New York music festival mid-show after learning wife Kim Kardashian had been robbed in Paris.
Josiah Kamau, BuzzFoto Via Getty Images
Ye embarked on an eye-popping concert tour in 2016 featuring a groundbreaking floating stage.
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
Before the controversies, 2016 started off on a high note for the rapper. He released his album “The Life of Pablo” and a new fashion collection in February.
Jeff Kravitz/MTV1415, FilmMagic
Ye and Kim Kardashian haven’t shielded their kids from the spotlight. Daughter North has been a frequent fixture with her parents at fashion shows. Son Saint was born in December 2015.
Craig Barritt, Getty Images
Ye and Kim tied the knot May 14, 2014, in Florence, Italy.
E! News
Ye earned a new nickname with the release of his sixth album, “Yeezus,” in 2013. Even though record sales weren’t high at first, it marked Kanye’s seventh platinum record.
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When did the Kim and Ye romance begin? Kanye rapped, “I fell in love with Kim” on “Cruel Summer,” a 2012 compilation album. This time marked the beginning of his much-talked-about romance with the most famous Kardashian.
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Ye showed off more than his vocal chords in 2011, when he debuted his dw line at Paris Fashion Week.
Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images
Some of Ye’s earliest songs highlighted his melodic rap style. With Auto-Tuned rhymes, he bared his soul in chart-topping 2008 songs like “Heartless” and “Love Lockdown.”
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His 2007 hit “Stronger” was born from Kanye’s collaboration with Daft Punk during a time when he experimented with electronic beats, not to mention those iconic shutter shades.
Kevin Winter, Getty Images
In 2005, his hit “Gold Digger” was topping charts. He won three Grammys that year, in addition to occupying the top of the Billboard Top 100 list for 10 weeks straight.
DAN MACMEDAN, USA TODAY
Before Yeezy, there was the self-proclaimed “Louis Vuitton Don.” Sporting high-fashion backpacks in 2002, this was the era Ye made his mark in mainstream music, receiving album of the year honors from Rolling Stone for his debut, “The College Dropout.”
Nabil Elderkin, Nabil Photography
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