It is my honor to present the winner of this year’s award for Highest Self-Esteem. I BELIEVE, that this years winner is someone with undeniable and unwavering self esteem. Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to award Mr. Kanye West, a self proclaimed God and genius, with the 2014 award for Highest Self-Esteem. Born in Atlanta, Georgia on June 8th of 1977 to successful parents, his mother was an english professor and his father an award winning photographer and church counselor. They divorced a mere 3 years after Kanye was born. West spent most of the year with his mother, on the south side of Chicago and the summers with his father. Despite the success of his parents and a separated family, Kanye never let large shadows cast doubt on his worth. …show more content…
West graduated from a chicago high school and attended Chicago State University for a single year as an art major before finding his calling among musicians. Upon finding his true passion, Kanye promptly moved from Chicago to New York the following year without a single worry as to whether his choice was the right one. West immediately tasted success, producing for a multitude of A-list musicians including Jay-Z, Ludacris and Beyonce. At the same time, Mr. West had no trouble getting signed and began working on his debut album with Roc-a-fella Records. Kanye’s debut album released in 2004 and after selling 2.4 million copies won a Best Rap Album Grammy. But of course, that was no surprise to Kanye. In total, West has produced 8 albums and has won a total of 124 awards throughout his career, including 21 Grammys. One is tempted to attribute West’s immense success to great talent, and perhaps a love affair with luck. However let us not underestimate the power of a strong and steady self-esteem. Google defines self esteem as confidence in one’s own worth and abilities or self - respect. As we have seen Kanye West is never doubtful of his abilities as well as his opinions and the respect he
I was so interested in the truth that I suspended my assumptions about West as I pursued more information through research, giving me an objective lens. It truly rattled me to have been so wrong in my assumptions, it felt weird to know that because of something I didn’t know, I had believed something. It genuinely shook my self-confidence. I really prided myself on my knowledge of Hip-Hop, I thought I knew all the classic albums, how could I have overlooked this one for so long? So, jolted by this sting of self embarrassment, I searched further, I wanted to know what else I had been oblivious to. It became increasingly clearer to me that there were two completely opposite views about Kanye, the more popular view: he’s a worthless egotistical pop star, who’s created nothing of value, and, as I was shocked to learn over time, the informed view, and the truth, that he was and is one the most influential artists of the 21’st
Kanye Omari West, rapper, producer, professional celebrity, and with an ego to match, has forced himself into the limelight of the music industry. Kanye West has made a lasting impression on all of those around him, whether it be a good one or bad. With seven full length albums, a multimillion record label company, and a successful fashion business all under his belt, it’s fair to say that Kanye has done his fair share of creating. Over the last twelve years Kanye went from a young Chicago kid just trying to get his flows off, to one of the most decorated musicians of all time. With over 20 Grammy’s and 3 of his albums ending up on the Rolling stones “500 greatest albums of all time”. He has continuously created, entertained, and spoken his mind for years. Whether it be “George Bush does not care about black people” or “Taylor imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had
In 1997 he went to the Rap Olympics in Los Angeles where a few producers were very impressed and took a demo to Dr. Dre. After the two met, they recorded four songs within the first six hours of working together, creating his first album Marshall Mathers LP. That album was the first rap album to ever be nominated for “Album of the Year” and won 3 Grammy awards. In the first week the album was released, it sold 1.76 million copies in the U.S. which is a record for a solo artist. Eminem has released 10 albums, all rap music. He would spend hours...
Soon after doing this he began looking for a record deal as a solo artist. But Shawn just wasn’t getting lucky. It wasn't until a friend, Roc-A-Fella CEO Damon Dash, convinced him to form a record company with him that Jay-Z's career finally got off the ground. Jay-Z released his first single through Roc-A-Fella in 1995, "In My Lifetime." It was a hit in New York, and helped Dash secure a distribution deal for Jay-Z’s first album, “Reasonable Doubt.”
Colin Powell was born on April 5, 1937 in a Harlem New York hospital. His parents were immigrants from Jamaica. Colin grew up in the south Bronx in a neighborhood nicknamed “Banana Kelly”. His father pushed him to get a good education and Colin tried to study and get good grades but he graduated high school from Morris High School with a C average. Even though this was not an outstanding average you could get his father was not angry at him. After high school Colin went to a city college in New York. Later on Colin married Alma Vivian Johnson and they had three children. Eventually he wrote a best-selling auto-biography.
He describes the sensation of “measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (2). West tackles double- consciousness in a lot of his songs, but more so I “Gorgeous” and “Power”. He does have slight elements in “Monster”, however. In “Gorgeous”, West is straight-forward in his approach, voicing his frustrations about appearing to fit in with the majority of popular artists (namely the white ones), yet when he does something stereotypically black he gets massive media attention and is berated for his actions. It is even in his clothes: if he is wearing the right clothing he is accepted, but is automatically perceived as ghetto when he is wearing sneakers and a white t-shirt. “As long as I’m in Polo’s smiling they think they got me/But they would try to crack me if they ever see a black me” (Lyrics On Demand). In “Power”, he discusses issues with fame and general concept of power, as well as being a minority with limited options. He talks about how education is limited and that minority children are eventually doomed to prison. “The system broken, the schools closed, the prison’s open” (Lyrics On Demand). His lyrics speak of how the world around him in controlled by the majority, and how minorities are forced to conform to the standards of the rest of the world. In “Monster”, the biggest hint at double- consciousness is the inclusion of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, a white indie folk musician. Vernon’s appearance on such a quintessential rap track is impressive and jaw-dropping considering these types of songs (posse cuts”) are notorious for featuring all- black artists. His presence plays to the double-consciousness West expresses, by mixing black and white artists together for
He says in the song “Man I’m so self-conscious, that’s why you always see me with one of my watches,” showing that he took the route of obtaining material possessions as soon as he acquired money to try and show others his success (West). He furthers this point by stating “then I spent 400 bucks on this, just to be like, you ain’t up on this,” showing it wasn’t just one instance, but a constant reoccurrence of showing off his material possessions to constantly try and present himself to others as “successful(West).” Even though both songs describe the shortcuts of people trying to show others their success through material goods, they overlap by not promoting those actions.
Charlie Sheen is a well-known actor, although the person he is today is no longer Carlos Irwin Estevez. Charlie sheen, born on September 3, 1965, is the son of Martin Sheen. Charlie almost died at birth and was named after his doctor for this, thus his middle name was Irwin. His father, also an actor, was entering the stage of Broadway around the time Charlie was born. Charlie’s mother is Janet Sheen and the two of them had three other children. These included Ramon Estevez, Renee Estevez, and Emilio Estevez. All of them turned out to be actors, following in the footsteps of their father.
Throughout America’s history there have been countless influential leaders that have proudly been American. Those have held positions of politicians, soldiers, and . Kanye Omari West has opened the eyes of today's generation and still continues to shape American history. His musical influence has transformed the lives of countless people. Inspiring many to stand up and fight for what they believe in is something Kanye West continues to do even today.. Also, opening the eyes of many to racial injustice towards African American citizens. I’ll further elaborate my claim in the following paragraphs using historical evidence.
Tupac Amaru Shakur born in East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. His birth name was Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16 1971. His both parents were members of the Black Panther Party. Tupac Shakur was a vocal participant during the East Coast and West Coast hip hop rivalry. He went to High School in California and Maryland. His career brought him back to New York City. Forget about his education and family background, thinking about how he put himself into his career so successfully. To succeed and accomplishment that made him in legacy…..
Tupac’s first big break came when he joined the group Digital Underground as a dancer and roadie. During that time, Tupac spent a lot of the time composing his own poetry and lyrics to launch his own career. In 1991 he signed with Interscope records and a year later he released his first album 2Pacalypse Now, which immediately landed him
Kanye Omari West, an icon of hip-hop, pop culture, fashion and music in general. Kanye Omari West, a person belittled against and a person subjected to a life of racism and hate. Born on June 8th, 1977, Donda West, West’s mother, always knew he was destined for greatness, but did she know her son would turn out to be the Kanye West, a man lacking the respect he deserves for transforming a big part of the music we listen to on this very day? West came onto the scene in the late nineties but didn’t release The College Dropout until 2004, an album that took everybody by surprise. Kanye West changed the gangster filled rap genre by releasing his positive, soulful debut album, changing the way rappers dress, and paving the way for a whole new style of introspective lyrics and soul-inspired rap production in the mainstream.
He may just seem like another rapper to you but if you actually listen to his lyrics you can see he’s not like any rapper out there. His name is Kanye West and he was born in Chicago Illinois. He grew up in the “ghetto” and learned to appreciate life. He didn’t learn to really, truly appreciate life until October of 2002. Driving back to his hotel late one night after a recording session, the new-coming rap/hip-hop artist was involved in a devastating, near fatal car accident. The crash left him with a broken jaw in three places and an appreciation for life. Just weeks after being released from the hospital he recorded his first major hit, “Through the Wire,” with his mouth still wired shut. He records every song like its going to be his last song and that makes every song better than the last. He’s not only a rap artist but also a producer. He has been responsible for being behind songs like Jay-Z’s Izzo, Girls, Girls, Girls, The Takeover, and 03 Bonnie and Clyde.
"After some time Tupac released his own album "2Pacalypse Now", which was a success. His career skyrocketed; he became tight with main pawns in the rapping industry. Tupac signed to Deathrow Labels and released songs and albums with them."
In just 9 years of being in the music industry, Rihanna has achieved 12 billboard music awards, 8 Grammy awards, sold 210 million songs and 54 million albums worldwide. You think that’s all? No! She’s the fastest solo artist to hit the no.1 singles on billboard hot 100, thirteen times; that too as the youngest in the scene!