Chicago-born Kanye West led a slow-groove revolution in r&b though 2004. Already a respected hip hop/ r&b producer (credits include Ma$e's Harlem World and Jay Z's 2001 collection The Blueprint), he stepped into the limelight with his debut solo collection on Damon Dash's Roc-A-Fella records, The College Dropout, in March 2004.
Kanye West's first solo single Through The Wire shared the charts with Twista's Slow Jamz, on which he also features. The tracks hailed a remarkable comeback from a near fatal car crash just months before. Since then there's been no shortage of guest cameos on College Dropout - Jay-Z, Common, Mos Def and the Harlem Boys Choir included - and no shortage of success either. As well as his BRITs nominations, Kanye West has been nominated for a record ten Grammys in 2005.