Kanye West

Sped-up soul samples, pitched until the singers squeaked, were the calling card of the young Chicago producer behind several tracks on Jay-Z's The Blueprint. Kanye West wanted to rap too, and The College Dropout proved he could, with 'Through the Wire', recorded with his jaw wired shut after a car crash, and the gospel-charged 'Jesus Walks'.

Each album after that reinvented his sound: the orchestral polish of Late Registration, the Auto-Tuned heartbreak of 808s & Heartbreak, the maximalist grandeur of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the abrasive, industrial Yeezus.

Since legally becoming Ye in 2021, he has been dogged by controversy, including antisemitic remarks that ended his Adidas partnership in 2022 and a 2025 song, 'Heil Hitler', that led Australia to cancel his visa. Despite a published apology in early 2026, Britain later barred him from entering.