

West has had 5 songs exceed 3 million in digital sales as of July 2011, with " Gold Digger" selling 3,086,000, " Stronger" selling 4,402,000, " Heartless" selling 3,742,000, " E.T." selling over 4,000,000 and " Love Lockdown" selling over 3,000,000 placing him third in overall digital sales of the past decade. All albums have been very commercially successful, with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy becoming his fourth consecutive No. As of 2012, West has won a total of eighteen Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time. His five solo albums, all of which have gone platinum, have received numerous awards and critical acclaim. West released a collaborative album, Watch the Throne with Jay-Z in 2011, which is the duo's first collaborative album. West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synthpop, and classical music. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments.

West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. Kanye Omari West ( / ˈ k ɑː n j eɪ / born June 8, 1977) is an American musician, film director and fashion designer. Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, The Throne, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Jeff Bhasker, Pusha T, Mos Def, Mr Hudson, Talib Kweli, Big Sean, A-Trak, Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, RZA Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer Rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, film director, fashion designer West at the SWU Music & Arts Festival, 2011
