We are witnessing a new era of one of rap’s most iconic figures, Kanye Omari West.

On Thursday (July 22), Kanye West held an awe-inspiring event in support of his long-awaited 10th

studio album, Donda. The project acts as a full-circle moment for West. Dedicated to his mother,

Donda West. The rapper’s late mother’s voice is heard on the intro of the moving track “Southern

California.”

“What made the project extra special to me is, I got a chance to share not only what [Kanye] meant

to me, but what he has meant to a generation.”

The prolific rapper has been an undeniable influence on an entire generation, becoming one of the

most influential figures in hip-hop history. West is a gatekeeper and curator of youth culture.

Credited as a significant influence for some of today’s younger acts, West is the epitome of student

becoming teacher. Recruiting some of the industry’s most talented newcomers, including Baby

Keem, Playboi Carti, Travis Scott, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Roddy Rich, and Pop Smoke. Ending the

album with his “big brother,” Jay-Z, Donda is Kanye West’s redemption project.

Kanye West has constantly reinvented himself throughout his career. Starting as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, crafting 5 tracks off of Jay-Z’s 2001 album, The Blueprint, Jay-Z’s first top 10 single, “Izzo (H.O.V.A).” From that moment, there was no looking back.

Kanye knew that he wanted to be more than Jay-Z’s producer. Kanye says that he always producing with the intention of becoming a rapper. West started recording his 2004 debut album, College Dropout, in 1999, crafting countless beats and beginning the writing process between sessions at Roc-a-Fella.

A student of the game, recruiting some of his biggest influences for his first album, from Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Jay-Z. Kanye West put a spin on what was considered “backpack rap,” stating himself as the “first nigga with a Benz and a backpack” West has always addressed his issues with materialism and hedonism while trying to stay on the straight and narrow.

Just a year later, Kanye would put out his second studio album, Late Registration. By this time, it was apparent that West was here to stay. Not only did Kanye drop his biggest single to date with “Gold Digger.” But West upped the ante on production, features, and bars making the album an audio masterpiece.

Kanye credits Q-Tip and A Tribe Called Quest as a major influence on his rapping and production style. His interpolation of soul music and R&B has been an aspect of every one of his musical projects. Starting with his chipmunk-soul style sampling to eventually start to sing more and more on each project.

West can be credited as the sole influence for the new generation to completely ditch the conventional rapping style, leaning more on melodic inflections and 808s. Beginning with his polarizing album, 808s and Heartbreak, where the rapper croons throughout the project over speaker rumbling 808s beats all while using autotune as an instrument, perfectly harmonizing with synths and piano chords.