Kanye West was born on June 8, 1977. The rapper was born in Atlanta but moved to Chicago with his mother as a young boy following his parents' divorce. Kanye came from a politically aware family that valued education. His father was a former Black Panther, while his mother was a college professor before quitting to become her son's manager.West began his music career in the mid-1990s by doing production work for a local rapper. By 2000, he was working for Jay-Z's Roc-a-Fella Records, contributing heavily to the rapper's "The Blueprint."West released his first album, "The College Dropout" in 2004, featuring the hit track "Jesus Walks." He would go on to become one of the biggest influences in hip-hop, including such albums as 2005's "Late Registration" and 2010's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy."