25 essential songs produced by Kanye West
Kanye West is one of the greatest artists of all time, particularly through his run of albums between 2004’s The College Dropout and 2016’s The Life of Pablo. Before rapping, making beats was his first passion and way of making a name for himself in the hip-hop industry. So much so, rappers and label executives initially couldn’t take him seriously as an MC.
That all changed with his debut single ‘Through the Wire’, with Roc-A-Fella Records reluctantly signing him to the label for his debut album. “We figured if we kept him close, at the very least we’d still have some hot beats,” Jay-Z told Rolling Stone. Following the commercial success of The College Dropout, Jay admitted, “It went from skepticism to excitement.”
Dame Dash once claimed that Jay didn’t want to sign Kanye, but Jay denied his comments, alleging he always wanted him for his production. “Let’s first clear this thing about Dame and Kanye and all of us,” he explained to XXL. “We all had a conversation about Kanye and whether to sign him. No one knew what would become of Kanye. Not Dame, not me, not [Kareem ‘Biggs’ Burke].
“So we all sat down and said, ‘Let’s at least sign so we can keep the tracks in-house. It’s only good business.’ And Dame said, ‘We can put [Beanie Sigel] and [Cam’ron], surround him and make this type of album.’ I wasn’t saying don’t sign Kanye; I was saying, at least keep the beats in-house, if anything.”
During an interview with Zane Lowe for BBC Radio 1, Kanye West opened up about producing for different types of artists. “I just think that I’m a production person, I’m a product guy, I’m a producer,” he said. “So if I’m working on a John Legend album, I’m gonna try to give John Legend the best home for him to stay in.
“And I’m gonna try to push Pusha T — no pun intended once again, this keeps happening to me — to make the thing that represents what I like about his music the most. And then for me as Kanye West, I gotta fuck shit up.”
Kanye’s production catalogue ranges from underground rappers to mainstream, not excluding plenty of collaborations with R&B artists. A true master of his craft, he’s produced iconic songs for everyone from Ludacris and Lil Wayne to Dilated People and Slum Village, while offering gems to Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys.
25 essential songs produced by Kanye West
- Beanie Sigel – ‘The Truth’
- Scarface – ‘Guess Who’s Back’
- Alicia Keys – ‘Know My Name’
- Twista – ‘Overnight Celebrity’
- Jay-Z – ‘Izzo (HOVA)’
- Ludacris – ‘Stand Up’
- Brandy – ‘Talk About Our Love’
- Slum Village – ‘Selfish’
- Jagged Edge – ‘Let’s Get Married (Reception Remix)’
- Dilated Peoples – ‘This Way’
- Keyshia Cole – ‘I Changed My Mind’
- John Legend – ‘Used to Love U’
- Common – ‘The Corner’
- Janet Jackson – ‘I Want You’
- The Game – ‘Wouldn’t Get Far’
- TI – ‘Swagga Like Us’
- Kid Cudi – ‘Make Her Say’
- Beyonce – ‘Party’
- Pusha T – ‘Numbers on the Boards’
- Drake – ‘Find Your Love’
- Lil Wayne – ‘Comfortable’
- Rihanna – ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’
- The Weeknd – ‘Tell Your Friends’
- Big Sean – ‘I Don’t Fuck with You’
- Lil Nas X – ‘Industry Baby’