Kanye West is having quite the week. His fiancee , the ubiquitous media empire that is Kim Kardashian gave birth to his first child , a baby girl. He also dropped his sixth studio album Yeezus to mass critical acclaim. West may be one of the most ferocious egomaniacs in music but look beyond that and what you have is a visionary , both prolific and innovative.
Since 2004's The College Dropout , took hip hop by storm , West has released over 92 singles , of which 56 are him as a featured artist. He's sold over 12 million album s, 30 million digital downloads and has charted consistently every year since 2004.
Here I count down Kanye West's 10 Greatest Hits , focusing solely on his solo material rather than his stellat work with Jay -Z and his numerous features
10. Through The Wire ( 2004 )
Inspired by West's 2002 car accident , this Chaka Khan sampling single announced Kanye West to the world.
It gave him his first UK Top 10 and marked him out as an artist to watch
9. Heartless ( 2008 )
Taken from 808s And Heartbreaks, the song is also memorable for its fantastic Hype Willimas directed video.It hit Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains one of West's more underrated hits
8. Touch The Sky (2006 )
A Curis Mayfield sample and an Evil Knievel video homage featuring Pamela Anderson make Touch The Sky one of West's best anthems. The video was beaten by dance duo Justice for Best Video at that years MTV Europe Music Awards. It was here Kanye made his first award show stage invasion to protest his loss.
"The video had Pamela Anderson!!! " West's talent for incorporating samples was used perfectly on this
7. Love Lockdown (2008 )
I debated whether to have this higher or not as its genuinely one of my favourite West tracks. It's sparce , minimalist pop tone and pulsating drum beats make it a career stand out. It was Kanye's first flirtation with the EDM genre and was executed thrillingly. The American Psycho inspired video fitted perfectly.
6. All Falls Down (2004 )
This gem from West's debut was his first ever US Top 10. Syleena Johnson's irresistible vocal enhance an already fantastic track about insecurity within the black community.
5. All Of The Lights (2011 )
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy may very well be Kanye West's greatest album. This heavyweight track features most notably Rihanna on vocals , Alicia Keys , Elton John and John Legend amongst others. It earned West 2 Grammys. Kanye raised the bar again with suitable bombast and drama, One of his finest moments
4. Monster (2010 )
Featuring Jay-Z , Bon Iver , Rick Ross and a show stopping verse from a then relatively unknown Nicki Minaj , Monster is just that. Ferocious , menacing and fierce and gloriously eeerie , it is the hit that got away of sorts. Maybe because its video was banned for its horror imagery. Think a more extreme Thriler. The track was huge hit critically and may well be Nivki Minaj's best performance on a record taht really should have been bigger than it was
3 . Stronger (2007 )
This Daft Punk-sampling mammoth gave West his first UK Number 1 single. It was also a Us Billboard chart topper and arguably one of West's most famous tracks.
Kanye at his most innovative fusing electronica and hip hip.
2. Gold Digger (2005 )
One of Kanye's most well known tracks and most successful. This spent ten weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and became a phenomenon that cemented Kanye Wset as a mega star. Oscar winning actor Jamie Foxx's vocals on the Ray Charles sampling I Got A Woman were sung worldwide. The iconic line " I aint sayin she a gold digger , but I aint messin with no broke nigga" It was true pop culture moment as well.
1. Jesus Walks (2004 )
And so after much deliberation , my ultimate Kanye West single. A bold , booming atmospheric masterpiece where Kanye espouses on Jesus walking with both the sinner and saint. The gospel choir is tribal and thrilling. Kanye has often seemed to think he is the Second Coming .Maybe not , but this towering classic will ensure West's musical legacy for decades to come
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