Kanye West
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Kanye West.
Kanye West artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
Interviews & Profiles
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September 16, 2005 Kanye West recently released Late Registration, the follow-up to College Dropout.
Discover Songs
December 14, 2010 All Songs Considered listeners cast thousands of votes for the year's best music. See their Top 25.
December 31, 2009 Def Jam's box set contains some of the most amazing music released since the dawn of hip-hop.
November 16, 2009 The list of the decade's 50 most important recordings continues: Britney Spears to Amy Winehouse.
May 7, 2009 Many great rappers have honored the women who brought them into the world. Hear five examples.
February 2, 2006 All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with NPR music reviewers Tom Moon, Will Hermes and Me...
December 20, 2005 Fresh Air pop music critic Ken Tucker offers his picks for the best music of the year.
December 16, 2005 Music critic Sarah Bardeen rounds up a three-part review of the best new music of 2005.
Partner Content from WXPN
September 16, 2005 Kanye West recently released Late Registration, the follow-up to College Dropout.
February 9, 2005 Hear an interview with Ron Roeker from the Recording Academy on how the Grammy selection process...
December 27, 2004 Below are the 20 most mentioned songs from both listeners and reviewers with randomly selected c...
News
February 13, 2012 Adele won six awards, including Record, Album and Song of the Year, and Foo Fighters won five.
August 12, 2011 We start listening and try to make sense of the year's most ambitious hip-hop release.
December 29, 2010 Hearing a song before its release used to be thrilling. This year it was all part of the plan.
December 22, 2010 Amazon sold hundreds of albums for $3.99, pushing the question of music's value into the spotlight.
December 21, 2010 While the music industry struggled this year, a few artists used social media in innovative ways.
December 20, 2010 More music ignored traditional release dates, and fans and musicians alike reaped rewards.
December 13, 2010 Almost a quarter of Billboard's Hot 100 of the year are songs about partying.
December 1, 2010 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy bests all comers with nearly half a million in sales.
November 23, 2010 Letting the mountain of coverage stand in for answers to the questions he'll never answer.
November 11, 2010 Comments from the rapper and the former president point at our biggest issues in dealing with race.
October 26, 2010 West's 35 minute video for Runaway tests the limits of his ability and his audience's patience.
September 13, 2010 A long-lost video from the 1999 Video Music Awards suggests an alternate history for the network.
August 26, 2010 How to interview a celebrity without speaking to them, or: a guide to the new journalistic order.
August 6, 2010 A new video puts West's knack for coupling self-awareness with sel on display.
August 3, 2010 Lady Gaga leads all nominees for the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards with 13 nominations.
July 28, 2010 The rapper debuted new material a capella in front of employees of the social network.
April 10, 2008 Carrie Brownstein says that when artists become brands, music falls through the cracks.
February 10, 2008 Amy Winehouse racked up award after award, but Herbie Hancock took home Album of the Year honors.
December 17, 2007 Kanye West, Arcade Fire and Jay-Z place well in the magazine's list of 2007's top 50 records.
November 29, 2007 The Jam Awards laud contributions in the areas of justice, art and music.
November 13, 2007 The hip-hop artist lost his mother, a frequent presence in his music, over the weekend.
September 15, 2007 The rivalry between rappers 50 Cent and Kanye West stands apart from others in hip-hop history.
September 13, 2007 Rival albums from rivals 50 Cent and Kanye West are out, setting the stage for a major sales battle.
September 11, 2007 Hip-hop star 50 Cent and rival Kanye West are both releasing albums Tuesday.
February 9, 2006 View a list of winners from this year's Grammy Awards who were featured on NPR shows.
Reviews
August 9, 2011 Watch the Throne is one of the year's most anticipated albums. But does it live up to the hype?
December 23, 2010 Tucker's diverse picks include albums by Tracey Thorn, Kanye West, Joanna Newsom and Arcade Fire.
December 2, 2010 Rock critic Ken Tucker says My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is "superb music-making."
November 22, 2010 West's best gets buried under sex, fame and money on the rap icon's highly anticipated new album.
November 25, 2008 The Chicago rapper's new album, 808s and Heartbreakfeatures him singing instead of rapping.
December 17, 2007 Kanye West, Arcade Fire and Jay-Z place well in the magazine's list of 2007's top 50 records.
October 30, 2007 Test listen new music from Britney Spears, Kanye West and the new Bob Dylan biopic.
December 20, 2005 Fresh Air pop music critic Ken Tucker offers his picks for the best music of the year.
December 17, 2005 Will Hermes' picks include the "wonderfully strange" world of Animal Collective and Sigur Ros.
August 30, 2005 Reviewer Oliver Wang says the music shines on Kanye West's new CD, Late Registration.
More Stories
May 21, 2013 On his new songs, the rapper points fingers in every direction, including back at himself.
February 6, 2012 Ever feel guilty about not appreciating music you know you should?
December 28, 2011 Dubstep beats have pervaded mainstream hip-hop, in a development that's been good for both genres.
December 14, 2011 Though spring releases mostly held their ground, a few dark horses swooped into top slots.
December 5, 2011 The list of our 50 favorite albums includes Kanye West And Jay-Z and more artists from K to R.
November 2, 2011 Ten songs to help you get down whenever you're feeling down.
December 14, 2010 Take a look at the best album-cover art of the year, as chosen by Michael Katzif of NPR Music.
December 7, 2010 Take a listen to our biggest musical surprises of 2010, songs of the year, and more.
December 1, 2010 The list of our 50 favorite albums of the year includes Sufjan Stevens and more artists from S to Z.
November 29, 2010 The legendary producer seemed to dis the legend-in-the-making. But a lot went unsaid.
December 16, 2008 Ken Tucker shares his favorite tunes of the past 12 months.
Partner Content from KEXP
December 24, 2007 The best hip-hop CDs of 2007 helped push the boundaries of the genre.
