Think you know a lot of Kanye West?

In this edition of Before They Were Famous, Kanye West’s life is revisited to talk about the process it took to make it to where he is today — like when he spent a short time in China with his mom.

BEFORE Kanye West had over 12 million record sales and 30 million download sales in the United States alone. BEFORE Kanye would collect a total of 21 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all-time and 112 awards in total – these stats are at the time of this recording. BEFORE Kanye decided to make an honest woman out of Kim Kardashian. BEFORE Kanye announced his intention to run for Presidency in 2018.

Kanye West dropped out of an arts university after his first year. He had some odd jobs including working at the gap, as a telemarketer and considered a career in the porn industry before his ambitions to work in music started to fall into place. He was a producer on Jay Z’s the Blueprint but wanted to make a name for himself, while recording his debut album he was involved in a near fatal accident and had to get his mouth wired shut. While in the hospital he he requested a drum machine so he could continue to record his album – one that would win him a Grammy.