Rap-singer also chose for his symbol a cute teddy bear that can be seen on all his albums and singles. It was highly apprased by critics for good sampling and whitty wordplay in lyrics. It entered the debut album College Dropout that saw light in 2004. Every cloud has a silver lining, and this crash inspired him for writing the first sinlge, Through The Wire, with a strong faith motive. On October 23, 2002, Kanye West got into a car accident after falling asleep while driving. Using heavily the music of his idols, the rapper started promoting his songs to different recording companies since 2001, but they refused him saying they did not like his unusual image. Inspired by the music of Wu-Tang Clan, Dr.Dre and Jay-Z, Kanye worked out his own style - he took vocal samples from different songs (usually soul ones) and added them to his own drums and other instruments. Later West also became well-known for producing other rap and R&B singers' hits, including The Game, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson and Eminem. Kanye got a good education (Polaris High School, The American Academy of Art), but finally dropped his study in the Chicago University to devote himself fully to the musical career. With both of his parents he lived only for three years, because they divorced and mother took Kanye with her to Chicago, Illinois. Kanye Omari West was born in an upper middle class family in Atlanta, Georgia.
