an in depth look at how Kanye West has shaped his brand identity

1. KANYE WEST
ARTIST ANALYSIS

2. EARLY DAYS
• West started off as a music producer for local artists where he found
his signature style called ‘chipmunk soul’ characterized by the use
sped ups soul samples.
• He got his big break when he moved from his birth place Atlanta
Georgia to New York where he produced multiple tracks on Jay-Z’s
album The blueprint which is widely considered the greatest rap
album of all time. He then went on producing songs for artists such as
Alicia Keys and Beyonce.
• He was signed to Roc-A-Fella in 2002 and his debut album sold
2.6million copies making West a star.

3. Brand Identity
• When you first enter kanyewest.com there is no clear text or visuals
indicating that it is the official site for Kanye West. His latest music
video ‘Famous’ begins to play making it quite an artistic site and also
suggests people are expecting to be greeted by abstract and
ambiguous imagery from West.
• As you scroll down the site this page fills the screen and is followed by
a list of tour dates for his upcoming tour. Right at the bottom of the
page is a tab saying ‘SHOP’ this is the influence of the label being
made evident as their aim is to sell the artist.

4. There is a consistent theme in West’s
album artwork being that he doesn’t
feature in any of them and they’re all
very artistic. This is very unconventional
for a mainstream rapper. In Kanye’s lyrics
and interviews it is clear that he tries to
be very artistic and unique hence why he
can get away with not using his own
images on his album cover. This also tells
us there isn’t much record label
influence in West’s work and he the most
creative input in his work.
Wests 1st three album covers have a
semantic field of college so this use of
the bear in his earlier album covers
could either symbolize west thinking
the school experience was
scary/bewildering to him due to teddy
bears being associated to do being too
young for College. This could also be
explained by the by the doors of the
Late Registration being massive
compared to the bear that resembles
Kanye.
Same kind of thing for the Graduation
cover as once again he is catapulted
into a scary completely new world
hence the look in his eyes and the
seemingly chaotic look of the cover.
Another theory is that the bear simply
represents the school mascot.

5. MUSIC VIDEO-FAMOUS
Kanye’s latest music video Famous starts with a collection of what looks like
found footage with it being very scratchy and in film as opposed to digital. It
has Kanye speaking over these montages helping to understand the narrative
behind the lyrics of the song.
The video consists of a handheld camera panning across a huge bed of wax
figures all naked in a bed all of whom have celebrity status. There are many
cultural references that must be understood, especially on the topic of
kanye’s life to understand the intensity of the video for example Ray J being
in the bed who is Kim Kardashian, Kanye’s wife’s ex boyfriend who he did a
sex tape with. Taylor swift is also in the video who he has had problems with
in the past and there is also a line about her in the song that can be deemed
offensive by some.

6. Overview
• In conclusion it is clear that west has a lot of input in his work and
maybe less influence from his label. This is possible as he is such a
well known artist, loved and hated for the outrageous and egotistic
things he says as well as his lyrics. Also the amount of scandals he has
been in making West an extremely controversial artist. Because of his
he has become a household name meaning his brand identity is
himself as opposed to any one specific typology or symbol.