Originally from Chicago, Kanye West's rapid ascension to hip-hop's eliteclass began when he produced a string of hits for Jay-Z's TheBlueprint, including "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," "Never Change," and "TheTakeover." The rapper has been in high demand ever since, contributingtracks to albums from Scarface, Ludacris, Beanie Sigel, and many others.Influenced by fellow Chi-town native No I.D. (who produced much ofCommon's early material), West's signature style is akin to that of theclas...  [+]