Although he once claimed to be "so Chi" that you thought he was bashful, Kanye West isn't frequently thought of as a quintessential Chicago rapper, with his global fame often overshadowing his ties to his hometown. Mr. West is unarguably the most popular rapper to ever come out of the Windy City, but the regional term "Chicago rap" is more likely to be associated with Common and No I.D., or even younger dudes like Chief Keef at this point.
He's pushed at the boundaries of his city's sound since day one, but where Ye stays true to his roots is often in his search for new talent. We've seen this most recently in his work with Vic Mensa, but the SAVEMONEY rapper is just one of many Chi up-and-comers whose status Kanye has helped elevate with a co-sign. As we break down all of the young, Chicago-based talent Kanye has worked with (or signed to G.O.O.D. Music), you'll be able to see that Kanye's hometown loyalty goes far beyond attempts to preserve a sound-- he's more concerned with where his city's headed.
Syleena Johnson
As the daughter of legendary soul singer Syl Johnson (who would coincidentally end up suing Ye and Jay Z for a Watch The Throne sample), Syleena Johnson was already pretty well established by the time she hopped on Kanye's "All Falls Down." Still, it's probably the Chicago-based singer's best-known song to date, and led to her only VMA performance.
J. Ivy
An alumnus of HBO's Def Poetry series, J. Ivy is one of a few Chicago spoken-word artists that Mr. West's tapped for features. His appearance on the Jay Z-assisted College Dropout cut "Never Let Me Down" is show-stopping, dizzying and above all, immensely impressive. He's gone on to release two solo albums, open for everyone from Ghostface Killah to Gil Scott-Heron, record voiceovers for commercials and even do some modeling.
GLC
Along with Really Doe, GLC was a member of Kanye's first group, The Go-Getters. Yeezus gave him some shine on his first two albums, first on "Spaceship" and then on "Drive Slow," but then pretty much left him to do his own thing. Fortunately, that'll end this year when West and Dame Dash executive produce GLC's new album.
DeRay Davis
... Who? You may not know this dude's name, but you definitely know his voice. Supplying the now-classic skits on Kanye's first two albums, the Chicago-based comedian built on success that started with the "Barbershop" film franchise, and has continued with appearances in "Scary Movie 4" and "21 Jump Street."
Lupe Fiasco
Definitely one of the best examples of someone who's been able to turn their Kanye cred into stardom of their own, Lupe broke out with his too-hot-to-miss verse on "Touch The Sky." He levied this into a successful debut album the year after Late Registration dropped, and the rest is history.
Really Doe
The Go-Getters' third member made his first appearance on a Kanye solo track on "We Major," alongside none other than Nas. His catchy, unforgettable hook on the track always makes me wonder why I haven't heard more from him, but as you'll learn over the course of this list, maintaining momentum after a Kanye feature is tough to do. Doe's had even less success than GLC, but hopefully we'll hear from him again some day.
Malik Yusef
Following J. Ivy, Malik Yusef was the next Chicago-based spoken word artist that Kanye turned his attention toward. He first popped up for the "Crack Music" outro, and has since remained close to Kanye as a G.O.O.D. Music signee, turning on up a Cruel Summer track and in the writing credits on "All Day."
Rhymefest
This dude's one of two consecutive inclusions on this list who weren't actually featured on any of West's albums. That being said, Rhymefest did co-write "Jesus Walks," so that's nothing to scoff at. Combine that with "Brand New," a song from his debut that West popped up on, and it's understandable why this guy became an underground favorite.
Kid Sister
Another artist who never showed up on a Kanye album, Kid Sister's main claim to fame was a remix of her track "Pro Nails" that featured Mr. West. That single was enough for Fool's Gold to sign the Chi femcee, but unfortunately she wasn't able to capitalize on those opportunities.
Chief Keef
Keef is really the only artist to ever inspire Kanye to get his Drake on a remix and already-popping hit. Some might argue that his production flourishes on the "Don't Like" remix made it less essential than the original, but thankfully, the collabs didn't stop there. Keef guested on Yeezus' "Hold My Liquor," and most recently, the two linked up for Keef's own track "Nobody." More so than most of Kanye's Chi co-signs, Keef seems like he really connected with West.
Knaye really wore his love for drill on his sleeve on Yeezus. Keef and Louie are really the only dudes with guest verses on the album (somewhere, CyHi The Prynce fumes), and Louie's comes on the brief banger "Send It Up." As far as opening lines go, "Rockstar, bitch call me Elvis" is a surefire winner.
Young Chop
Chop completed the holy trinity of drill stars Kanye featured on Yeezus. He was only one of 13 writers on the track "Guilt Trip," but still, a writing credit on a Kanye album is a huge accomplishment for anyone. Hopefully West will let him contribute more substantially to future beats.
Jack Donoghue
No, not the dude who looks like the cop that caught Ye with 30 rocks. Donoghue was a member of Chicago-based "witch house" (yes, that's an actual genre name) group SALEM, who released a fucking sick album in 2010 but have since been pretty inactive. Anyway, Donoghue was one of the nine producers listed on "Black Skinhead."
Hollywood Holt
Just going by "Holt" these days, the veteran Chicago artist has known Kanye for a while, but was only recently signed to G.O.O.D. Music. Watch our recent interview with him below.
Vic Mensa
Mensa is the latest Chicagoan to receive the Kanye stamp of approval. Coming from a drastically different scene than Louie and Keef, Vic's very in-line with Kanye's latest sound, making it clear why West chose him over Chance The Rapper or Tink. From what we've heard, it sounds like he'll also have a Knaye feature on his album in addition to appearing on So Help Me God.