With his hands on a laundry list of projects that include a show on Comedy Central, a podcast network he’s building from the ground up, and an independent record label he runs, it’s a wonder the Chicago native and renaissance man has had any time to grace us with music. Nevertheless, his label, Auto Reverse, is scheduled to release a full Open Mike album this fall.

His success hasn’t come without hard work. Earlier this summer, Mike spoke to Forbes about the release of his podcast network, Stony Island Audio, and took the chance to discuss the series of roadblocks and setbacks he’s run into in the process of being an independent artist and entrepreneur. Some of these frustrations are aired, or at least acknowledged, on Neighborhood Protection, lamenting, “Independence, I’m trying I’m just saying it’s expensive,” but there’s no trace of regret in his words. 

“They say pain is the way to redemption / Yeah, you want something safe, be a dentist.” 

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In the earlier years of his career, Kanye West was a producer for Jay-Z and some other artists. He worked with Jay-Z on “Never Change,” “Izzo (H.O.V.A.),” “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love),” “Takeover,” and several other hit records before branching out into a solo career of his own. This led to him eventually being signed to Roc-A-Fella and becoming one of the biggest musical artists we have ever seen.

As controversial as Kanye West may be, you can’t deny his talent and influence. Since the beginning of his musical career, he pushed the limits and status quo of the worlds of Hip/Hop and R&B with his cross-genre sampling and overall artistic vision. He set trends in the style of the music being made and clothing being worn at the time. This led to him branching out into the fashion world with his longtime friends Don C and Virgil Abloh, who is currently artistic director of Louis Vuitton for Men.

Today, Kanye West is a juggernaut. He has his own record label GOOD Music, which is very successful due to its roster of artists including Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, Teyana Taylor, Valee, and Q-Tip to name a few. He practically runs this label with Pusha T while managing to still release his own music.

On top of all that, Kanye is also working with Adidas as a creative director and designer. His brand Yeezy is largely responsible for Adidas’ recent success. Kanye’s constant innovation and barrier-breaking is providing inspiration for the younger generations.

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