ARTIST

Kanye West

Kayne West produced a plethora of tracks for Roc-a-Fella Records during the early 2000s. His output for the label began in 2000, when he contributed "This Can't Be Life" to Jay-Z's Dynasty Roc la Familia album. This track highlighted what would quickly become a staple of his productions -- a knack for manipulating old-school soul samples in unique ways.

A year later West contributed several songs to Jay-Z's Blueprint album, including the album's two standout moments: "Takeover" and "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," the former appropriating snippets of the Doors' "Five to One," the latter the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back." West continued to produce more hits for Roc-a-Fella in subsequent years, most notably Jay-Z's "'03 Bonnie & Clyde," as well as for other rappers such as Scarface ("Guess Who's Back"), Trina ("Do You Want Me?"), Knoc-Turn'al ("Muzik"), and Talib Kweli ("Get By").

Written by Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide