We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Kanye West, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the rapper and husband of Kim Kardashian that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: He Was a Total Cry Baby. Before he was officially signed, West would reportedly leave meeting crying on a very frequent basis.
Number Seven: He Spent His Own Money to Shoot “Through The Wire.” In fact, West threw down $35,000 of his own money to make the music video for “Through The Wire.” The video premiered in 2003 and was produced by Coodie and Chike.
Number Six: He Wanted to Release His Videos in Theaters. West had originally planned to release all of his music videos from Late Registration in theaters. However, that clearly did not pan out. The album was released in 2005.
Number Five: He Compared Himself to Common. While making Late Registration, West went so far as to do side-by-side comparisons of his songs next to Common’s Be, just so he could be sure he was making an album that was just as good as Common’s.
Number Four: “Gold Digger” Was Passed on Before Kanye Got it. The beat for “Gold Digger” – one of West’s most popular songs – was offered to female rapper Shawnna before it was offered to West. Shawnna ended up passing on the song, not knowing that she had just missed a veritable gold mine.
Number Three: He TiVos Rap Videos. Around the time that Late Registration dropped, West revealed that he TiVos rap videos to study them later on. He said he does this “to learn what steps to take to crush them all.” OK then.
Number Two: Timbaland Played Drums for Him. Timbaland gave West some help for “Stronger” by playing drums on the track. And that’s not the only time West has gotten help on the drums. Movie director Michael Gondry gave West some drum help on “Diamonds.”
Number One: He Values All Sorts of Opinions. According to Q-Tip, West would even ask the people who delivered his food what they thought of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.