Kanye West, born June 8, 1997, is known as one of the most influential and acclaimed artists of all time. He is a record producer and fashion designer who has won over twenty Grammy awards and is known for his extensive use of sampling throughout all of his albums. He is commonly regarded as one of the best samplers in hip-hop and has used this technique over a large number of albums, resulting in this site being created to organize and analyze his work from the past.

Sampling is the incorporation of a portion of one song in another song, popularized in hip-hop music in the late 1970s through the 1980s. Kanye uses sampling to add familiar textures to his innovative beats and lyrics. From his high-pitched soul sampling off albums such as "The College Dropout" to gospel sampling on albums like "The Life of Pablo", sampling has always been a major skill in Kanye's production style, and much of his work would not exist without it.

I am Brendan Zankowski, a student at Galena High School in Reno, Nevada. I have a passion for modern music and computer programming and love to produce hip-hop music. At the start of this project, I looked up to Kanye West as a musical inspiration and was interested in creating a website devoted to his music.

This website provides a database of songs, albums, and samples made/used by Kanye West. It also provides an analysis of each sample used, detailing the date, type, genre, and timestamp of appearance. I used the data from the Spotify API to create a list of all Kanye's albums and songs as the master source. The API also allows me to easily keep my site up to date. For the samples, I had to manually research and gather information from various resources online, ensuring I did not miss a single sample. I created this website with HTML, Javascript, and CSS, and have included skills such as front-end design, data gathering, and embedding media players and artwork into web pages.

My goal for this project is to provide Kanye West fans with an in-depth exploration of Kanye's music and production techniques. The website allows Kanye West fans to discover Kanye's musical influences and their impact on his sound. Other producers who are inspired by his music can also use the site to find samples they might want to use in their own music. By immersing themselves in Kanye's discography as well as the samples permeating his music, fans can gain a deeper appreciation for the numerous artists who helped Kanye West shape popular culture.


Disclaimer

This project is a reflection of my love of hip-hop in general, and of Kanye West's music in particular. This project has been in the works prior to Kanye's recent antisemitic comments. This project does not in any way endorse Kanye West or his antisemitic and racist comments.