air jordans At the start of his career, Kanye West's

At the start of his career,air jordans, Kanye West's production style often utilized pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments.[15] The first major label song he produced was The Truth by Beanie Sigel, and his first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive",kanye west shoes; to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life".[18]
West has said that Wu-Tang Clan producer RZA influenced him in his style,[13][79] and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites. Said by Kanye West:
“
Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that.[80]
”
RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons:
“
All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him." After hearing his work on The Blueprint, RZA claimed that a torch-passing had occured between him and West, saying, "The shoes gotta be filled. If you ain't gonna do it, somebody else is gonna do it. That's how I feel about rap today."[81]
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Following the critical and commercial success of his debut The College Dropout, West went on to experiment with his production style for subsequent albums. Late Registration — during which he collaborated with film composer Jon Brion — saw West take on a more "cinematic" approach to hip-hop sound, combining his signature sampling style with horn riffs, piano loops, string arrangements, and various other orchestra to produce rich, multi-layered instrumentation. His style evolved even further during the conception of Graduation, for which he made heavy use of synth-based beats and futuristic sound effects while distancing himself from soul samples, opting for a more eclectic variety of interpolations lifted from artists ranging from Elton John and Michael Jackson to Daft Punk and Public Enemy.
Alongside his pursuit as a producer and later a rapper, West has additionally displayed an escalating interest in singing over the course of his career. The first signs could be found within The College Dropout, which retained "Spaceship", a track that featured a chorus delivered by West in a melodic, half-rapped, half-sung style — a manner not too different from and occasionally used by his favorite rappers Ghostface and ODB. In mid-2008, while guest starring on multiple other artists' singles, West first began singing verses both with the auto-tune effect on Young Jeezy's "Put On" and without on Fonzworth Bentley's "Everybody". It eventually culminated with the release of the lead single, "Love Lockdown", from Kanye's fourth album 808s & Heartbreak. The song stands as the first solo single by West to feature virtually no rapping whatsoever, instead sang entirely using the auto-tune effect.

West accompanied by a eleven-piece chamber orchestra.
While his use of sampling has lessened overtime, West's production continues to distinctively express lush, intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production.[82] Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section.[82]
Kanye has stated on several occasions that outside of work, he favours listening to rock music over hip-hop. He cites Franz Ferdinand, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and The Killers as some of his most favorite musical groups. Additionally, on Graduation, West drew inspiration from arena rock bands such as U2, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin for melody and chord progression.[83] Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis.[84] This musical affinity is mutual, as Kanye has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by a myriad of rock bands.[