Essential Kanye West.

Kanye West is possibly hip-hop's biggest star of the moment. He's certainly got the biggest mouth, famously paying out George Bush on live TV.

What makes Kanye so different from just about every other rapper around? First of all, he's a production genius. He first made his name with a series of production block busters for artists like Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys, Common, Brandy, and The Game, to name but a few. These tracks stood out not just because of their hooks, but because their productions made them shimmer, glisten and gleam (check You Don't Know My Name). Plus, Kanye had perfected the trick of taking a classic soul sample and speeding it up to chipmunk levels. It really shouldn't work, but somehow it does. Check Slow Jamz for a typical example.

His own music made an incredible splash not just for the productions, which were often astonishing thanks to his collaboration with Jon Brion, but for the subject matter, which was anything but the standard self-aggrandizing rap. He raps about Christianity (Jesus Walks), his stay in hospital following a near-fatal accident (Through The Wires), how drugs and crime have affected hip-hop (Crack Music), the death of his grandmother (Roses), his debt to his mother (Hey Mama), and much else besides. 

He's featured on the cover of every magazine conceivable, he's topped countless critic's polls, played with symphonies, and covered A-Ha's Take On Me. His third album, which will feature Coldplay's Chris Martin, is guaranteed to be a scream.