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EARLY WORKS FOR ME

(First Steps, Starting Points, and Juvenilia)

Go Getters - "Nothin's Gonna Stop Me"

In 1990s Chicago, a young rapper and producer named Kanye West was the top artist associated with Kon-Man Productions, and at one point joined three of the conglomerate's other top musicians (GLC, Timmy G, and Arrowstar) to form the Go Getters, a local hip hop supergroup. Although they produced several tracks together, their full album never came to fruition. Finally, in 2000 the tracks created by the group were compiled with a few other Kon-Man tracks, and released as World Record Holders. The result is less of an album than a collection of Go Getters songs, Yeezy-produced tracks, and odds 'n sods from Kon-Man artists.

The track above offers a glimpse of things to come for Kanye, as he served as both producer and the only rapper on the track. The beat's clearly the immediate predecessor of Ye's early style, featuring swelling strings and a twisted-up soul sample. His flow here is good, not great, and he still relies a bit on gangsta rap tropes that he's mainly eschewed during his major label career. But he definitely gets a few good lines in.

All in all, while Kanye's style and skills are still evolving, you can see the clear trajectory from this song to The College Dropout, and the rest of his career. (And, yes, he does reference gold-diggers.)

Download the full album here.