Kanye West World

Those hoping that success will tamp down West's outsize ego will be waiting for quite some time. "In America, they want you to accomplish these great feats, to pull off these David Copperfield-type stunts," West says. "But let someone ask you about what you're doing, and if you turn around and say, 'It's great,' then people are like, 'What's wrong with you?' You want me to be great, but you don't ever want me to say I'm great?"

At twenty-eight, West is one of the most popular and polarizing artists in music today. And while he's sold more than 4 million albums to date, he is as known for his outspokenness as he is for his hitmaking ability. His temper tantrum at the 2004 American Music Awards after Gretchen Wilson beat him out for Best New Artist, his no-holds-barred takedown of George Bush after the Hurricane Katrina disaster -- not since Tupac Shakur has a rapper been so compelling, so ridiculously brash, so irresistibly entertaining. After having produced a slew of chart-toppers for the likes of Alicia Keys ("You Don't Know My Name"), Twista ("Slow Jamz") and Jay-Z ("Izzo [H.O.V.A.]," "Takeover"), he traded his position behind the mixing board for a microphone. Since then, he has amassed a pile of his own hits, including "Through the Wire," "All Falls Down" and the massive "Jesus Walks." Six months after its release in 2005, "Gold Digger," his hypercatchy ode to women who "ain't messin' with no broke niggas," still blasts from radios across the country and packs club floors. "You'll be out somewhere dancing or having a drink, and when that song comes on, people just lose their shit," says Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, who collaborated with West on the Registration track "Heard 'Em Say." "You just see the room ignite. It's a monster, monster hit. A classic."