The Power of a Kanye West Cosign

By Jessy Edwards

If giving is a gift, Kanye West has been treating himself on his 39th birthday.

It started on Sunday, when his set at Governors Ball was rained out. Kanye responded by surprising fans with an appearance at Hot 97’s Summer Jam.

Then Kanye headed to Manhattan, where he nearly caused a riot when he tried to throw an impromptu concert at Webster Hall.

It was quite a charitable way to close out his 38th year, but it wasn't out of character. Kanye has always been about the co-signs, so it feels only right that on this, his birthday, we take a look at some of the biggest endorsements he’s given other artists.

Whether that means giving 16 seconds of radio time to a random kid in Detroit, endorsing a stranger on Twitter, or signing an unknown artist to his record label, Ye has given a helping hand to more than his fair share of young artists.

Desiigner will be the "Panda" rapper for his foreseeable future, and that's thanks, for better or worse, to Kanye.

This 19-year-old rapper from Brooklyn, NY released his first studio single "Panda" on the internet on December 15, 2015. He had bought the beat online for $200, and by February he was signed to G.O.O.D. Music.

During a recent U.K. radio interview, Desiigner said he gets hyped thinking about the moment his manager told him Yeezy knew about him. “My manager was on the phone and was like, 'It’s Kanye you’re going to LA... You’re going to meet Kanye.' I got on the phone heard his voice and oh man, it was crazy.”

In May 2016, Kanye West told Real 92.3 radio station that an “amazing” A&R had played him "Panda," “and the energy was incredible”.

“I met him at the airport, and the way he was dancing to the music, it was pure energy, artistry, melody and chemistry,” Kanye said. A few months later, Desiigner was signed to G.O.O.D. Music, had a guest spot on Kanye’s album, and had a number one hit in the books.

Related: What's Next For Desiigner?

Travi$ Scott was one of Kanye's early mentees, but the influences flows both ways. Travi$ has become a superstar in his own right, adopting the grandiose visions and inspired rhetoric of his elder: "I design music; I don't produce it," he told Billboard in 2013.

Kanye helped Travi$ shape his 2013 mixtape Owl Pharaoh, and Travi$ returned the favor on 2013's Yeezus. Travi$ is also rumored to be one of the main players on Cruel Winter, the long-rumored G.O.O.D. Music album that just started to see the light of day. They've also been known to trade off songs—Scott's "3500," for instance, was originally meant to be a Kanye West song.

Kacy Hill is a relatively recent addition to the G.O.O.D Music stable, and she got their by an unusual route. Kacy was a model and dancer on Kanye's Yeezus tour, though she told Vogue she wasn't doing much dancing. "Really I was a Vanessa Beecroft model," she said. "I was one of the three 'dancers' who couldn’t dance and was more of an accessory than an individual. Vanessa was pretty involved. Her style is about a lot of standing. It’s very simple but haunting."

But she left the tour to pursue her own music career, and got a call from Kanye shortly after releasing the video for "Experience." She's been on a roll every since, touring with Jack Garratt and prepping her debut album, rumored to be out in late 2016.

There are various stories that claim to tell the true history of Kanye West and Kid Cudi's initial meeting. This KTT thread covers the bases, but we know for sure their collaboration really began in Hawaii.

Cudi's then-manager Plain Pat had introduced Kanye to the music, and a fuse was lit—shortly thereafter, the Cleveland rapper was on a plane to take part in one of modern music's most legendary writing sessions.

Cudi was a major contributor to 808s and Heartbreak, and he signed to G.O.O.D. Music in 2008. Their work together since is nothing short of staggering—from "Gorgeous" on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy to "Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1," these two have made history together.

In Kanye's words, "Me and Cudi created this shit."

Scottish producer Hudson Mohawke was already a big deal in the U.K. as a beat-maker and one half of TNGHT, but being called in to help produce Yeezus opened a whole new world.

He’s been working with Kanye since about 2012, and in 2015 HudMo told Grantland that in the three years he had worked with Ye he’d seen a lot of people “come and go or just drop off [his] radar—you never see them again!” But the relationship between the Scotsman and the Chicago rapper has endured, despite some recent disagreements.

“It took me a couple of years to get into a position where I can be like, ‘Why don’t you come and work in my studio?’ It feels good.”

In 2014, Minnesota musician Allan Kingdom, the son of a immigrant single mother, made a list of goals. One of them was to work with Kanye West.

By June 2015, Kingdom’s unique vocals were featured in a supporting role on West's single “All Day” alongside Theophilus London and Paul McCartney.

Speaking with documentarian Robert Semmer, Kingdom said he grew his brand working with local musicians before Plain Pat, who had famously managed the early careers of Kanye West and Kid Cudi, reached out.

Kingdom still remembers walking out to perform the track at the Brit Awards alongside Ye.

“I was walking out on stage, we crossed through the curtain, and we were about to walk out. Kim introduced us, and Kanye turns around like, and is like: ‘Welcome to the big leagues!’”

Vic Mensa, who is also from Kanye’s hometown of Chicago, was already well on the road to stardom in 2014, touring with J.Cole, Wale, and later Danny Brown.

But when Kanye West discovered the rapper through producers Michael Uzowuru and Om'Mas Keith, the wheels started to turn even faster.

"Kanye heard my voice and didn't really know about me before that," Mensa told Rolling Stone. "He thought I was fresh and wanted me out there, so I jumped on the plane.”

In February 2015, Kanye debuted the track “Wolves,” from his new album that would become The Life of Pablo. Mensa was featured on the track, and Kanye returned the favor a few months later on "U Mad." The two later performed together on the SNL 40 special, exposing Vic to his most mainstream audience yet.

Related: Vic Mensa Shares New project, There's A Lot Going On

After Kanye West remixed Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s song “I Don’t Like” in May 2012, Keef was overwhelmed with label attention.

“After the Kanye thing came out, everybody wanted a piece of [Keef]. People that wouldn't have touched him two weeks ago want as much of him as possible,” Andrew Barber told The FADER.

But for Chief Keef, who was already popular in his hometown Chicago, the co-sign wasn’t the making of him. In August 2012 he tweeted “Kanye West ain’t do shit for me Hoppn on the song wasn’t enough I made myself hot #300 all by myself”.

He was later signed by Interscope, where he stayed for two-years.

The story of how Kanye discovered Detroit rapper Big Sean is one most young rappers can only dream of.

In 2005, a teenage Big Sean, still in high school, was cashing a cheque from his telemarketing job when a friend told him Kanye was at the local radio station, 102.7 FM.

He rushed down to the station, used his connections to get in, and convinced Yeezy to hear him rap. Kanye gave him 16 seconds, which turned into ten minutes. Then Big Sean gave Kanye a mixtape, and Ye invited him to a private listening party, where he endorsed the teenager in front of a group of talent scouts.

Kanye brought Big Sean on board at G.O.O.D. Music two years later.

“It was like out of the movies,” Kanye said. “I could hear his personality and character and style in it. He just walked up to me and said a rap, and I said, 'I’mma sign you.’”

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Ty Dolla $ign’s connection to Kanye came in the form of a plane ticket. It was September 2014, and he’d been summoned—through Kanye's cousin Ricky Anderson—to work with Ye in Mexico.

“I came out there and we did nine songs in one day," the "Westside" singer told Billboard.

“He was open to my input, like, 'do whatever you want to do. Here's your mic. Do you need anything?' I'm like, 'Awesome! Let's get it!'”

They went on to work together on songs like "Only One" and "FourFiveSeconds." Their biggest collaboration, however, has to be "Real Friends." It was one of the first songs we heard off The Life of Pablo, and it might be the best. Ty said Kanye "reminds [him] of [himself]," and it shows in the music.

During those sessions in Mexico, Ty said Kanye showed him that it's important to "just take my time and really examine what's dope and what's not. Be real critical about what you do, [and] not just let anything go out there."

Venezuela-born producer Arca burst onto the scene in 2013 when he was chosen to help produce Kanye’s album Yeezus.

He was relatively unknown at the time, and in 2014 Arca told The Guardian he got the Yeezus job through persistence, by sending Kanye “the craziest shit I’d been making. I was almost trolling”.

Since then, Arca has become a go-to for the top tier of forward-thinking experimental artists. He's recently created music with FKA Twigs and Bjork and has a thriving solo career.

Chance the Rapper, "Kanye's best prodigy," has had a few nods from Ye. There was this moment, when Chance got some good news:

Kanye likes Acid Rap

— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 7, 2013

And then there was the time Ye showed Chano love in front of 25,000 people at the Ottawa Bluesfest in 2015, when they were both on the bill. Kanye played one of Chance’s songs during his set, then declared: “I had to put that on because Chance is here tonight. Make some noise for him. One of the most talented young new artists.”

Chance’s reaction? Literally jumping for joy:

Chance The Rapper's reaction to Kanye West shouting him out on stage. pic.twitter.com/JE2TATXy9H

— Only Hip Hop Facts (@OnlyHipHopFacts) July 12, 2015

In early 2014, Young Thug got a huge endorsement when videos emerged online of Kanye dancing and singing to “Danny Glover” in a Paris nightclub.

The Atlanta rapper had clearly caught Ye’s attention. Around the same time, Thug told Complex that Yeezy had invited him around to record some songs.

“When I first heard he wanted to know who I was and do songs, I was smiling ear to ear like a clown,” he said.

The co-sign is still going strong. In March, Kanye tweeted how inspired he was by the artist. Then he featured Young Thug in his Yeezy Season 3 fashion show and gave him the reins on "Highlights," another standout off The Life of Pablo.

Thug also claims he and Kanye have 40 songs recorded together, so this could be just the beginning.

The Georgia rapper formerly known as Tity Boi reached a whole new level after he was chosen to rap a verse alongside West on G.O.O.D. Music’s 2012 hit “Mercy."

While speaking about the massive opportunity in 2012, 2 Chainz told MTV he’d actually forgotten his verse, because he’d been working with Ye so much over the past year. “I called him and I told him, 'Man, play my verse over the phone because I don't remember.' That's a G.O.O.D. look to add to the resumé, for real," he laughed.

But Ye didn’t seem to mind. While 2 Chainz isn’t part of the G.O.O.D Music stable, he still performs and parties with them. After playing with West at Summer Jam this past week, the rapper travelled to New York with the G.O.O.D Music crew for the impromptu 2 A.M. concert that never was.

This one seems appropriate on Kanye's birthday.

It was 2012, and Chicago rapper King Louie was returning home from the dentist. The radio was on and he heard his name dropped by Kanye West, one of the biggest artists in the world—and a man he’d never met.

West had remixed fellow Chicago rapper Chief Keef’s song “Don’t Like”—and name-dropped some up and comers. One of his lines was, “King Louie—this is Chi, right?”

“I had just came from the dentist so I was kind of high off all that shit they gave me,” King Louie told BET. “It was just like, 'Wow.'”

By 2015, King Louie had more than just met West: he had a Grammy nomination for songwriting credits on "New Slaves," and had credits on the Yeezus track “Send It Up.”

While New Jersey rapper Fetty Wap’s song “Trap Queen” was blowing up last year, he got the ultimate endorsement when Kanye brought him out during the Roc Nation outdoor concert in New York.

Fetty performed “Trap Queen” alongside Yeezy, and then the superstar told the crowd it was his favorite track of the moment. Speaking about it later, Fetty said he didn’t even know he was going to perform until they got him backstage.

Fetty told XXL it was a life-changing experience. “He told me to keep my head up and good luck with my career. It was an incredible night for me that I will never forget.”