Kanye West during his humble Chicago beginnings and when he was an infant in rap.
If you’re not from New York, Fat Beats might not be too familiar to you, but it was a staple of every Hip-Hop head in the ’90s. It was a place where everyone copped their CD’s and tapes from and discovered new music, especially for underground heads. They originally opened up shop in 1994 in a basement on 9th street, but business picked up so much, they moved to a 2nd floor 6th Ave location.
During the grand opening of their second location, mad people came out to represent, including Lord Finesse, Xzibit, J-Live, ILL BILL. Not to mention an unknown guy from Chicago who got on the mic to rap named Kanye West.
In this rare vintage clip, he can be seen flowing off the top on the microphone in front of the people there. Remember, this is when he was 19 years old only two years before getting his first ghost-placement on Jermain Dupri’s Life in 1472 and four years removed from his start with Roc-A-Fella, locking down Beanie Sigel’s “The Truth.”
He’s come a far way from that Fat Beats freestyle hasn’t he?
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