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Kanye West plays at Jobing.com Arena
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Kanye West
The Associated Press
The most anticipated concert tour of the summer season hits the Valley Sunday with hip-hop superstar Kanye West's critically acclaimed Glow in the Dark tour.
Rarely have artists who have begun their careers as record producers been able to achieve the same level of success as a recording artist ('60s and '70s funk star Sly Stone comes to mind), but West has risen from a behind-the-scenes producer for artists such as Jay-Z, Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys early in the decade to being hip-hop's biggest star in the past four years.
Beginning with his debut disc, 2004's "The College Dropout" (the rapper dropped out of Chicago State University to concentrate on his musical career), West has earned a reputation as a hip-hop innovator by sampling beats and vocals from old soul songs, inserting his own drums and percussion into the mix and crafting tight, often humorous wordplay into his songs.Over the course of three albums ("Late Registration" appeared in 2005 and "Graduation" followed in 2007), West has landed such hits as "Through the Wire," "Jesus Walks," "All Falls Down" and "Good Life" in the Top 20, and two of his singles, "Gold Digger" and "Stronger," went to No. 1.
In addition to his chart success, West has racked up a whopping nine Grammys in his brief career, including wins for best R&B song in 2005 for "You Don't Know My Name" and best rap album for "Late Registration" and "Graduation" in 2006 and 2007.
West's Glow in the Dark Tour has been garnering critical raves for its conceptual, futurist themes and stunning choreography.
If you go
When: 7 p.m., June 8
Where: Jobing.com Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale
Cost: $45-$85
Information: (623) 772-3200 or jobingarena.com
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