Ultra Nate

Ultra Nate has amassed five #1 hits, including "Free", on the Billboard club charts, between 1994 and 2001. Plus Janet Jackson's "I Want You" produced by West nominated in Best Female Recording (R&B). The song peaked at #75 on the Hot 100.
His complete Grammy nominations included:. The song enjoyed heavy airplay throughout the rest of the millennium, not only in clubs, but on rhythmic and mainstream radio stations across the country. At the 47th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 13, 2005, his album The College Dropout won for Best Rap Album; and his single "Jesus Walks" won for Best Rap Song. Somewhat surprisingly, he did not go home with the Best New Artist Grammy (which instead went to Maroon 5); this snub was a repeat of the shut-out he received at the 2004 American Music Awards, where he lost to Gretchen Wilson. It here that "Free", her biggest mainstream hit in America, was released in 1997. His work with pop icon Janet Jackson also earned a nomination for her single I Want You, produced by West, was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

However, when Warner Brothers tried to push her in a more R&B, less house, direction, Ultra Nate left the major label and fled to the independent dance label, Strictly Rhythm. He received two nominations in the Album of the Year category, one for The College Dropout, and one for his work on Alicia Keys's album The Diary of Alicia Keys. She found some American club success and European success there with a string of singles. In 2004, Kanye West received ten Grammy Award nominations, making him the most nominated artist of 2004. She began her recording career on a major label, Warner Brothers. His other collaborations with other artists include Dilated Peoples, Mariah Carey and John Legend. Ultra Nate is noted for taking the opposite path than what most musicians take. He also appears on Brandy's single, "Talk About Our Love".

Though she has had club success in America, she has found the majority of her singles and, especially, album sales success in Europe. He has also collaborated with Twista on a couple of his songs, such as "Overnight Celebrity" and "Slow Jamz" (also featuring Jamie Foxx) which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. She is also remembered in America for her team-up with Amber and Jocelyn Enriquez on a 1999 cover of "If You Could Read My Mind", which was also a mainstream American hit. "Jesus Walks" as of late has been subject for controversy, as the fact that the song was bought from Indianapolis-based MC Rhymefest and re-recorded has infuriated some hip-hop fans who decry such practices. Ultra Nate (originally from Baltimore) is a popular American house musician who is best known in her home country for her monsterous 1990s dance crossover smash, "Free", which features the memorable chorus "'cause you're free/ to do what you want to do/ you've got to live your life/ and do what you want to do". In the UK, "Through The Wire" peaked at #9 on the official singles sales chart, "All Falls Down" peaked at #10, and "Jesus Walks" peaked at #16. The third single from the album, the inspirational quasi-epic "Jesus Walks" peaked at #11 on the Hot 100, while a fourth extract, "The New Workout Plan", made a minor impression on the US R&B / Hip-Hop charts (see list of Billboard chart positions below).

"Through The Wire" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, and its successor "All Falls Down", which features R&B singer Syleena Johnson, peaked at #7. The College Dropout reached #1 on Billboard magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Chart, and reached #2 on the Billboard 200 - it also peaked at #12 on the UK album chart, where it spent several months in the Top 20 during 2004. The album received almost universal acclaim for its balance of mainstream commercial appeal and conscious (at times verging on Afrocentric) lyrics, along with Kanye's signature style of taking samples from sped-up classic soul and R&B tracks. "Through The Wire", which sampled Chaka Khan's classic track "Through The Fire", would eventually become his lead single off The College Dropout in 2004, released on Roc-a-Fella Records.

With his mouth still wired shut and only weeks after having an encounter with death, Kanye West began recording "Through The Wire," reliving his near-fatal accident. A car crash in October 2002 left his jaw fractured in three places. Previously best known for producing hit singles for Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, and Ludacris, Kanye himself worked on a solo album for a long period of time, having the release pushed back time and time again. Kanye West (pronounced CON-yay) (born June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American music producer and rapper from Chicago, Illinois.

The New Workout Plan, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks, #60. Through the Wire, Top 40 Tracks, #25. Through the Wire, Top 40 Mainstream, #32. Through the Wire, Hot 100, #15.

Through the Wire, Rhythmic Top 40, #10. Through the Wire, Hot Rap Tracks, #4. Through the Wire, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks, #8. Jesus Walks, Hot 100, #11.

Jesus Walks, Rhythmic Top 40, #16. Jesus Walks, Hot Rap Tracks, #3. Jesus Walks, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks, #2. All Falls Down, Top 40 Tracks, #12.

All Falls Down, Top 40 Mainstream, #22. All Falls Down, Hot 100, #7. All Falls Down, Rhythmic Top 40, #7. All Falls Down, Hot Rap Tracks, #2.

All Falls Down, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks, #4. Best Rap Album for The College Dropout. Best Rap Song for Jesus Walks. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Slow Jamz.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for All Falls Down. Best Rap Solo Performance for Through The Wire. Best R&B Song for You Don't Know My Name (as a songwriter). Best New Artist.

Song of the Year for Jesus Walks. Album of the Year for The College Dropout. Album of the Year for The Diary Of Alicia Keys (as a producer).