Kanye West Is King Of Chicago!

Chicago will always be Kanye West‘s baby. On Friday, the “Famous” rapper and his wife Kim Kardashian West, 37, revealed via her app and website that they’d named their newborn daughter Chicago, but many fans have been wondering why? Their third-born child’s name proudly pays homage to the city where Kanye, 40, grew up and pursued his dreams. Despite being born in Atlanta, Georgia, Kanye has long shared that growing up in the city of Chicago, Illinois, deeply influenced his life. After his parents divorced when he was just 3 years old, Kanye and his mother, Donda, picked up their lives and moved to Chicago, where she was an English professor at Clark Atlanta University and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before later retiring to serve as his manager.

Kanye briefly attended the American Academy of Art and Chicago State University in 1997 — where his mother also served as a professor — before dropping out to pursue music at age 20. Though his career took the place of his education, Kanye was awarded an honorary doctorate by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in March 2015 for his contributions to music, fashion, and popular culture, officially making him an honorary DFA.School or not, he has the city to credit for his success in the hip-hop scene today.

During the early years of his career, Kanye acted as a ghost producer for Deric “D-Dot” Angelettie and, because of that, was unable to release a solo album. Instead, he went on to form a late-1990’s Chicago rap group called the Go-Getters, comprised of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar. The Go-Getters released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999, featuring other Chicago-based rappers, such as Rhymefest, Mikkey Halsted, Miss Criss and Shayla G.