20 Black Voices for the New Century: It’s been a decade since Kanye West released his stunning debut album, The College Dropout, and since then he’s continued to create some of the most innovative hip-hop records while challenging us, delighting us, and enraging us with with his antics and opinions on topics ranging from politics to pop culture and his controversial, yet thought provoking rants.

In a series of comments about the album, he tweeted “Ten years ago today we finally released what had been my life’s work up to that point: The College Dropout.” He continued: “Ten years later I am still the same kid from Chicago, still dreaming out loud, still banging on the door. The doors may be heavier, but I promise you WE WILL BREAK THEM.” On West’s latest album, last year’s Yeezus, he continued to “break doors down.” Musically, as Ryan Dombai wrote in Pitchfork, “he trades out smooth soul and anthemic choruses for jarring electro, acid house, and industrial grind while delivering some of his most lewd and heart-crushing tales yet.” While Yeezus is West’s most provocative album, throughout his career, he’s been the near perfect “artist,” creating extraordinary, contentious, alienating, infuriating and musically important work that’s set the standard for hip-hop.

Read more in the series: Twenty Black Voices