Is Kanye West An Only Child?

Is Kanye West an only child or does he have any siblings?

Moving to Chicago at the tender age of three, following his parents’ divorce, Kanye West is the only child his mother had. He is reported to have two step siblings, a brother and a sister, from his father’s second marriage, but it doesn’t seem to the most cordial of relationships. With his own family to look after now, Kanye West seems to focus on his children the most out of anyone else.

Read on to learn the details of his upbringing and relationship with his family!

Kanye Has Been Riding Solo Since He Was Three

While Kanye West’s love of his hometown Chicago is well-known, Kanye was actually born in Georgia, moving out after his parents divorced each other when he was just three years old. His parents struggled to support themselves financially, so it makes sense why the family remained a small unit. 

Kanye ended up buying his childhood home through his charity, both named Donda’s House in the memory of his mother, who passed away in 2007. Their relationship was and is well-celebrated, with West honoring her life and legacy through naming numerous creative and philanthropic ventures after her. Donda’s House unfortunately became a center of controversy, much like most of Kanye’s work in the public eye, when the founding member of the charity, Kanye’s collaborator and continued-friend Rhymefest sparred with Kanye’s wife Kim Kardashian West on the social media networking site Twitter. 

Kanye West’s Complicated Family Ties

While Kanye West has shown love to the film Step Brothers time and time again in interviews, his own lyrics, and the samples in his songs, he seems to yet show the same level of love – or any of that love – to his own step brother and sister.

The same can be said for his relationship with his biological father, Ray West. While Kanye’s mother reportedly never remarried, Kanye never reached out to his father before or after her death in any big way that we’ve seen. From time to time, Ray spoke out on his son’s behavior and numerous erratic controversies and statements in tabloids, and perhaps because of that indirect communication, they were photographed together in what the Daily Mail called a “rare outing” in 2018. 

Further, in 2019, following Kanye’s Christian “salvation” and focus on gospel music to spread the word of Jesus-based sanctification, Ray West appeared and bonded with his son on-screen in the music video for the song Follow God, a lyrical outing about both his Earthly and Heavenly Father.

Kanye appeared on the Celebrity version of the gameshow Family Feud in 2018, featuring with the Kardashians as well as his cousins (Kim, Jalil and Ricky) – sparking discussion and questions about Kanye being an only child. His appearance on the show was considered a noteworthy feat, with the rapper and artist’s relaxed mannerisms, cheery disposition and playful qualities being highlighted in the press and on social media. The Guardian commented that West was “6-year-old-goes-to-ice-cream-shop happy” to be appearing on his favorite show, surrounded by family that made him happy.

The family that is purported to make him unhappy is stepsister Aliya Jones, who has been known to take shots at him and his wife and family in the media, joining Ray West’s second wife to speculate on Kanye cheating on Kim and straying “easily” during his marriage. She also seemed to throw shade at Kim’s surgeries and beautification choices – but on the other hand, Kanye’s stepbrother Hal Carmichael has expressed his show of support to Kanye numerous times in the media, putting his concern for Kanye’s mental health into words and stressing to the press about the challenges West faced that might make his subsequent actions seem shocking to other, emphasizing that Kanye West was “only human”. 

With Kanye West’s 2016 hospitalization, Hal said: “He’s always been a man who’s laid back and mellow.” He added, “Since he started out in the business he has never taken a break, or stopped working. He’s lost it right now because he’s only human. He’s exhausted from working over and over and over and he’s burning out. He’s not mentally aware right now. But he’s a strong man. His dad is still here, he has his wife and two kids to think about. Kanye would never do anything to himself that might affect the people he loves.”

ncG1vNJzZmiblaGyo63NrK6eqqNjsLC5jqKqZqORo8amedaeqq1lkaN6sLrLsmScoJmhsXA%3D