In 1996, Fat Beats opened up a record shop on 6th Avenue in New York City, and to celebrate the launch, a bunch of rappers came through to perform. At the time, a 19-year-old Chicago kid named Kanye West wasn’t one of the big draws. They had Lord Finesse, Ill Bill, J-Live, Chino XL, Xzibit, and a few other rappers who had already made a name for themselves and were known in New York.
Going back through the footage of the night, Fat Beats manager DJ Eclipse realized what he had and sent the video to Complex. It’s a teenage Kanye rapping in ’96, dropping lines like, “Tryin’ to flex technique you gettin’ blast with a tec / That shit is mad ironic like Alanis Morissette.”
Watch the video above, and read more at Complex.
