Rapper showed great potential for success from his childhood days

Kanye West started out rapping at an early age . He always had big dreams. The 36-year-old rapper, whose net worth is $100 million, had a modest middle-class upbringing in suburban Illinois.

Born in 1977 Atlanta, Kanye's parents - English professor Donda West and Christian counselor Ray West - divorced by the time he was three.

He moved with his mother to Chicago then Nanjing, China before settling in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois.

West began writing poetry at five and became fascinated with rapping and drawing by age eight.

At 13, the precocious child persuaded his mother to pay $25/hour in studio time so he could record his first rap song - Green Eggs and Ham.

While attending Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, Kanye's physical education teacher Marilyn Gannon remembered his ambitious nature.

'He was going to be best rapper in the whole world,' Gannon told Chicago's CBS 2 in February.

'"Ok, Kanye,"' she recalled saying to him, '"Now you can get in line."'

Polaris office worker Dolores Tamborski said West was 'just a regular little kid. He was so small and tiny.'

Academically, the Mercy rapper did well at Polaris.

'I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin',' West told students at Santa Monica High School in 2005 - reported MTV.

After graduation, Kanye briefly attended Chicago's American Academy of Art and Chicago State University, but at age 20 he dropped out to pursue music full-time.

By 2000, the college drop-out was well on his way producing hit songs for Jay Z, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson at Roc-A-Fella Records.

In the span of three short years, Kanye West went from hip-hop beatmaker to worldwide hitmaker, as his stellar production work for Jay-Z led to a major-label recording contract and, ultimately, a wildly successful solo career.

West courted controversy, no question about it, but his steady presence in the celebrity limelight couldn't eclipse his musical talent. His production abilities seemed boundless during his initial surge of activity, as he not only racked up impressive hits for himself (including 'Jesus Walks' and "Gold Digger"), but also collaborated on smash hits with the likes of Jay-Z and Ludacris. As his career progressed throughout the early 21st century, West shattered certain stereotypes about rappers, becoming a superstar on his own terms without adapting his appearance, his rhetoric, or his music to fit any one musical mold.

Kanye tragically lost his beloved mother-turned-manager Donda in 2007 when she died of complications from cosmetic surgery.

Watch recording of Kanye rapping at an early age 13 by his mum Donda West on May 17th 1990 with the transcribed verses below.

Kanye:Wassup in the back?And it's time to selectBut my (name’s) KanyeI have to start my rhymes with the finishI'll diminish other MC's on the Top 10, I bump themHey yo my man he know (hot beats?) KanyeI’m def' and Im fresh and I’m on the recNothin' less could come from West!Donda replied ''Hahaha! Get out of town Kanye!''.