>> pop stars figure out you need hip-hop cred and you need a hip-hop producer. ♪ i ain't no hollaback girl ♪ >> what's interesting about the 2000s is you had a group of hip-hop producers who were crossing over and topping pop charts. >> kanye is another one. you know, he's producing and working with jay-z and alicia keys and ludacris and janet jackson. but you know, in there he wants to be his own star. so he releases his first album, "the college dropout." >> the first single for "college dropout" was a song called "through the wire." ♪ i spit it through the wire ♪ >> kanye west gets into a car accident in los angeles and in the hospital with his jaw wired shut he records the song. ♪ somebody order pancakes ♪ >> it's essentially him rapping about how badly he wants to be a rapper. >> god saved my life.