By Erica Laden
I knew Kanye when he had braces. I knew Kanye when he would sit at my desk at MTV and play his music, asking me what I thought. I knew Kanye when he used to ask me for tickets to MTV awards shows. I knew Kanye when I had to convince at least four different security guards at MTV's Video Music Awards in 2001 that he was the producer of Jay-Z's "H to the Izzo" and that they needed to let him in. It's a good thing I had all-access credentials and was wearing a headset. I must've looked official, as he made it all the way to Jay-Z's dressing room.
Kanye and I became friends through an old intern of mine, Nicholas McCarrell. I hired Nick in 2001, and that summer he was hanging out with some guy with braces named Kanye West. Nick used to say, "Remember Kanye West. He is gonna be a HUGE star." On a regular basis, Kanye would visit MTV and sing at my desk. My absolute favorite of his songs was "Hey Mama." It really struck me, as my father had passed away when I was 12, so I could 100 percent relate to the love he had for his mother, who raised him alone. What I didn't know is that the woman I was so intrigued by in "Hey Mama" would pass away six years later.
And now when I see him at awards shows, I ask him if he still needs tickets. He finds it entertaining.
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