Kanye West fans are more than familiar with the tracks he produced for his "big brother" Jay-Z on the famed album, 'The Blueprint,' released in 2001. Recently, more of the Chi-town producer-turned-rapper's original beats, from that same year, have emerged.

'Ye's always been keen on sampling, noted on Jigga's ode to his nickname 'Izzo (H.O.V.A.),' where West took the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back' and crafted it into the memorable record heard by legions of rap fans. On the beat CD, discovered in a storage bin by Jensen Karp -- better known as former Interscope Records rapper Hot Karl -- 26 tracks are featured, showcasing Kanye's signature style, heard noticeably on albums like that of Jay-Z.

According to Karp, the collection of beats were given to him in 2001, when he was looking to collaborate with producers on his debut album. "I remember Kanye being hyped to me as someone who had just worked with Beanie Sigel and was about to work with Ludacris, so I was obviously interested in this dude with a weird name," Karp revealed.

After listening to what the 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' creator had to offer, Karp admits he wasn't immediately impressed but asked for another CD of beats after recognizing 'Ye had potential. He then proceeded to have a conversation with the lauded performer about his work.

"I got on the phone with Kanye that week and he played me some beats over the phone (that included 'H to the Izzo') [sic]," Karp explained. "I picked one song from that phone call and it ended up being one of the first label paychecks written with his name on it. (I also was the first person to rap his name in a song. Because 'Kanye' rhymed with 'picante') [sic]."

Listen to a stream of 'Disc One' featuring Kanye West's early beats at DJBooth.net here. A second 'Ye beat CD, titled 'Disc Two,' will be released on Monday, April 4.



Watch Kanye West's 'The New Workout Plan'
if(typeof AOLVP_cfg==='undefined')AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:'AOLVP_74795867001','codever':0.1,'autoload':false,'autoplay':false,'displaymnads':true,'playerid':'89761511001','videoid':'74795867001','width':476,'height':357,'playertype':'inline','stillurl':'dynamic','videolink':'#','videotitle':'dynamic','videodesc':''});

More From TheBoombox