Hip hop and fashion mogul Kanye West today (June 8) celebrates his 45th birthday.

The father of four, who has legally changed his name to Ye, although constantly involved in controversy, is undoubtedly talented and has contributed vastly to the music industry.

He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop musicians of all time, as well as one of the greatest musicians of his generation.

Now a Gospel artiste as well, West has a wide and diverse catalogue of music. As we celebrate Yeezy, let us take a look at a few of his songs to add to your playlist.

West, in his usual fashion, tells it like it is, so be prepared for some not-so subtle lyrics ahead.

8. FourFiveSeconds

This 2015 single by Bajan artiste Rihanna features vocals from West and instrumentals from Beatles member, Paul McCartney.

West and Rihanna, who have teamed up sporadically over the years, in this track, sing about heartbreak.

In explaining why she was attracted to the song, the singer said: “When you read the lyrics, it’s a completely different song than what you are hearing. The music is easygoing, but the lyrical content is very loud and in your face.”

7. Otis

Otis is the fourth track on the Watch The Throne album, a joint collaboration between American rapper Jay-Z and West.

Sampling Otis Redding’s 1966 record Try a Little Tenderness at the beginning of the track, this 2011 Kanye West-produced song was met with critical acclaim.

6. Gold Digger

Would this list be complete without what is regarded as one of West’s most celebrated tracks?

One of several collaborations with Jamie Foxx, Gold Digger, the fourth track on Late Registration, was co-produced by West.

Originally written from a female perspective, this song examines what a gold digger is and makes mention of relationships that uffer from such women.

Foxx, who had already starred in the Ray Charles biography, sampled some of words and sounds of the I Got A Woman hitmaker.

5. Fade

The 19th track on Life of Pablo, Fade features American artistes Post Malone and Ty Dolla $ign.

Kanye, who feels as if his relationship is diminishing calls out his lover, saying they are both not 100 per cent invested.

The accompanying music video stars American singer and dancer Teyana Taylor with a brief cameo from her husband, NBA champion Iman Shumpert

4. Through The Wire

Through The Wire tells the real-life story of the rapper who crashed his car and fractured his jaw. The original version is said to have been recorded while his mouth was still wired shut.

Released in 2003, this Kanye-produced track was the artiste’s first single.

3. Jesus Walks

Another West-produced track, Jesus Walks is the seventh song on his debut album, College Dropout. One of his most recognisable and powerful songs, Jesus Walks won a Grammy for Best Rap Song.

Despite knowing the challenges a rap Christian would face, West defied the odds, as it became a significant hit.

West created three different music videos for the track, with the second available to the public.

2. All Falls Down

Another track from his debut album, All Falls Down features vocals from Syleena Johnson. The track talks about the rapper’s personal battle with consumerism.

The song, produced by West, samples Lauryn Hill’s Mystery Of Iniquity.

1. Runaway

Runaway, the ninth track on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is one of West’s most thought-provoking tracks.

This masterpiece, released in 2010, was written by American rapper Pusha-T. Also featured on the track, Pusha-T explained how the masterpiece came to be.

“I wrote Runaway four times—and what he [Kanye] does not know to this day is that I was going through a relationship scandal in my life. So this man is asking me to write a song about a relationship and to say that I’m the biggest douchebag ever. He’s telling me, ‘Yo, you need to be more douchebag. We need more douchebag!’ I didn’t want to say to him, ‘Dog, I don’t know if I even have douchebag in me right now.’ I’ve been jammed up, and it’s hard for me to even tap into that part because I’m remorseful. [Laughs.],” Pusha-T said.

Runaway has three accompanying videos – the video version, full length film (clean and explicit) and the extended video version.