First, he's an innovative artist in rap. When rappers were rapping about guns, drugs, women and money etc., Kanye was more introspective and intelligent-thinking with his lyrics. He is one of the best rap producers in the rap industry. No one could perfectly sample old soul/R&B songs than he can.

He continues to change the sound of rap. When he released his 3rd album Graduation, he made songs that could fill out arenas, almost like how. And he also incorporated some electronic influenced songs on that album too. When he released his album 808s & Heartbreak, he created a whole new sound of hip hop where rappers talked about their emotions. He made rappers think it was okay to talk about depression, heartbreak, loneliness etc. He opened the door for rappers like Kid Cudi, Drake, Frank Ocean, Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino etc.

His following album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is considered one of the best rap albums of all time. The production was amazing, sounding like a symphony of sound. And this was released after the Taylor Swift incident, where he was made a pariah. It was like a triumphant comeback for him and he delivered a classic album. And he made another classic album with Yeezus, where talked about various topics like how big name corporations (Nike) treated him badly and was holding him back from his vision, racism etc. which also included production that was aggressive and in your face. He continues to go against the norms in hip hop and he succeeds with it.

But aside from his music, I believe that he's respected because he's a visionary who doesn't compromise his work. He believes in himself and how he presents his art to the world. Whether it's his music, art or fashion. He stays true to himself.

Aside from his attitude and the negative image that you see in the media, I think that Kanye is actually a good guy. You don't see or hear about him beating women, getting arrested with drug or gun charges. And he's an inspiration to many people.