On November 14, 2014, Thomas was sentenced to seven yrs in juvenile detention for his criminal offense. His music highlighted rappers Nas, Drag-On, and R&B singer Carl Thomas. He also crafted strike tracks for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. Fresh off shelling out the past yr touring the world with U2 on their Vertigo Tour, West felt encouraged to compose anthemic rap music that could operate more proficiently in big arenas.