Kanye West: 12 Most Mind-Blowing Moments of 2010

12. Breaking months of silence, West announces on his blog that he?s back in the studio, where he?s drawing inspiration from artists like Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, and Gil Scott-Heron. (Jan. 2)

11. Appears on Fox?s The Cleveland Show as ''Kenny West,'' a teenage rapper who battles young Cleveland Brown Jr. (May 2)

10. Releases a remix of Justin Bieber?s ''Runaway Love.'' Who but Kanye would have thought to pair the squeaky-clean teen heartthrob?s vocals with a gritty hip-hop beat and a verse from the Wu-Tang Clan?s Raekwon? (Aug. 30)

9. Squirms throughout an excruciatingly awkward interview with Matt Lauer on NBC?s Today. He later cancels a scheduled performance on the show. (Nov. 11)

8. Debuts ''Runaway,'' a bracingly honest new song about his personal faults, at the 2010 VMAs. We join him in a hearty ''toast for the douchebags.'' (Sept. 12)

7. Performs awesome new single ''Power'' atop a dramatic stage volcano at the BET Awards. (June 27)

6. Blows viewers away with two songs on Saturday Night Live in front of a stark white backdrop. (Oct. 2)

5. Posts racy album-cover art and implies on Twitter that Walmart nixed it: ''Yoooo they banned my album cover!!!!!'' The retail giant denies ever having seen the image. (Oct. 17)

4. Debuts Runaway, a surreal 35-minute short film, on MTV. Fans and critics hail West?s ambitious new tunes. (Oct. 23)

3. Shows off his brand-new diamond teeth while visiting Ellen DeGeneres? talk show. (Oct. 19)

2. Joins Twitter and begins posting a constant stream of outrageous opinions, hilariously deadpan observations, and confessions. As he puts it the next day, ''I think Twitter was designed specifically with me in mind just my humble opinion hahhhahaaaahaaa humble hahahahhahaa-haaaa.'' (July 28)

1. Releases his fifth and quite possibly best album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It?s an awesome summation of his talents as a producer, rapper, and maestro of today?s music scene — and it reminds us exactly why we love Kanye West. (Nov. 22)