Photo courtesy of Debi Del Grande

The Kanye West of today is one of rap’s biggest names, a fashion icon of sorts, and a cultural innovator (see: his recent stream of consciousness). But before the man was a king, he was a simple prince trying to make his name in Chicago’s cutthroat rap scene. For a rare look at West pre-the glitz and glamour, The FADER points us to recently unearthed video of him performing at Chi-Town’s Double Door in 1996.

A less fashionable 19-year-old West, alongside then-partner Phenom, busts through a routine that demonstrates the early development of his skills, with a flow that was possibly faster and more rugged back then. One thing, though, hasn’t changed: West has seemingly always thought highly of himself (as per the lines like, “Kanye represent the sexy niggas, fly niggas”). Take a trip down memory lane by watching the video below.