He was once small but his dreams were always big.

Several childhood snaps of Kanye West have just emerged following the death of his grandfather Portwood Williams Sr. on August 10 at age 98.

1991 middle school graduation! Several childhood snaps of Kanye West have just emerged following the death of his grandfather Portwood Williams Sr. on August 10 at age 98

In one shot the tiny 21-time Grammy winner proudly holds up his 1991 middle school graduation cap.

In another grainy image, a skinny white-socked Kanye is surrounded by a crude sampler, keyboard, and several sound/mixing boards.

One 2002 picture shows the Black Skinhead hitmaker suited up wearing glasses with a hand-written note.

‘Thank you 4 giving me all the advice I needed 2 go into the real world and be successful! Love, Kanye West’

His home recording studio! Kanye West, whose net worth is $100 million, had a modest middle-class upbringing in suburban Illinois

‘He was going to be best rapper in the whole world’: The 21-time Grammy winner strikes a pose next to a keyboard while clad in a V-neck jumper in this early ’90s snap

Working for Roc-A-Fella Records: One 2002 picture shows the Black Skinhead hitmaker suited up wearing glasses with a hand-written note

Born in 1977 Atlanta, Kanye’s parents – English professor Donda West and Christian counselor Ray West – divorced by the time he was three.

He moved with his mother to Chicago then Nanjing, China before settling in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois.

West began writing poetry at five and became fascinated with rapping and drawing by age eight.

At 13, the precocious child persuaded his mother to pay $25/hour in studio time so he could record his first rap song – Green Eggs and Ham.

‘I got A’s and B’s. And I’m not even frontin”: Kanye recorded his first rap song at age 13 and he did academically well while attending Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, IL

Successful: After graduation, Kanye briefly attended Chicago’s American Academy of Art and Chicago State University, but at age 20 he dropped out to pursue music full-time

Still in mourning: Kanye tragically lost his beloved mother-turned-manager Donda in 2007 when she died of complications from cosmetic surgery

While attending Polaris High School in Oak Lawn, Kanye’s physical education teacher Marilyn Gannon remembered his ambitious nature.

‘He was going to be best rapper in the whole world,’ Gannon told Chicago’s CBS 2 in February.

‘”Ok, Kanye,”‘ she recalled saying to him, ‘”Now you can get in line.”‘

Polaris office worker Dolores Tamborski said West was ‘just a regular little kid. He was so small and tiny.’

All grown up: Now the hip-hop star is father to two-month-old daughter North ‘Nori’ West with his partner of 16 months, Kim Kardashian

Academically, the Mercy rapper did well at Polaris.

‘I got A’s and B’s. And I’m not even frontin’,’ West told students at Santa Monica High School in 2005 – reported MTV.

After graduation, Kanye briefly attended Chicago’s American Academy of Art and Chicago State University, but at age 20 he dropped out to pursue music full-time.

By 2000, the college drop-out was well on his way producing hit songs for Jay Z, Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson at Roc-A-Fella Records.

In demand: Weezy will next perform at the MTV Video Music Awards airing live from Brooklyn on August 25 before reportedly hitting the road for his Yeezus tour in October

Kanye tragically lost his beloved mother-turned-manager Donda in 2007 when she died of complications from cosmetic surgery.