PHOTOS: A Brief History Of Kanye West At The MTV VMAs

It's hard to think of Kanye West and the MTV VMAs as mutually exclusive from the time he rushed the stage, stopping Taylor Swift mid-acceptance. Did Kanye and the VMAs ever coexist before "I'mma let you finish"? Actually, yes! Believe it or not, there was a time when Kanye West was, like many celebrities, yet another famous face at the VMAs as opposed to a pop culture touchstone that instantly references a specific time, place and "this is live TV, people" experience.

Kanye West and the MTV Video Music Awards go back like rocking chairs, and we've got the photos to prove it. Here's a brief photo history of Kanye West at the VMAs, starting with his 2004 performance with Chaka Khan and also including his 2005 performance with Jamie Foxx, his 2007 performance in Las Vegas and his 2008 solo performance of "Love Lockdown."

+ 2004 VMAs: Still riding high off the release of his groundbreaking debut album, College Dropout, Kanye West made his VMA debut, with Chaka Khan in tow, where he performed a "Jesus Walks"/"All Falls Down"/"Through the Fire" medley.

+ 2005 VMAs: Again, getting by with a little help from his friends, Kanye hit the VMA stage with Jamie Foxx to perform "Gold Digger" at the 2005 VMAs in Miami, where he almost arrived via yacht, but it would've messed up his outfit. Instead, Kanye hit the VMA red carpet chomping on a cigar. Was this an allusion to more outlandish VMA behavior to come?

+ 2007 VMAs: At the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas, Kanye hit the red carpet with then gal-pal Alexis Phifer. Kanye got into some onstage theatrics, facing off against his chief chart rival at the time, 50 Cent, and later performed "Stronger" in a Palms hotel suite. It was at the 2007 VMAs where Kanye swore off MTV forever after becoming outraged when his performance wasn't featured on the main stage.

+ 2008 VMAs: But, Kanye proved he doesn't hold a grudge. He returned to the 2008 VMAs where he closed the show by debuting "Love Lockdown," off his stylistically adventurous 808s & Heartbreak album.

+ 2009 VMAs: "Imma let you finish"-gate became so huge that you almost forgot that when Kanye showed up for the 2009 VMAs, it was with the beautiful and bald Amber Rose on his arm.

+ Check out the entire MTV photo gallery of Kanye West's Most Memorable VMA Moments.

Don't miss the 2010 MTV VMAs live from Los Angeles on Sunday, September 12, at 9/8c! And don't forget to vote!

Tags 2010 MTV VMAs, 50 Cent, Amber Rose, Jamie Foxx, Kanye West, Taylor Swift