The College Dropout

by

Kanye West

Edit

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(Gasp!)

An artist with actual talent and substance... from Rocafella Records?!!

Yes, I find it hard to accept too, but after listening to Kanye West's long over-due debut album, "The College Dropout", my doubtful assumptions have been put to a halt... at least in this situation. Kanye West, producer turned rapper, is perhaps one of the "better" new artists out right now. Why? It's because he's different. As a matter of fact, "innovative" would be a better word to describe the fresh sounding material Kanye brings to the hip-hop scene. His perfected skill in "sampling" is beyond exceptional, ranging from modern contemporary sounding hip-hop to old school R&B soul. Unlike other artists, like his label mates, The Diplomats, who just speed up any random song that is catchy, Kanye, builds on the sampled track, emphasizing and strengthening them.

One of the many exceptional tracks on this album is "Slow Jamz". Although, if I were to be extremely picky, I would point out the fact that a collaboration between Kanye, Twista, and Jamie Foxx seems to be... abnormal & weird. Nonetheless, the song is addictive and samples Luther Vandross' "A House Is Not a Home". Another good track is "Spaceship" which samples the late Marvin Gaye's "Distant lover." It's a song about the hardships throughout life and the yearning of freedom. "Through The Wire" samples Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire", and is mainly about life after Kanye's near-fatal car accident. "Jesus Walks" & "Two Words" have addictive beats, while the warmth in "Family Business" will most likely put a smile on your face. "Last Call" provides a very introspective perspective on how Kanye West got signed to the label. But above it all, perhaps the best song on this album is "All Falls Down", which samples the brilliant "Mystery of Iniquity" by Lauryn Hill. Although small, this single-lined interpolation provides such a passion that echoes and is riveted throughout the song in addition to Kanye's clever and witty lyrics. On this song, Kanye West speaks a blunt and honest truth while questioning his own materialism and fame, a subject that many artists should attempt in doing themselves:

It seems we living the American dream

But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem

The prettiest people do the ugliest things

For the road to riches and diamond rings...

...We buy our way out of jail, but we can't buy freedom

We'll buy a lot of clothes when we don't really need em...

Though the majority of the album is good, where the album stumbles is the very experimental "The New Workout Plan". I give him props for exploring new sounds, its just doesn't "work" for me and kind of falters when compared to the other tracks (although it can be catchy to some extent... if you like "dance/club" songs, you might like this one).

Kanye West's album came at a time when innovation was rare (Hip-hop is still stuck in this "era of materialism"). Kanye West does come off as materialistic and arrogant sometimes, but his self-consciousness overshadows clichéd flaws. With this said, I happen to think this album is pretty consistent, even with all the skits (which by the way, I like... they're funny and in good humor... especially "The Workout Plan" and "School Spirit Skits 1 & 2". I also think "Graduation Day" has a nice beat.) I also like the fact that the booklet inside is made to be like a yearbook; it's clever and different (and funny; did Jay Z really look like that? Yikes!). I'm a little disappointed that the song "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" which features Consequence wasn't included in the album. Though Kanye's rapping isn't as strong as his peers, this is still nonetheless one of the better sounding rap albums in a good while. Kanye says it best:

...I'm a champion

So I turned tragedy to triumph

Make music that's fire

Spit my soul through the wire

Kayne West's debut album "College Dropout" (2004) is good but not deserving of all the hype it has received. Kayne West production skills have been excellent, so I was interested in seeing how his MC skills are. The problem I find when listening to him, is he is not a gifted MC, his lyrics are for the most part average, and the way he curls his words can at times be annoying. The high number of skits and filler don't help either. That said there are some highlights to this album, for me they are for the most part well chosen collaboration tracks like: "All Fall's Down" feat. Syleena Johnson, "Never Let Me Down" feat. Jay-Z, "Get Em High" Feat. Talib Kweli/Common and the hit single "Slow Jamz" with Twista/Jamie Foxxx (which was already released on Twista's album). By teaming up with some of Rap's talented lyricists Kayne provides some memorable tracks. One track that Kayne does shine on solo is "Family Business" an outstanding cut- deep, introspective, real and uplifting. Kayne comes off best on tracks like that , because he is providing something different, more then the typical cut you here today.

End of day this is an album worth checking out if your a Rocafella fan, from Chicago or just looking for some fresh music. 3.5.