As one of the more enigmatic figures to appear in recent rap history, Kanye West has created an impressive and highly controversial legacy for himself in a relatively short period of time.. As such, after I heard his “Stronger” super-single (I regard it as one of the top-5 club/radio singles of the year) I was pretty stoked/curious to check out how his latest full-length album would stack up with his past work.
After hearing the hype through media outlets and finally listening to it a few times, I wasn't huge on the disc at all, but when others told me that this album had grown on them over time, I figured I’d give it a few more spins before writing this review. So, about a dozen listens and a week later, I can say I’ve been as objective as I can but I still can't say I feel any differently about “Graduation.”
I can easily say it is Kanye's worst album to date, but its not a horrible album by any stretch of the imagination - his first two were just significantly better. It is interesting to note here how my opinion of the Chicago-bred emcee/producer has changed over the years. When I first heard of him as a top-notch new producer, working with the likes of Jay-Z and Talib Kweli before he gained notoriety as a solo act, I thought he was easily one of the most talented producers in the game and well on his way towards immortality in the industry.
Then I read a few of his interviews in hiphop magazines and the like, and I thought to myself: "Damn, this dude's got a pretty big ego for a producer." Right on cue, he soon released a mixtape and then a full-length album (“College Dropout,” 2004) to debut as a rap artist and I honestly was blown away with the beats on both of those releases. Years later, I still stand by my statement that he single-handedly changed the face of the rap game with his soul beats that year – as a producer, he stole the collective imagination of fellow artists and hiphop fans everywhere, being responsible for the best tracks on just about everyone's album at the time. As a rapper, I liked what he was trying to say and found his direction refreshing though he wasn’t very polished technically back then with both his flow and his delivery. Then I read more interviews with him, and noticed that his ego was starting to get out of hand.
With his 2nd album ("Late Registration," 2005), the beats fell off a tiny bit but he stepped up his rapping ability quite a bit. The only problem was that this time around the lyrics felt forced, and it felt like he didn't really have anything new to say. In other words, it felt like the coming out party of Kanye West as a lyricist who hadn't really grown into his newfound identity as a conscious rapper torn between sharing his soul and flaunting his newfound fame and fortune. Most of the songs on the album were good, and some were really good making it a more complete album than his debut, even if I was partial to the depth and raw passion of that release. An interesting note to add here though: I heard the initial radio release version for "Diamonds" over the same heart-stopping instrumental that eventually made the album – only, it was a 5 minute rendition of how he was great and should be cherished as the best thing to happen to rap since.. well, you get the point. Then, after an independent rapper made a dubplate over the same instrumental, choosing to highlight the problems blood diamonds posed to the people/children of Sierra Leone, Kanye “magically” reappeared with a "new" version of the song on his album (the version you probably know), and then acted like he came up with the idea to speak about the social issues in Sierra Leone allll along on that track. Pretty shameless stuff, even if 95% of the general public that follows “popular” mass media outlets like MTV, MuchMusic or BET probably had no idea that this travesty even took place. Nonetheless, my respect for him went down a couple notches after this.
Now, with his latest album "Graduation," he truly impresses me with the potency and consistency of his lyrics on most songs - Kanye's taken leaps and bounds in terms of his writing. BUT, with the exception of a couple of tracks (the 2 radio singles and the next one that will surely follow), the production is pretty poor. Once the poster-boy for soulful rap music, he's turned around completely - and not in a good way either. Just about all of the features on the album seem contrived (T-Pain?!?), and he even managed to come up with a TERRIBLE (and I mean terrrrrrible) song with one of the most talented writers the rap world has ever seen in Mos Def. When I heard the song I literally stopped the album and half-blurted/half-screamed "Whaaaaaaaaat the FUUUUUUUU**” to my girlfriend who was in the room. "Drunk and Hot Girls?!?!" You have Mos Def in the studio with you and you come up with that sh*t? (I mean it literally. It IS that bad.)
After I got over that individual atrocity of a "musical" piece, I realized that despite his improvement as a writer and rapper over the years, Kanye has actually taken steps backwards as an artist and has truly become delusional in terms of how great he thinks he is. Which is a shame, really and truly, because after his debut album came out I was ready to crown him the next great artist in this uninspired industry – I didn’t think ANYONE could’ve stopped his ascension if he only continued to follow his heart. Now? He’s not only lost his edge but he’s managed to turn off the majority of his listeners simply by “being himself” as he puts it. Most heads still recognize his talent and ability both on the boards as well as on the mic, but most informed music-lovers are unable to find it in them to respect him based on his overblown persona.
Oh yea, and he continues to whine about not garnering the accolades he feels he deserves so I doubt he's going to change any informed music-listener's perception of him anytime soon. Too bad - he could've been great. With the way he’s chosen to move forward in recent years, it’s probably a safe bet that won't any of his future albums more than this one either.
The following is one of the tracks from his album I managed to enjoy more than most of the others - his ego was at a minimum here, well.. by his standards at least.
Kanye West - "Everything I Am" Lyrics
Now everything I'm not, made me everything I am.
Damn, here we go again.
People talkin sh*t, but when the sh*t hit the fan
Everything I'm not, made me everything I am.
I never be picture-perfect-Beyonce
Be light as Albi or black as Chauncey
Remember him from Blackstreet
He was as black as the street was
I'll never be laid back as his beat was
I never could see why people'll reach a
Fake-ass facade they couldn't keep up
See how I creeped up?
See how I played a big role in
I never rock a mink coat in the winter time like Killa Cam
Or rock some mink boots in the summertime like will.I.am
Let me know if you feel it man
Cause everything I'm not, made me everything I am
Damn, here we go again.
Everybody sayin' what's not for him
But everything I'm not, made me everything I am
Damn, here we go again.
People talkin sh*t, but when the sh*t hit the fan
Everything I'm not, made me everything I am
And I'm back to tear it up
Haters, start your engines
I hear 'em gearin' up
People talk so much sh*t about me at barbershops
They forget to get they haircut
Okay fair enough, the streets is flarin' up
Cause they want gun-talk, or I don't wear enough
Baggy clothes, Reebok's, or A-di-dos
Can I add that he do spaz out at his shows
So say goodbye to the NAACP award
Goodbye to the In-di-a Arie award
They'd rather give me the ni-n*gga-please award
But I'll just take the I-got-alotta-cheese award (ha)
Damn, here we go again.
Everything I'm not, made me everything I am
Damn, here we go again.
People talkin sh*t, but when the sh*t hit the fan
Everything I'm not, made me everything I am
I know that people wouldn't usually rap this
But I got the facts to back this
Just last year, Chicago had over 600 caskets
Man, killin's some wack sh*t
Oh, I forgot, 'cept for when n*gga's is rappin'
Do you know what it feel like when people is passin'?
He got changed over his chains, a block off Ashland
I need to talk to somebody, pastor
The church want time, so I can't afford to pay
The slip on the door, cause I can't afford to stay
My 15 seconds up, but I got more to say
That's enough Mr. West, please no more today
Damn, here we go again.
Everybody sayin' what's not for him
But everything I'm not, made me everything I am
Damn, here we go again.
People talkin sh*t, but when the sh*t hit the fan
Everything I'm not, made me everything I am
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