Kanye West - Graduation
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CD Details
Artist: Kanye WestBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Published: 2007-09-07
CD Release Date: 2007-09-11
Music Label: Roc-A-Fella Records
Product features:
- WEST KANYE GRADUATION
- Good Morning
- Champion
- Stronger
- I Wonder
- Good Life feat. T-Pain
- Can't Tell Me Nothing
- Barry Bonds feat. Lil Wayne
- Drunk and Hot Girls feat. Mos Def
- Flashing Lights feat. Dwele
- Everything I Am feat. Scratches by DJ Premier
- The Glory
- Homecoming
- Big Brother
Music reviews of Graduation
Music Review: Kanye may have graduated, but I liked him better as a "College Dropout"
Rating: 4 Stars
I was introduced to Kanye West when I found out that he was the producer on Beanie Sigel's "The Truth", which was one of my favorite tracks on Beanie's debut CD. From there, Kanye produced another favorite track of mine which was "This Must Be Life" which featured Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel and Scarface. One reason whay I liked the track so much was Kanye's use of the Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes classic "I Miss You". Since the song had a serious tone to it, the old school sample made the song even better, in my opinion. Kanye produced 4 tracks on Jay Z's The Blueprint: "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" which was the 1st single, "Never Change", "Heart Of The City (Ain't No Love)" and one of my favorite tracks on this CD, "Takeover", which was Jay Z's lyrical stab at Nas & The former Infamous Mobb Deep. Kanye also produced Talib Kweli's "Get By" and one of my favorite collaborations of all time, "Guess Who's Back" from Scarface's The Fix. The track was another song that featured Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel and Scarface.
The first time that I ever heard Kanye West rap was on a track entitled "Champions" that was featured on the Paid In Full Soundtrack. The track featured Twista, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Kanye and Young Chris of the Young Gunz. Kanye held his own but I wasn't sure where it would go from there until I heard "Through The Wire". Kanye was in a bad car accident and what he decided to do was to show people how hungry he was to be a rapper and a producer. So while his jaw was pretty much still wired shut he sampled Chaka Khan's "Through The Fire" and created his official entry into the rap game. The next track that I heard was "Slow Jamz" which was a collabroation between Kanye West, Jamie Foxx & Twista. The track was clearly made for the ladies but it was so catchy that you couldn't help to like it especially with the sped up sample from the late, great Luther Vandross on "A House Is Not A Home".
When The College Dropout came out I was impressed because I knew Kanye had the production skills but I would have never figured out that he had the lyrical skills to carry a full CD. My favorites included "Jesus Walks", "Never Let Me Down" w/Jay-Z and J. Ivy, "Two Words" w/Mos Def & Freeway, "We Don't Care", "Last Call" and "Spaceship" w/GLC and Consequence. "College Dropout" went on to go double platinum. A year later Kanye dropped Late Registration. It seems as if Kanye wanted to come right back out with another CD to capitalize off of the momentum from "College Dropout". My favorite tracks were "We Major" w/Nas, the remix to the first single, "Dimaonds From Sierra Leone" w/Jay-Z, "Heard 'Em Say" w/Adam Levine from Maroon 5, which was a beat that Common had turned down, "Gone" w/Consequence and Cam'ron and "Late", which was the last track on the CD. People can have debates on whether or not both of these CDs were classics but I know that I when I listened to the CDs, I could listen to every track, skits included, without skipping a track.
This time around, Kanye West has returned with his 3rd Disc, "Graduation". If you have "Late Registration" there is a track entitled "Celebration" where Kanye seemed to be celebrating the success of his debut CD and all of the production credits he has received over the years. The reason why I bring this up is because this is what "Graduation" is all about. It seems to be a album that was made to celebrate the success of Kanye "graduating" and making it on his own terms. The 1st single, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was originally scheduled to be a remix to Young Jeezy's "I Get Money" which appeared on Jeezy's latest CD, "The Inspiration". The track featured TI and was produced by DJ Toomp who produced TI's classic "What You Know" from his "King" CD. "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is really the street single in my opinion where "Stronger" is probably the official 1st single. "Stronger" was made strictly for the clubs. It's obvious that Kanye uses his clever rhymes throughout the track with lines like "You know how long I been on 'ya", since Prince was on Appolonia, since OJ had Isotoners, don't act like I never told 'ya". "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is the stronger track but I understand why Kanye would want to make "Stronger" the official single. The next single is "Good Life" which features T-Pain. The song includes a sample of Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" from his "Thriller" CD. The song is decent but compared to Kanye singles from the past it doesn't do too much for me. It follows the same celebratory path that Kanye intended to have for this CD. "Graduation" gets off to a good start with "Good Morning" which serves as the intro for the CD. Kanye gives us some nice bars to let you know that he is ready to introduce CD#3 to us. "Champion" is decent but I think the track suffers from a case of overproduction. Kanye West is a perfectionist in his own right but in my opinion he should simplify things at times. His lyrics are on point, but I have heard better from Kanye. I admire his shout out to Lauryn Hill when he says that he wishes that her heart was still into rhyming. The sample on "I Wonder" is just sick. However, Kanye takes too long to get things started. The verse starts almost 3 minutes into the song. However, the beat will help you overcome any shortcomings that you have about the song. "Barry Bonds" features Lil Wayne as most CDs do nowadays. I was floored when I saw that he was scheduled to be on Little Brother's new CD, Getback, on a track entitled "Breakin' My Heart". The CD is scheduled to be released on October 23, 2007. "Barry Bonds" is basically a nice beat from Kanye that features 2 verses from him and a nice lyrical contribution from Lil Wayne, despite what most people may think. I agree that Lil Wayne shouldn't be on 75 mixtapes and 125 guest appearances in 1 year, but you have to give hum his credit when its due. "Flashing Lights" features Dwele who appeared on Common's "The People" from Finding Forever. This track is easily one of the better tracks on "Graduation" as Kanye makes a track that talks about a girl who is going to far to attain the finer things in life. Just like Common was talking about on "Drivin' Me Wild". When I heard, "Feeling like Katrina with no FEMA....like Martin with no Gina", I thougt to myself that's the Kanye that I have come to respect and like. He wins with clever rhymes. My favorite track is easily "Everywhere I Am", which includes scratches from DJ Premier. The beat reminds me of Scarface's "My Block", which Kanye also produced. The track is really laid back and mellow. "Glory" is also a decent track and it reminds you of something that Kanye would have produced for Jay-Z on "The Blueprint". Someone has seemed to make Kanye upset, just as MTV did this past weekend and you can hear the anger in his lyrics. However, he still adds his playfulness on the last verse.
I understand Kanye's concept for this CD but no track captures that better than "Homecoming" which features Chris Martin from Coldplay. My favorite song from Jay-Z's Kingdom Come was "Beach Chair" which also featured Chris Martin on the track. I may have to start checking out some of Coldplay's work. Anyway, you can tell by the end of "Homecoming" that Kanye has mentally walked across the stage and is celebrating the finest moments of his accomplishments. The problem is that some of the other tracks on "Graduation" don't achieve the same success. Kanye's tribute to Jay-Z on "Big Brother" is phenominal. When Kanye wants to he can create memorable anthems that you will want to hear for years to come. "Big Brother" is clearly an example of that. The honesty and realness of the track can't be denied and its right up there with "Jesus Walks" and "Last Call" with the effect that it leaves on you after you listen to the song.
At 13 tracks, many people expected more from Kanye's "Graduation". Kanye is one of the few artists that I can accept skits from because they are always funny and they always fall in line with the sequence of the tracks. It would have been nice to hear more of that this time around. I thought that Kanye would have atleast included "Bittersweet" w/John Mayer and the remix to "Can't Tell Me Nothing" w/Young Jeezy. Also, I can understand cutting the guest appearances but I would rather hear Mos Def rap on "Drunk And Hot Girls" then try to sing like he did on "Umi Says", which is still a fantastic track 'til this day. In the end, most listeners will realize that "Graduation" is a nice CD but if you compare this CD to "College Dropout" and "Late Registration", this CD doesn't stack up to them. It's not as bad as some people are making "Graduation" to seem, but at the same time it's not as great as his previous work. "Graduation" was a concept album, however, so was "College Dropout" and "Late Registration". If you're making a concept album the overall quality of the project shouldn't be compromised. However, if you are a Kanye West fan, this is still a nice addition to your CD collection.
James' Top 6
1) Everything I Am
2) Big Brother
3) Homecoming w/Chris Martin
4) Flashing Lights w/Dwele
5) Can't Tell Me Nothing
6) Good Morning
Honorable Mention:
The Glory
Barry Bonds w/Lil Wayne
I Wonder
Stronger
Description of Graduation
Graduation is the 3rd installment in the Kanye West series of ground breaking albums, targeting every school kid, from those that have dropped out (Debut Album, College Dropout), to those late registrants (sophmore album Late Registration), to those that have gone on and completed school (current album Graduation). Though technically this earmarks a junior year, West's approach to crafting this album was very much senior. Kanye teams up with veterans Daft Punk and Edwin Birdsong on "Stronger"- Graduation's forthcoming single; as well as enlisting a little help from current chart topper T-Pain on "Good Life". Chris Martin of Coldplay appears on a track called "HomeComing" as well. Kanye has continued to prove his understanding and appreciation for a wide array of music and musical influences. What makes GRADUATION so special? Like most Kanye titles, his fearlessness and blindness to inhibiting boundaries, coupled with his fan driven core competence is evidence that he knows exactly what people yearn for...great music, perspective, and a voice to be heard.Kanye West's third in a whimsical trilogy of "scholarly" albums, Graduation wears its predecessors' badges of success on its sleeve. Matriculation has its rewards, apparently, and it's time to take stock. Lyrically, there's plenty of self-congratulation to attend to, but the real fun comes in the collabs, and West chooses co-conspirators like a kid in a candy store--John Legend ("Good Life"), Coldplay's Chris Martin ("Homecoming"), Mos Def and the Section Quartet (both adorable choices for the foreboding "Drunk and Hot Girls")--and plucks samples with A-list braggadocio: Elton John, Steely Dan, Daft Punk, Can, Michael Jackson, Public Enemy. Nothing here quite captures the superlative symbiosis of West's past best beats (think "Gold Digger"), but the central motif remains: No one ever accused Kanye West of being too cool for school, and Graduation still knows how to party. True, Kanye West will happily whine about the pitfalls at the top of the heap, clear his throat and try to rhyme it with Barry Bonds, or diss fish in a barrel all day, but that can't stop a shameless good time, and Graduation maintains an unshakeable knack for producing it. --Jason Kirk
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