Kanye West’s career has not gone by without some controversy. He has had some form of controversy during his career as a recording artist, whether the controversy was about the theme of “Jesus Walks” to jumping onstage during Taylor Swift’s award acceptance speech at the MTV Music Awards in 2009. Despite the negative press he has received during his career, he has never let that hinder his musical creativity. His releases have frequently sold very well and received critical acclaim for his songs’ themes.
The record for today’s review is his first solo release, College Dropout. While West had produced numerous records and tracks for artists ranging from Foxy Brown to Jay-Z, he had never released any of his own material. His producing career had hindered any progression of his rap career because record companies viewed him first and foremost as a producer. Eventually he had the chance when he helped contribute a verse on “The Bounce” from Jay-Z’s The Blueprint2: The Gift & the Curse. From here his rap career took off.
#54 – Kanye West, College Dropout (Metascore = 88)
Before delving further into the record, I need to tell you part of the inspiration of this record. Prior to beginning recording the album, he was in a car accident that resulted in a broken jaw. He used the accident and his time in the hospital as inspiration for writing some of the lyrics on the record. His first single, “Through the Wire”, was recorded while his mouth was wired shut during the healing process. From there the record takes off. I also found another part of his life very interesting; that is, West also dropped out of college when he was 20. His mother actually was a professor at Chicago State where he dropped out, and she did not approve of his giving up his education. However, with the queue of beats and raps he had built up, he felt he had no other choice.
A trademark of Kanye’s producing style has been the use of samples and beats while also incorporating live instruments to help supplement the sound. He also started modifying vocals at this point, though on a smaller scale than he used on 808s & Heartbreak. Most of the beats and samples he had started building up over years of trying to establish his rap career.
Kanye’s lyrics also shift him away from the gangster rap crowd of guns, drugs, and murder to a more socially-conscious, topically-diverse crowd of rappers that would include rappers like Common, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def. The lyrics in “We Don’t Care” reflect on a childhood (not necessarily his but of kids he knew) looking up to drug dealers and the blue-collared workers that did what they could to put food on the table and get their kids in school. “Jesus Walks” was and is one of Kanye’s biggest singles and also one of his most controversial, rapping about a subject (Jesus) that many see as taboo on the radio. The song also has the best beat on the record in my opinion. Many of the lyrics on this record reflect economic struggles, social struggles, and political commentaries that are as relevant today as they were then.
One other thing I haven’t mentioned but must is his rap style, meaning his vocal style. Kanye has a smooth delivery when he raps. His raps are very thought-provoking. I can’t really describe exactly what I mean, but lines like “I’m just trying to say the way school needs teachers/the way Kathie Lee needed Regis that’s the way I need Jesus”, where he references culture and TV and religion…those are the types of lines I am talking about. He also has a smooth delivery; it’s not choppy nor does it rely on gimmicks. He just delivers his lyrics the way that best fits the song, creating a great flow to the overall record.
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