Kanye West, the polarizing figure that he is, is without a doubt a musical genius. [28] Reviewing it for The A.V. [1][2] The group released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999. Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. The production of The College Dropout was primarily handled by West and developed his "chipmunk soul" production style, which made use of sped-up, pitch shifted vocal samples from soul and R&B records, in addition to West's own drum programming, string accompaniments, and gospel choirs; the album also features contributions from Jay-Z, Mos Def, Jamie Foxx, Syleena Johnson, and Ludacris, among others. [29] The album was musically notable for West's unique development of his "chipmunk soul" production style,[30] in which R&B and soul music samples were sped up and pitch shifted. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. [28] West explained, "My persona is that I'm the regular person. According to Variety, though just for a moment, but it has made him the most awarded hip-hop performer in Grammy history. A widespread critical success, The College Dropout was praised for West's production, humorous and emotional raps, and the music's balance of self-examination and mainstream sensibilities. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Due to his association with D-Dot, West wasn't able to release a solo album, so he formed and became a member and producer of the Go-Getters, a late-1990s Chicago rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar. It was first delayed to October 2003, then to January 2004, before finally being released to stores on February 10, 2004. [35] "Slow Jamz" features Twista and Jamie Foxx and serves as a tribute to classic smooth soul artists and slow jam songs. "All Falls Down" contains interpolations of "Mystery of Iniquity", written and performed by, "Jesus Walks" contains samples of "Walk with Me", performed by The ARC Choir and ", "Never Let Me Down" contains samples of "Maybe It's the Power of Love", written by, "Two Words" contains samples of "Peace & Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement IV (Encounter)", written by Lou Wilson, Ric Wilson and Carlos Wilson, and performed by, "Family Business" contains samples of "Fonky Thang", written by, "Last Call" contains samples of "Mr. Rockefeller", written by Jerry Blatt and, Eric Duvauchelle – art direction and design, Stephanie Reynolds – art direction and design, This page was last edited on 4 April 2021, at 19:11. [90] In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade,[91] and the 20th best hip hop debut album ever. [43], "Through the Wire" features a high-pitched vocal sample of Chaka Khan and relates West's real life experience with being in a car accident. [5] "Family Business" is a soulful tribute to the godbrother of Tarrey Torae, one of the many collaborators in the album. West and Jay-Z, both went into the 2021 Grammys with 21 wins … [38] The first verse of the song is told through the eyes of a drug dealer seeking help from God, and it reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse. [129] West instead created a space in the mainstream for rappers to express themselves and black identity without resorting to hip hop's prevalent theme of gang culture. [49][50], In its first week of release, the album sold 441,000 copies and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, being held off the top spot by Norah Jones' second studio album Feels Like Home. He was the musical guest for Saturday Night Live on May 18, and performed "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead. Intent on … [75] The staff of Mojo said its exceptional hip hop production was miraculous during a time when hip hop's practice of sampling was becoming "increasingly litigious",[70] and those of URB deemed it "both visceral and emotive, sprinkling the dancefloors with tears and sweat". [15] The former recorded the second-highest ever per-track streaming average for an album. Kanye West, The College Dropout", "NME: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : October 2013", "Consequence of Sound's Top 100 Albums Ever", "The 25 Greatest Hip-Hop Debut Albums of All Time", "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)", "Amy, Beyonce, Kanye, made decade's best albums", "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)", "The 50 Best Hip-Hop Debut Albums Since 'Reasonable Doubt, "The Times – Best Album of the Decade 2000 – 2009", "The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties", "Usher Scores Five Nominations For NAACP Image Awards", "Thoughts on the tenth birthday of Kanye West's The College Dropout", "25 Greatest Chipmunk Soul Beats from the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty", "Kanye's Blueprint: 10 Albums Directly Influenced By 'College Dropout, "The Definitive Kanye West Album Rankings: A Roundtable", "Lescharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Offiziellecharts.de – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Norwegiancharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Dutchcharts.nl – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kanye West", "Swedishcharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Swisscharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Kanye West Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)", "Kanye West Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)", "Kanye West Chart History (Vinyl Albums)", "2004 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2004", "2005 Year-End Charts - Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", "Billboard 200 Albums – Decade-end Chart", "Canadian album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Danish album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "British album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_College_Dropout&oldid=1015986040, Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles), Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Album chart usages for BillboardRandBHipHop, Certification Table Entry usages for Canada, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Certification Table Entry usages for Denmark, Certification Table Entry usages of salesamount without salesref, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming figures, Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming footnote, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The 25 Greatest Hip-Hop Debut Albums of All Time, The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000–2009), The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time, The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014), The 50 Best Hip-Hop Debut Albums Since 'Reasonable Doubt', The Top 100 Albums of Clash's Lifetime (2004–2012). 1 on Billboard 200 Chart", "Kanye West Earns Eighth No. On May 1, 2013, Kanye West tweeted "June Eighteen," leading to speculation about West's sixth studio album. "We Don't Care" contains samples of "I Just Wanna Stop", written by Ross Vannelli and performed by The Jimmy Castor Bunch. Kanye West. [24], The College Dropout diverged from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical subjects for the lyrics. Jay-Z, West's colleague, later admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that many saw him as a producer first and foremost, and that his background contrasted with that of his labelmates. West's fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak (2008) ... Kanye West's GOOD Music Album The best album of the year Most Anticipated Event of 2012's Second Half Nominated 2013 Kanye West at Governors Ball: Best Festival … [23] In a January 2020 interview with GQ, West revealed that around 30 to 40 percent of the album was recorded on a Roland VS-1680. https://www.popdust.com/kanye-west-best-albums-2649734599.html Music Talks Most Memorable Studio Sessions With Kanye", "Kanye West on His Next Album, Designing Yeezy, and Kobe Bryant", "No Reading And Writing, But Rapping Instead", "Kanye West Collaborating With Lauryn Hill on New LP", "Common, John Mayer Drop in to Preview Kanye West's Dropout", "15 Things You Didn't Know About Kanye West's "The College Dropout, "The 100 Best Kanye West Songs: 24. Updated: Mon, Mar 15, 2021. [39], "Never Let Me Down" is influenced by West's near-death car crash. [58] On the UK Albums Chart, the album peaked at number 12, and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had certified it double platinum by November 25, 2004; this indicated shipments of 600,000 copies. I listened to it once to complete my journey of listening to every album from West, and have yet to revisit it. [21] In 2011, an uncensored version of the track was distributed online. [36] Gospel hymn with doo-wop elements "I'll Fly Away" precedes "Spaceship", a track with a relaxed beat containing a soulful Marvin Gaye sample. [74] In the opinion of Stylus Magazine's Josh Love, West "subverts cliches from both sides of the hip-hop divide" while "trying to reflect the entire spectrum of hip-hop and black experience, looking for solace and salvation in the traditional safehouses of church and family". [11] The song provides a mostly comedic account of his difficult recovery, and features West rapping with his jaw still wired shut from the accident. [77] Fellow Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote that "not only does [West] create a unique role model, that role model is dangerous—his arguments against education are as market-targeted as other rappers' arguments for thug life". [2] As of November 2020, West has certified 24 million equivalent albums units in the United States,[3] placing him among the highest-certified music artists in the United States, West's debut album The College Dropout was released in February 2004, it debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200,[4] and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2004. Weinstein also credited The College Dropout with directly influencing 10 albums: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (2006) by Lupe Fiasco, School Was My Hustle (2006) by Kidz in the Hall, Don't Quit Your Day Job! "[137], Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[34][138]. [96], —Aundre Larrow, Chicago Reader (2014)[129], The College Dropout sparked a resurgence of socially conscious rap in the mid 2000s,[130] arriving at a time when pop rap was saturated with songs featuring product placement and intensely violent lyrics, epitomized by rappers like 50 Cent, Nelly, Ja Rule, Ludacris, and P. The song features vocals from Ty Dolla Sign and Post Malone.It was first played at West's Yeezy Season 2 show in September 2015, before later being released for digital download and streaming as the third and final single from the album on September 9, 2016, through GOOD Music and Def Jam. West took a minimalist approach for the project, which was present in all of the songs and … Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period o… [131] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his stand-up material. [11] West's sixth studio album Yeezus was released in June 2013 and debuted at number one in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zeleand. [6], West brought with him to the studio a Louis Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio, producing tracks in less than fifteen minutes at a time. [51] The College Dropout remained at the second spot behind Feels Like Home for two consecutive weeks, with 196,000 units sold in the second week and 132,000 in the third week, respectively. [88] In 2006, the album was named by Time as one of the 100 best albums of all time. (C) 2008 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC For a time, he acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. In September 2007, West's third studio album Graduation debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 957,000 units in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling album in the US since Late Registration, and breaking the record for most digital albums sold in a week. "The Design Evolution of Kanye West's Album Artwork: "Kanye West × The Heavy Hitters, Get Well Soon (2003) – Clinton Sparks' 30 Favorite Mixtapes", "Kanye West: How the Rapper Grew From 'Dropout' to 'Yeezus, "American album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Kanye West is 'humbled' by fans as his debut turns ten", "The UK's Official Top 40 biggest rap albums of the Millennium revealed", "Does Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' Stand the Test of Time? 1 Debut", "Kanye West, Nicki Minaj Score Big Debuts on Billboard 200", "Jay-Z & Kanye West's 'Throne' Sells 436,000, Debuts at No. Saint West is the second-born child of Kim and Kanye, and is the couple's first son. American rapper and record producer Kanye West won his first gospel Grammy, for his 'Jesus Is King' album. From then onwards there was no looking back fort West and he gave to the entertainment industry best hip-hop music in the form of ‘The College Dropout, ‘Late Registration’, ‘Graduation’, ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’, etc. [47], The artwork for the album was developed by Eric Duvauchelle, who was then part of Roc-A-Fella's in-house brand design team. It has since been named by numerous publications as one of the greatest albums of all time, including Rolling Stone and NME, who ranked it at 74 and 273 respectively on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time lists, and is credited for popularizing the chipmunk soul and conscious rap subgenres in the 2000s. American rapper, musician and record producer Kanye West has released nine studio albums, two collaborative studio albums, one compilation album, two live albums, one video album and four mixtapes. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years". [15] At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to "make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do. [64] "Spaceship" was planned to be the sixth single, but Def Jam decided to move on from The College Dropout's promotional campaign to begin marketing West's next album, Late Registration (2005). [10] Compilation album Cruel Summer released with his label GOOD Music in September 2012 debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. [76] Dave Heaton from PopMatters found it "musically engaging" and "a genuine extension of Kanye's personality and experiences",[35] while Hua Hsu of The Village Voice felt that his sped-up samples "carry a humble, human air", allowing listeners to "hear tiny traces of actual people inside". [54] The album had sold 2.3 million units in the United States by November 2004. [West's] words on 'Last Call' inspired me to follow my dreams, and motivated me to graduate despite the album title." But West’s main aspiration was to become a rapper and it was not until the year 2002 that he was given his first opportunity to record his solo album. [11][34] The chorus and instrumentals sample a pitched up version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire". Then we did the 'I'll Fly Away' join". [25] Entertainment Weekly's Michael Endelman elaborated on West's avoidance of the then-dominant "gangsta" persona of hip hop: West delivers the goods with a disarming mix of confessional honesty and sarcastic humor, earnest idealism and big-pimping materialism. [45], The album's title is in part a reference to West's decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician. ", "Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan": Revisit His Hilariously Brilliant 'College Dropout' Single", Kanye West's Lost "Spaceship" Video | Kanye West, "Rhapsody's 100 Best Albums of the Decade", "25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status: Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)", "The 50 Greatest Debut Albums in Hip-Hop History: 20. 1 on Billboard 200", "Pink Earns First No. He sells his first beat to local Chicago rapper Gravity for $8,000. She later said, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. [6] However, West decided to use the opportunity to review the album, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. In the same discussion, music journalist Eric Sundermann cited The College Dropout as the first in West's pop rap album trilogy that would be followed by Late Registration in 2005 and Graduation in 2007, while Craig Jenkins called it "a watershed moment in 2000s rap history where the nerds stormed the school to seize control from the jocks, a shift memorialized two albums later when Graduation trounced 50 Cent's Curtis album in their 2007 sales showdown. [68], Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise. [1] West came to achieve recognition with his contributions to Jay-Z's influential 2001 album The Blueprint. The singer later recounted recording with West for The College Dropout at the Record Plant: "I get in, go in the booth, start vibing out on 'Spaceship' and finished it up. View in App. [20] It was revealed by Plain Pat that there were around three other versions of the song, but West disliked them. Following multiple delays, West released his ninth studio album Jesus Is King in late-October 2019. He began his career in the early 2000s as a producer for the record label Roc-A-Fella Records, before releasing his first solo rap album ‘The College Dropout’ in 2004. Saint West. The album won in four out of the five rap categories, and West became the first solo artist to have his first three studio albums be nominated for Album of the Year. The lyrics are mostly critical of the working world, where West muses about flying away in a spaceship to leave his boring job, and guest rappers GLC and Consequence add comparisons to modern day retail environment with slavery. [35][40] The song features verses by spoken word performer J. Ivy who offers comments of upliftment. [94] NME placed the album at 273 on its 2013 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[95] while Rolling Stone ranked it at 74 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. In a scene still dominated by authenticity battles and gangsta posturing, he's a middle-class, politically conscious, post-thug, bourgeois rapper – and that's nothing to be ashamed of. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/11/5/kanye-west-album-ranking [5] In August 2005, West released his second studio album Late Registration, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 860,000 copies. "West then unveiled the artwork and title, Yeezus, of the album on his website. Rapper Kanye West on the cover of Time: Will rap music shed its "gangster" disguise? At that point he was like, 'Ok, Well let me see what you do on this song.' The album was promoted with singles such as "Through the Wire", "Jesus Walks", "All Falls Down", and "Slow Jamz", the latter two of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The inside cover follows a college yearbook, with photos of the featured artists of the albums from their youth. Months after Dupri's LP release, he landed a track on Ma$e's Harlem World group album The Movement. [136] Music journalists such as Meaghan Garvey, Andrew Barber, and Erika Ramirez also connected to the album during their formative years, with Barber saying in a roundtable discussion for Noisey, "I could identify with this project the most because I was in college at the time, and I felt like an underdog in my own life. One song lead to another, and by the end of the weekend, I was on like five songs. [12][13] West added that "the album was my medicine", as working on the record distracted him from the pain. [79] The album elsewhere topped year-end lists by Rolling Stone,[80] Spin,[81] Vibe,[82] and PopMatters. It was a large-scale commercial success, becoming West's best-selling album in the United States, with domestic sales of over 3.4 million copies by 2014 and was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2020. It avoided the usual plotlines about sex, money and violence and touched on everything from his faith to his fears of failure and other crises from his life. Best of Kanye West: https://goo.gl/2FXUVWSubscribe here: https://goo.gl/AgJE59Music video by Kanye West performing Homecoming.