Kanye West | The College Dropout | 2004 – Roc-A-Fella

Kanye West (pronounced Kahn-yay), is a 26-year old hip-hopper coming out of Chicago-land with his new solo album, The College Dropout. On first listen, I thought that Black Star lovers are really going to freak out over this. The rhythms of his rhymes and the pitch of Kanye's voice are very reminiscent of both Talib Kweli and Mos Def. On furthur investigation, I find that this "newbie" Kanye has been behind the scenes in production on many recent hip-hop hits including the Kweli fave, "Get By" from Quality. So, on to The College Dropout, a true hip-hop album with great beats, smooth grooves, killer rhymes, and tons of guest appearances (including the mighty Mos Def, Jamie Foxx, and many of the Roc-A-Fella crew). Hard raw beats are found underneath uplifting soul and gospel singing. All throughout, Kanye and his guest rappers touch on religion, materialism, sexism, as well as some personal testimony. This is all done with intense artistic integrity and poetic sincerity. There's some raunchiness in there too, have no fear; it's good fun with an edge. Here's the thing, though. It seems the release date on this album keeps getting pushed back. We were lucky enough to have a copy magically appear in our lives but it seems that the rest of the world will have to wait until mid-February. It will be worth the wait!
-Super Dee

Listen to Kanye's single, "Through The Wire" on Rhapsody