I know this one will spark up some conflicts about "Oh, old skool rap is way better". Listen - I own Ice Cube's The Predator and NWA's Straight Outta Compton, but neither even compete with this in my eyes. Original beats, great samples and spectacular rapping, this is the benchmark for rap as far as I'm concerned. I've listened and listened and listened, and I have yet to find much fault. Tracks like Jesus Walks get your head nodding, while Family Business and Last Call wrap up the album with a more reflective, emotional look at Kanye's harsh life. Breathe In, Breathe Out shows his comedic skill by remarking on the mundane nature of much of rap: "Always said if I rap, I'd say something significant, but now I'm rappin' bout money ho's and rims again."

Anyway, here cometh the rundown.

The best point about the album? The flow. Not just in the actual tracks or the words, but in the music itself. In many ways, this album owes a lot to the Beatles, in that all of the tracks are basically medleys. The only reason they are separate is to be able to enjoy each one. They run together seamlessly and it's awe-inspiring. There are breaks sure - these would come between the various operas contained in the album. Thus, it is impossible to go through, individually judging tracks - each 'track' as I would see it is about 15-20 minutes of gold, and impossible to analyse.

I know many people will knock me for saying how great this album is for the comedy element in it - there are 5 tracks devoted to skits about Lil Jimmy and his dad's eagerness to learn, which was so much that he was in school his whole life. People will call it a gimmick, but I think that the humour is an intrinsic part of the album. it is that witty, insightful element in the lyrics themselves that make us love Kanye, right? His comedy hooks are not only well-observed and funny, but also serve to keep the listener tuned in - you actually want to listen closer to make sure you don't miss anything. And if you think the man doesn't know funny, you obviuosly aren't listening to the damn thing:
"Ooh girl your breath is harsh, cover your mouth up like you got SARS"
"Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexis (a Lexus)"
"And they DCFS, some of 'em dyslexic, they favourtie 50 Cent song 12 questions"
These are a scant few examples in an album that's littered with them.

This leads on to the words themselves. Kanye is so talented that in one song, he can make you laugh, think about the world at large or remember people you loved who have passed on. he has the ability to evoke such strong emotions in the listener, that when you are listening, you sit up and realise the skill this man possesses. Whether he is disregarding other people's opinions (We Don't Care) or just remembering his own life (Through the Wire, Family Business), he has a way with words that makes you actively want to listen. His skill with the language is unparallelled, and he can even use his pronounciation to make a gag or change the meaning of the line (See "Alexis" above). His lines are so spectacular that you cannot help but marvel. These two hooks from Through the Wire show his ability perfectly:

"I drink a Boost for breakfast, a Ensure for dessert,
Somebody ordered pancakes, I just sip the sizzurp,
That right there could drive a sane man beserk
Not to worry y'all, Mr H to tha Izzo's back to wizzerk"

Now you may say that it is just straight rap talk, but what I truly love is that you can break them down and they make sense and make points.
At this point, his jaw was wired shut after being in a car crash, and this song was rapped 'through the wire's of his jaw brace. So, the first 3 lines make a gag about his inability to eat and how that could piss people off even if they were super patient. The reference to 'H to tha Izzo' is because he was originally a producer who couldn't get work as a rap artist, and one of the tracks he produced was H to tha Izzo for Jay-Z. He is basically saying that when people realise that "hey, he's that guy who did H to tha Izzo," then they will respect him as an artist.

"The doctor said I had blood clots
But I ain't Jamaican man
Story on MTV but I ain't tryin to make a band
I swear this right here, history in the making man"

This hook was so good it was the Source's Rhyme of the year in 2004. It's that good.
He makes a passing, subtle reference to the inherent rascism in America, as he has to state that just because he is balck, doesn't mean that he's Jamaican. It's subtle remarks like this one which make you see just how good he is. How skilled do you have to be that you can make a rascism reference in passing and disguise it as a linking line? The answer is: su-fucking-perb. The line about MTV of course relates to Making the Band, the hit reality show, and his surprise at the appearance on it. However, it is also a reference to the influx of reality TV, and how really, it isn't surprising that he's on TV, because this really happened so there will be more viewers. The final line is just him exhibiting his own self-belief.

These are just two lines in an album of hooks this good or better.

My favourite track, Family Business, is as clever as it is emotional as it is sad as it is funny as it is inspirational. That's how good it is. Hooks which say that he can't see his grandma except 'through a glass' of a picture frame show the strength of his family ties, and how emotional and sensitive Kanye really is. And his ideal of "a creative way to rhyme, without using nines and guns" shows what he thinks of these rappers who are all about bitches and ho's.

How do I finish a review of the greatest album made in the last 5 years? I don't know really. I've barely scratched the surface of the genius that this album is, and there aer many many more facets to explore. I could've written essays on every song, breaknig it down to its core, its strengths, its beats, its other strengths, its rhymes, its beliefs and its other strengths. To be honest, I'd hope that all of you will endeavour to own this amazing piece of music history, but I know that won't happen. But I'm going to finish not with more compliments, but with the first verse of Family Business. It's long, but in my view it's the best sequence on the album. I'm not going to break it down for you, I'll leave you to interpret it in your own ways. I want everyone who reads this review to read this quote, and really think about what it means to them. Because that's what Kanye West does best - making songs that mean something to everyone, but different things to each person who listens to it.

This is family business and this is for the family
That can't be with us
And this is for my cousin locked down I know the answer's in us
Thats why i spit in my songs
So sweet like a photo or your grannie's picture
Now that you're gone it hit us
Super hard on Thanksgiving and Christmas this can't be right
Man you heard the track I did man this can't be life
Somebody please say grace so I can save face
And have a reason to cover my face I even made you a plate
Soul food you know how granny do it
Monkey bread on the side you know how the family do it
When I brought it why the guard have to look all through it
As kids we used to laugh who knew that life would move this fast
Who knew I'd have to look at you through a glass
And look you tell me you ain't did it then you ain't did it
And if you did then that's family business.

I sold, I was already on the golddigga track but after that review I'm all in.

Excellent review there.

-m0r

I've had Kanye West in my head all day long and I'm holding you responsible.


Great review too.

he's a pretty good hip-popper, but to say it's the greatest album of the last five years is a bit of an overstatement...



what particularly impressed me was 'diamonds form sierra leone' as i have a great sympathy for sierra leoneans and despise the way the diamond trade is doing very little (i.e. nothing at all) to stop the rape of a beautiful country. the diamond trade funds rebel activities, which involve the drugging and recruitment of child soliders amongst various other dreadful activities. props to mr west for even mentioning it.

Opinions I suppose. I think that the fact that it's one of the first albums I've really fallen in love with, and got me into the entire genre. I can credit him with that, and also with excellent execution of an all too often shark-jumping style of music.

Yeah, tis a fine track. But that's on Late Registration, which I haven't bought yet. However, I now have funds, and so will be buying it and The Warriors as a double whammy from play.com
To be honest, your small overview of 'Diamonds of Sierra Leone' is totally spot on. It re-iterates my point really, that rather than saying how big his rims are, he speaks out his opinions on topical events which he feels need addressing.

Apparently Late Registration is an even better album, so my pants are already moist with anticipation as I contemplate its purchase.
I'll pay in the money to my account tomorrow after school, then go straight home and put my order in.

I don't have College Drop Out (although intend to) but I can say that Late Registration is a superb album, and I would hold it up there as one of my favourite hip-hop albums of the last 5 years (possibly longer actually).

Also, if you like the radio-version of Diamonds from Sierra Leone then wait til you hear the album version (featuring Jay-Z) as I think that a lot of the meaning was lost in the watered down version which was released.

Very good review by the way Hobbes, and as much as I would like to do the same for Late Registration I feel that I should prepare one rather than just reeling one off impromptu-like. One negative, though, is that the skits in LR are a little annoying in my opinion (funny at first perhaps, but now i just skip past them), so hopefully the ones in CDO are better.

Anyway, top marks to Hobbes for the review, top marks to Kanye for everything he's done so far, and top marks to me for ... well ... I just fancied some!

Yep I got hold of this the other day. It is superb and I agree totally, apart from your view on the skits. I think the ones where they are chanting "we can't af-ford no gas! So we ain't driving!" are really funny, though the novelty will wear off. The skits on CDO are very good, and I don't find myself skipping past them at all, which I suppose is as much credit as I can give them.
And I would agree about Diamonds of Sierra Leone on ther album, it is a lot improved for the addition of Jay. Many many fine tracks on the album, though I cannot yet be comparing it to The College Dropout, since I don't yet know all the words. Compulsive listening I would certainly agree.
I think that you will like CDO a lot, I'm sure at least as much as LR. Though there are a lot of similarities between some of the songs. Roses sounds like Family Business, and Heard 'Em Say carries similarities to We Don't Care. However, they are not overly similar and I'm sure you will like them a lot. I strongly suggest you buy it. Because they are both rap benchmarks, and very 'thumbs up'.

And thanks for the compliment abundance.