Graduation's pre-leak talk wasn't as substantive as it was with Kanye West's first two albums. As with just about any other artist's third album, it had to be expected. The College Dropout was one of the most anticipated debuts of the early 2000s, while Late Registration had people wondering why Kanye would feel the need to work so extensively with multi-instrumentalist rock producer Jon Brion (the J Dilla of the chamberlin) and whether or not Kanye's hubristic tendencies would get the better of it. With Graduation, there was Takashi Murakami's artwork, a silly first-week sales competition with the decreasingly relevant 50 Cent, and chatter about synthesizers running wild. That was about it, but it all seemed loud and prevalent, due in part to a lack of high-profile rap albums released in 2007. Graduation is neither as bold nor as scattered as The College Dropout, and it's neither as extroverted nor as sonically rich as Late Registration. Kanye still makes up for his shortcomings as an MC and lyricist by remaining charmingly clumsy, frequently dealing nonsense through suspect rhyme schemes: "I never be picture-perfect Beyoncé/Be light as Al B. or black as Chauncey/Remember him from Blackstreet, he was black as the street was/I never be laid-back as this beat was." The songs that are thematically distanced, introspective, and/or wary -- there are many of them -- are, in turn, made more palatable than insufferable. That his humor remains a constant is a crucial aspect of the album, especially considering that most other MCs would sound embittered and hostile if they were handling similar subjects, like haters new and old, being a braggart with a persistent underdog complex, getting wrapped up in spending and flaunting, and the many hassles of being a hedonist. Those who have admired Kanye as a sharp producer while detesting him as an inept MC might find the gleaming synth sprites, as heard most prominently throughout "Flashing Lights" and "Stronger," to be one of the most glaring deal-breakers in hip-hop history. Though the synthesizer use marks a clear, conscious diversion from Kanye's past productions, highlights like "I Wonder," "The Glory," and "Everything I Am" are deeply rooted in the Kanye of old, using nostalgia-inducing samples, elegant pianos and strings, and gospel choirs. So, no, he's not dreaming of fronting A Flock of Seagulls or joining Daft Punk. He's being his shrewd, occasionally foolish, and adventurous self.
Everyone says the record industry is dead, but they omit one point - people still love music. In fact, music is probably more important to people right now than it's been in a long time. When Kanye West decided to push the release date of Graduation up to September 11 - so that it could go up against 50 Cent's Curtis - he got people excited about a release date, and I can't remember the last ...
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4.5 / 5What can you say, hes done it again. Chalk it up as 3 of 3 from the Chi town kid. You know those albums the more you listen the better it becomes? Well this isn't one of them because the moment you listen you know its good. Production (apart from homecoming and big brother) is stellar, but you would come to expect that. Lyrically Kanye has grew on me and I think this is his best offering...
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So, I like Kanye's new album. Most of the songs are phenomenal with only two or three I don't totally love, and they will probably grow on me. The beats are a departure from Late Registration and College Dropout because of the more electronic feel on some of them, but on songs like "The Glory" "Everything I Am" and "Champion" he samples gospel or 70s jazz, and it's brilliant. I think "Homeco...
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They say he can’t sing, can’t rap, wears wack clothes, and isn’t street enough. Now Kanye West has turned to face the haters, looked ‘em right in the eye, and agreed with everything they said.Well, almost. They also think he can't write a decent rhyme to safe his life, and cite as exhibit A “Like Kathy Lee need Regis, that’s the way I need Jesus!” They complain, too, about his “sam
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holy shit i love this cdbought it yesterdayand it is pretty sweet. the opening track, good morning, is really good and there's a track with chris martin of coldplay that i thoroughly enjoy and whether it is because i love coldplay and kanye or just because its rad, i do not know.and then of course there are his singles can't tell me nothing and stronger that rock the housei would post a song, b...
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Mog Rating: *8.5 out of 10 Stars**The Good:* Those annoying "Broke Phi Broke" skits are gone. Lyrically, Kanye has never been better. "Big Brother" was a big risk that paid off. Overall the album is very adventurous.*The Bad:* No more fake Bernie Mac. "Barry Bonds" is a lackluster effort from both Kanye and Weezy. *The Ugly:* He ruined "Home", the original version was fine as is, John Legend fi...
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I heard about this song about 2 months ago, and was expecting to be disappointed.I'm not a fan of T-Pain. At all. And I was expecting this song to be some corny "I've got money I'm rich, bitch" type of b/s, Even though that would be quite un-Kanye like.Luckily I was wrong - from the 30 seconds of the song I've heard, (though I can't judge the song completely from this) - I'm pretty sure it's g...
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Love the song, love the video...thoughts???Kanye West - StrongerUploaded by Petitprince13
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"It's like nothing anybody has ever seen," says a fan that went to Kanye West's Glow "In The Dark" tour opener last night (April 16th) at Seattle's Key Arena. An incredible light show created by the man behind Daft Punk's mind-blowing pyramid tour last summer and at the center of it all...Mr. West, traveling through space, who never fails to entertain. West performed an eighteen song set in nin...
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They say he can’t sing, can’t rap, wears wack clothes, and isn’t street enough. Now Kanye West has turned to face the haters, looked ‘em right in the eye, and agreed with everything they said.Well, almost. They also think he can't write a decent rhyme to safe his life, and cite as exhibit A “Like Kathy Lee need Regis, that’s the way I need Jesus!” They complain, too, about his “sam
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By now you've probably already heard of the resentmant toward Kanye West's Bonnaroo set, which started two hours late with no apology. The crowd threw glowsticks and got all crazy with spray paint. Well, the people at Animal New York have captured some of the messages. "Fuck Kanye" "Kanye Sucks" and "Kanye West Done Not Care About 'Roo People" all make the wall art.My personal favorite is the h...
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Lets play a game. The game is: What time do you think it is in the picture below? The snapshot, taken during Kanye West's Bonnaroo set, might look like midday, maybe around 3PM. But the photo was taken at sunrise - 5AM - midway through his shorter than usual, late night/early morning set on the main stage, which started two hours late. It seemed like half of the entire festival came out to se...
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There may have been a tornado of angry fans at Kanye West's Bonnaroo performance, which started two hours late, but the following night at his Moline, IL concert a literal tornado nearly missed the arena he was closing up his Glow in The Dark tour in. Captured by crew and security is a video of the funnel closing in on the venue as tornado warning sirens are goign off in the background. Massive...
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Kanye West resurrected himself from his Bonnaroo performance with his toned down set Sunday night, closing out Lollapalooza 2008. West along with industrial rock's Nine Inch Nails shut the 3 day festival down, in a year that marked the highest attendance ever for Lollapalooza.With no video wall or any other extravagant set-up to delay the start of his set, West jacked the crowd up giving shout...
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Here's the video for Kanye West's hometown shout-out on Graduation, which features Coldplay's Chris Martin on the piano. And if you don’t know by now, I’m talking about Chi town...
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When I first caught wind that Kanye ranted on Entertainment Weekly, i assumed they said something really mean about him. It turns out they simply had the audacity to rate his "Glow In The Dark" tour a B+ instead of an A+.... check out what he said on his blog."Yo, anybody that's not a fan; don't come to my show. For what?! To try and throw ya'll two cents in? *Ya'll rated my album shitty and no...
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Kanye West and Metallica may have ignored the US festival circuit last year, but this year both Metallica and Mr. West return as main headliners for the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival. The festival is being held at its original location in Manchester, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, between June 12th-15th.Joining the two will be Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson, Robert Plant & Alison ...
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Kanye West can be tagged as a hip-hop star, blogger, egomaniac and travel site entrepreneur, but at Tuesday night’s concert at famed Madison Square Garden with a tag team that includes Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna and N.E.R.D., Mr. West proved first and foremost that he is a visionary. Let me, or him for that matter, explain. “You know we started making all of this two days ago,” Kanye told me. He w
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Those that can, make music. Those that can't, latch on to musicians and subsequently squeeze every penny they can out of the situation... Hopefully this isn't a common theme, but it's an easy mistake to make these days when Rita Marley, Yoko Ono and others continue to lay claim to someone else's art. It's sad when the spotlight exposes the strife over the intellectual property rights of arti...
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The world was shocked when rap star Kanye West, at the top of his career, lost his mother Dr. Donda West unexpectedly last November. After receiving plastic surgery, the former college professor, 58, was reportedly found dead in her LA-area home the next day. All fingers pointed toward West's plastic surgeon, Jan Adams, who reportedly had faced many previous malpractice suits. Another surgeon D...
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"Good Morning" the opening track off Kanye West's Graduation will always have a special place in my heart. It was the second night of Bonnaroo 2008, about 4:30AM. The sun is about to come up, people are throwing glowsticks at the main stage, waiting 2 hours for Kanye West "late nite" set to start. And, as the sun is about to come up this song opens up the West's set. Perfect.In the video West g...
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After losing his composure trying to dedicate a song for his mom at his recent Paris Concert, Kanye West found the strength to deliver this soliloquy to a Belgium audience. In it he talks about touring so soon after his mother's death and then dedicates a performance of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" to her.
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Kanye was in Manchester last night as part of his Glow In The Dark Tour of the UK. He had just finished an emotional delivery of "Hey Mama" when the opening sounds of "Public Service Announcement" emanated into the vast MEN Arena. To everyone's bewilderment, Jay-Z bounced out on stage for "Encore." The two gave a hot performance from all written accounts. So far, the videos that have been u...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Good Morning |
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| 2 Champion |
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| 3 Stronger |
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| 4 I Wonder |
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| 5 Good Life |
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| 6 Can't Tell Me Nothing |
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| 7 Barry Bonds |
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| 8 Drunk and Hot Girls |
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| 9 Flashing Lights |
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| 10 Everything I Am |
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| 11 The Glory |
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| 12 Homecoming |
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| 13 Big Brother |
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| 14 [CD-ROM Track] |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Graduation")
