Album Review: Kanye West – Graduation

After first Dropping out of College, and then Registering a bit Late, Kanye West has finally Graduated. Though he would like you to believe this education has been for the better, it has been nothing but a regression. As far as I am concerned, he should never have enrolled.

Enough of the painfully obvious analogy. The truth is, since Kanye broke out with College Dropout, the quality of his albums has gradually decreased. College Dropout was fresh for its time, and was received with universal praise. It was both serious and fun, the production was fantastic, and West was at his creative peak.

His next album, Late Registration, felt completely different from Dropout. The production was much more “out there,” but for the most part the album still had the Kanye touch. Though many of the tracks were inferior to his first album, Kanye still had plenty of amusing and clever rhymes. This album is also where Kanye patented the use of recycling: reusing lines, and often just reusing words (eighteen years). I usually find it hilarious, but some others get sick of it immediately.

His latest album, Graduation, is closely related to Late Registration in terms of both production and lyrics. Sadly this means further departure from College Dropout. It also means even more absurd recycling (once again I still enjoy it), with one line directly from a 50 Cent song. The problem is that while the lyrical reruns may work, the album feels like a recycled Late Registration. It is more a Sophomore Year than a Graduation.

There are some tracks that stand out, but you will do plenty of skipping through the album. Kanye needs to get back to innovating, because right now he is just repeating himself (literally and figuratively). It’s time to wake up Mr.West.

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4/10