Who said that making your music more mainstream was a bad thing?

It might be difficult to believe for some people but at the moment Kanye Omari West (his full name for those who don’t know!) is quite possibly the only rapper who can push the boundaries of hip hop but still get the all-important sales figures. Sure Kanye may has his fair share of limitations when it comes to rapping, but just like hip hop legends such as Run-DMC and De La Soul, Kanye has proved that you don’t have to exactly be the most technically gifted rapper alive in order to make good music. Not only that but Kanye’s talents behind the boards have also gone a long way towards making up for his moments of weakness on the mic since he has always been willing to evolve his production skills. Examples of this can be seen in the leap from “College Dropout”, in which Kanye resorted mostly to soul-sampling to “Late Registration”, which saw Kanye make heavy usage of string-sections to create some of the most forward-thinking music production seen in hip hop history. This leads us to “Graduation” as Kanye has once again switched up his production style. This time round he has placed emphasis on synthesizers to give the album a more commercial feel, but at the same time he still tries to get experimental. However, the production isn’t the only thing that has changed as “Graduation” is a lot more compact than Kanye’s previous albums due to the amount of guest appearances, skits and number of songs being drastically reduced. This can be interpreted as being a bit of a gamble since it places more focus on Kanye given that his mic skills have been regularly brought into question. However, Kanye has proven in the past that he isn’t shy of proving his critics wrong, which leaves the question of whether he can continue his streak of releasing good albums? Let’s find out….

One of the first differences that you notice about “Graduation” from Kanye’s previous album is that the album doesn’t kick of with an annoying skit involving Kanye’s annoying side-kick, Deray (in fact there are no skits at all for that matter!). Instead the album gets off to a great start with the song, “Good Morning” which provides the listener with their first taste of the synth sound that Kanye adopts for most of the album. The mixture of synths, drums and escalating vocals that Kanye uses here presents a sound that differs greatly from what is normally heard in hip hop and even transcends into pop/rock territory, more so than any of the songs heard on “Late Registration”. While Kanye’s general sound might have changed, his subject matter hasn’t as he returns to talking about the dissatisfaction he feels about the education system, something that he first touched on in “College Dropout”. However, Kanye has grown as a lyricist since his first album as not only does he mix his ever-present tongue-in-cheek humour with a more expansive vocabulary, his general arguments about the education system such as emphasising the fact that people with good grades can still be dim-witted are more convincing than ever.

“Champion” continues Kanye’s foray into pop/rock territory by using a vocal sample from 1970’s rock song, “Kid Charlemagne” by Steely Dan along with a sound-bed of synths. This acts as a perfect foil for Kanye’s vocals as he plays his now familiar role of the under-dog by continuing to explore the themes surrounding education first on “Good Morning” and combining the usual braggadocio with moments of introspection including observations about Lauryn Hill’s disappearance from the public limelight. Referring back to my earlier point, “Champion” is possibly one of the best examples out of the whole album in which Kanye ventures towards a rather un-hip-hop sound as while the subject matter might appear somewhat familiar, the way the song is structured out seems to reflect Kanye’s new found status as a successful music festival performer. For example, Kanye places so much emphasis on the vocal sample hook that there is a section of the song were we hear an unnamed hook singer offering an extended version of the chorus instead of another verse which would have extended the short length of the song. However, instead of being unnecessary, it actually shows Kanye’s growing maturity as a song-writer and perhaps offers us a glimpse about why he’s become even more accepted by the mainstream.

“Stronger” sees Kanye blatantly plagiarising the robotic vocals from Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”…Okay, I’m only joking! Sorry but I couldn’t resist a sly dig at those who reckon that Kanye’s sampling of the robotic vocals from that Daft Punk song amounts to artistic robbery! Back onto the subject of the song, I have to admit that when I initially heard about the idea behind this song I wasn’t sure whether or not it was a great idea since the premise sounded a bit too over-ambitious. However, Kanye has managed to prove me wrong yet again by taking the sample and making it part of a thumping synth-laden beat that has managed to appeal to a mainstream audience despite being a tad left-field. Considering the fact that the song is meant to be club banger of sorts, it’s probably no surprise that its subject matter simply revolves around Kanye bragging about himself and talking about the opposite sex. However, to his credit, “Stronger” does show off one of Kanye’s best attributes which is that he can bring a better performance in these type of songs than most rappers due to his sheer charisma as well as putting in the effort by spitting a number of hot lines.

Considering the fact that we are living in a time were a number of talentless and medicore rappers such as Soulja Boy and Flo Rida are the ones enjoying success in the charts, its virtually non-existent these days to hear a genuinely good rap song tailor-made to be a hit single. However, “Good Life” manages to be one of the few exceptions as it gets the basics right and it even manages to harken back to the times in which rappers such as Will Smith were able to make commercialised songs that got radio-play whilst still being up to a good standard. So why is “Good Life” such a good song you ask? Well firstly, as with “Stronger”, the lyrics here aren’t as mind-numbingly bad as what we usually hear in these type of songs since Kanye does a damm good job of riding the beat through constantly delivering entertaining and catchy rhymes basking about his achievements up to this point in his career. Also, the production here, handled by Kanye and DJ Troomp, is excellent with the humungous synths and well-used sample of “P.Y.T” by Michael Jackson utilised here creating a good ol’ fashioned summer anthem sound which we don’t hear enough of in today’s music scene, in fact it’s a shame the song was released in September!. Finally, the hook singer T-Pain, normally the first major indication of a bad song, actually does a good job here with his often-annoying robotic voice blending seamlessly into the beat and for that Kanye deserves a huge pat on the back since the words ‘T-Pain’ and ‘good’ are rarely mentioned in the same sentence!

Kanye and DJ Toomp team up again on production duties in the next song, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” which surprisingly enough was the album’s first single despite easily being one of the darkest songs that Kanye has ever made in his career. One of the first things you’ll probably notice about this song is just how strong DJ Toomp’s influence is on the it, not only in terms of production with Toomp’s traditional ‘chimes’ heard constantly playing in the background, but also Kanye changing his rapping style to a more Southern approach due to the usage slowed-down flow. However, instead of dumbing down his lyrics as some might suspect, Kanye uses this new-found style to actually elevate their introspective nature, something which works well as it helps place emphasis on the various statements that Kanye makes about religion and materialism throughout the song. Going back to the song’s production, Kanye and DJ Toomp do a great job of creating a dark atmospheric beat with Toomp’s ‘chimes’ working perfectly together with a string-section, Connie Mitchell’s haunting background vocals and a surprisingly well-used sample of some Young Jeezy adlibs from "I Got Money". Overall, this is definitely one of the highlights of the whole album and hopefully leads the way for more Kanye/Toomp collaborations.

“Barry Bonds” is the much-talked about collaboration between Kanye and Lil Wayne, whom both have their fair share of fans and critics. Containing a beat that is a throw-back back to hip hop’s ‘Golden Era’ with its constant beat-breaks, the song sees Kanye and Weezy indulging in some braggadocio with their verses and out of the two emcees it is Kanye who steals the show by doing what he does best, being an arrogant assh***! In fact I would go as far as saying that Kanye’s verse on this song might be one of his best so far in his career due to the presence of some excellent punch-lines (“I'm high up on the line, you can get behind me, But my head's so big you can't sit behind me”) that even Big L himself would be proud of. However, as good as Kanye is on this song, the same can’t be said about Lil Wayne, whose verse is so wack that it actually threatens to de-rails the whole song! So what’s so bad about Weezy’s verse you ask? Well it contains some absolutely abysmal metaphors, similes and puns with lines such as “My teeth and my eyes so white like Shady” and “And I'm still Cole like Keisha's family” seemingly defeating the purpose of a punch-line by containing no wit whatsoever. Whilst I do think that Weezy is a decent rapper, I also believe that performances like the one he delivers here provides people with a justifiably reason to have a strong dislike for his music especially with all this c*** about him being a G.O.A.T…..

Unfortunately, the nest song “Drunk and Hot Girls” is the album’s one and only major blemish which is a shame since all the other songs on the album are at lease above-average. The song itself sees Kanye, along with Mos Def, heading down the “New Workout Plan” route of wackness as he spends the whole song ‘rapping’ (or should that be mumbling) about drunk girls. Kanye does try to get satirical here by lampooning the traditional elements we expect to see in these type of songs. However, he ends failing miserably due to the song not possessing the wit needed to make the subject matter work, in fact the only thing that does work is Mos Def’s mildly-amusing faux-serious singing which goes to show just how sub par the song is. The production isn’t much better either as the synth-based sound, which has served Kanye so well up to this point, actually fails him this time round due to being way too repetitive and being more likely to cause headaches than to get heads nodding!

After the disastrous “Drunk and Hot Girls”, Kanye manages to instantly redeem himself with the next song, “Flashing Light” which in my opinion is perhaps the best female-orientated song that Kanye has ever made. The production here has a strong Dr Dre-influence to it with the synths, string-sections and hand-claps used in the song creating a sound similar to the one that Dre made on the 50 Cent song, “Outta Control Remix”. However, Kanye does such a great job of replicating Dre’s formula that in my view the production work on “Flashing Lights” surpasses most of Dre’s more recent beats. Fortunately, the production isn’t the only part of song that excels since Kanye’s lyricism also shines as he reminisces over an ex-girlfriend (something that now takes extra-significance considering his recent split with fiancée, Alexis Rainey). Talented vocalist Dwele also lends a helping hand by doing a good job on hook duties, all of which helps to make this one of the finest songs of the album.

Since I’ve spent most of the time talking about the new sound that Kanye has adapted for this album, you would be forgiven for thinking that Kanye has completely abandoned the soulful backdrops of “College Dropout”. However, “Everything I Am’ sees Kanye returning to his old sound with the sombre piano loops and mournful background vocals heard in the beat doing a perfect job of establishing the mellow nature of the song. In terms of subject matter, Kanye goes down a more introspective route by rapping about the perceptions that people hold about him and hip hop culture with the first verse seeing him compare himself to other music artists and highlighting his own short-comings (“I never be picture-perfect-Beyonce”). Thankfully, Kanye doesn’t take himself completely serious as during the second verse he utilizes his trademark satirical humour to make amusing observations about his public image (“People talk so much s*** about me at barbershops they forget to get their haircut”). However, the best part of the song is the third verse which sees Kanye at his most reflective by talking about the death toll in Chicago whilst mocking the glamorising of violence in hip hop (“Just last year Chicago had over 600 caskets, man killin's some wack s***, oh I forgot, 'cept for when n****'s is rappin'”). As well as being one of the highlights of the whole album, the song also features a welcome guest appearance from DJ Premier who drops by to show off his much-touted scratching skills throughout the song and ironically enough it’s the closet we get to hearing Deray since Primo uses a sample from his intro on “Late Registration”, “Wake Up Mr West” and dare I say that Primo actually manages to make him sound less annoying!

“The Glory” sees Kanye making a welcome return to the dramatic orchestral sound he used on “Late Registration” thanks to the use of a sped-up soul sample along with a string section and a group of background vocalists including Mos Def and John Legend harmonising together perfectly. Considering how good the production is and the fact that the song was originally meant for Common, it’s fair to say that the song requires a good lyrical performance from Kanye and thankfully he doesn’t disappointment as he manages to deliver a fine display. Here Kanye spits a series of hot braggadocio lines that range from being hilarious (“But with my ego, I can stand there with a speedo and still be looked at like a f****** hero”) to god-damm arrogant (“I guess after I live I wanna be compared to BIG, anyone Big Pun, Big L or Notorious”) which fit in well with the self-celebratory nature of the song and helps to ensure that this is yet another album highlight.

Considering the fact that I’m a fan of both Kanye’s and Coldplay’s music, I’ve been eagerly anticipating to hear the collaboration between Kanye and Chris Martin, “Homecoming” ever since the song was initially revealed to the public by the media all the way back in 2006! Fortunately, it manages to live to my expectations as the up-beat piano keys heard constantly playing in the background offer a convincing balance between Kanye’s and Chris Martin’s contrasting styles rather than coming off sounding like a clichéd rap/rock collaboration (*cough “We Made It” by Busta Rhymes and Linkin Park *cough). In terms of subject matters, Kanye flips the concept of “I Used to Love H.E.R” by Common through using the extended metaphor to represent his hometown of Chicago instead of hip hop. Taking into account that other emcees have left the idea behind “I Used to Love H.E.R” virtually untouched when making similarly themed songs, it’s commendable that Kanye decided to approach the concept in a different manner and whilst he does unnecessarily recycle some of the lyrics from Common’s classic, he generally does a great job in reworking the context of the lyrics to suit his ideas for the song. As for Chris Martin, he also plays a significant role in the song’s success by delivering a highly-catchy hook that has helped the song to be as popular as it is here in England!

In my opinion, not only is “Big Brother” the best song on the album but it might just be the finest song that Kanye has ever made. Before I go any further, I would like to say that Kanye really deserves credit for making this song as a number of immature hip hop fans have subjected him to ridicule since this song features him exploring his relationship with Jay-Z. Some numb-skulls might not be able to see things this way but “Big Brother” is perhaps one of the most personal and honest songs I’ve ever heard since Kanye holds no punches when talking about the good and bad times him and Jay have experienced together throughout the years. I have to admit that before listening to the song, I had some initial fears that Kanye might across as some kind of a Jay-Z stan but thankfully he manages to avoid the issue by tackling the song’s subject matter superbly. So while there are times during the song in which Kanye shows his gratitude towards Jay (“At the Grammy’s I said I inspired me, but my big brother who I always tried to be”), there are also instances were he is frank by mentioning occasions in which him and Jay haven’t exactly seen eye-to-eye with each other (“I told Jay I did a song with Coldplay, next thing I know he got a song with Coldplay, back in my mind I'm like damn, no way”). The production handled by DJ Toomp is also fantastic, with its melodic guitar riffs, soft piano keys and synths providing a ‘stadium rock anthem’ feel to the song which not only serves to broaden the song’s appeal but also manages to suit the reflective nature of the song perfectly. So is “Big Brother” the best song that Kanye has ever made? Well it’s hard to tell especially with competition as strong as “Jesus Walks” and “Heard ‘em Say” but in my view it comes damm close!

Unluckily for some of you American folks, you guys don’t have the bonus track “Good Night” on your edition of “Graduation” which is a shame since it is a very good song that sees Kanye dealing with another piece of personal subject matter. Kanye raps a single verse in which he reminisces on child-hood memories of his grandparents (whom passed away when he was young) and mentions his regrets about the fact that he never had a chance to really get to know them. The poignant nature of the song is complemented by the acoustic guitar and hand-claps heard in the background as well as the sweetly sung faux-reggae hook provided by Mos Def (and critics say Mos can’t sing!) and the spoken outro given by Al Be Back, which is slightly unnecessarily but still manages to sit in well with the context of the song. While its understandable that the song is included as a bonus track since its arguably too short and not quite up to the level of similarly-themed songs such as “Roses” and “Family Business”, its still a worthwhile addition to the album and suggests that maybe Kanye is underrated when it comes to making these type of personal songs.

I have to admit that I took my time posting a review of “Graduation” as I didn’t want to make the same mistake I made with my review of “Late Registration” in which I originally rated it as a 5 star album, only to change my mind to instead rate it as a 4.5 star album. The reason why I rated “Late Registration” the way I did was not only because I felt it was a significant improvement over “College Dropout” in terms of both lyrics and production but also I was astounded by how different the production was compared to anything I had heard previously in hip hop. However, after listening to albums such as “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx” and “Life After Death” that pioneered the whole idea of hip hop albums which contained almost-cinematic production, “Late Registration” didn’t seem so revolutionary. Coupled with the fact that it was possibly too long in length and contained a couple of mediocre song, I now feel that I overrated “Late Registration”.

Taking these things into consideration, I believe that “Graduation” is more worthy of a 5 star rating than “Late Registration” as while the latter is perhaps more ambitious than the former, “Graduation” is still the more well-rounded album which benefits greatly from its shorter length. In fact with the exception of “Drunk and Hot Girls”, the album is amazingly consistent, far more so than “Late Registration”. Also, the added emphasis on Kanye as a lyricist thanks to the smaller amount of guest appearances turns out to be a blessing in disguise as Kanye gets to show of the fact that he has come leaps and bounds as lyricist since “College Dropout”. While Kanye does still come up with the occasional slip-up in his verses, these problems aren’t as prevalent before and it’s fair to say they maybe people should start acknowledging this because lets face it, nobody possesses the ability to write perfectly-written lyricism all the time.

So in conclusion, “Graduation” is in my opinion Kanye’s finest hour up to this point, something which is a fantastic achievement as a number of people held the view that Kanye wouldn’t be able to better “Late Registration”. However, not only has he bettered that album but he’s also done something most musicians, let alone rappers, haven’t been able to do which is to make innovative music that still manages to appeal to the mainstream and for that Kanye deserves a HUGE pat on the back!


1) Good Morning (5 Stars)
2) Champion (5 Stars)
3) Stronger (4.5 Stars)
4) I Wonder (4 Stars)
5) Good Life Feat T-Pain (4.5 Stars)
6) Can’t Tell Me Nothing (5 Stars)
7) Barry Bonds Feat Lil Wayne (4 Stars)
8) Drunk and Hot Girls Feat Mos Def (1 Star)
9) Flashing Lights (5 Stars)
10) Everything I Am Feat DJ Premier (5 Stars)
11) The Glory (5 Stars)
12) Homecoming Feat Chris Martin (5 Stars)
13) Big Brother (5 Stars)
14) Good Night Feat Mos Def and Al Be Back (4.5 Stars)

Final Rating: 5 Stars