Ok let me start off by saying, I know the Entertainment Weekly really has no credibility in many circles in the world. Well maybe mom’s who have 2 kids and watch Oprah every day or the Tweenies that love Twilight. But this is one of those times where I think they got it right, well at least for #1. There is so much you can say about music, it seems that everyday I have some type of conversation about music. Hell even a lot of my blogs talk about music in them in some way. Music is a essential part of most of our daily lives. It’s playing in the background as you work, the ringtone you have is probably a song clip, you look up music from TV shows you watch. The link to the article is here.
So let me start off by saying this. This album was literally in my car for 3 years straight. It was on both in CD form and MP3. For some reason before most of the controversy and drama, Kanye West really interested me. First off I was drawn in by the “Through the Wire” video. It was interesting in the way it was presented as well as the story that it told. Then as his story was told more and more I found out through research how involved he was in music that was out ala Rock-a-Fella and producing. Another video that drew my attention was the “All Falls Down” video. I mean how can you go wrong with Stacey Dash of Clueless fame? Also his persona and just demeanor was not that of a normal “rapper”. No big chains, super baggy clothes, white tees, wifebeaters, tattoo’s. West didn’t fit a mold. He was more like the preppy kid in school. He made popping polo collars trendy as well as killed it with his shoe game.
But not only were the video’s interesting to watch but Kanye’s raps and lyrics were a breath of fresh air. It was definitely not cookie cutter in any way. It also had progression through the album that I really like. When it follows a story in some way and not all over the way. Also funny interludes and snippet’s also are a thing that I enjoy to hear on albums. These things helped draw my attention and kept it for so long. Also this was before a time when I knew as much about artists and who helped who. But look of this list of people who are in this album: Jay-Z, Ludacris, Twista, Jaime Foxx, John Legend, Keisha Cole, GLC, Consequence, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Common, etc. Also his beats and sampling were very different then any other producer out there. When you realize the songs that he has worked on behind the scene you can hear the Kanye vibe to it. This is the way you can tell a producer is good if you can tell it’s their song by their beats. Some of the best at this love or hate them are people like Dr. Dre, Lil Jon, Scott Sharp.
The album has memorable songs and songs that have many different feelings to them. Some have very fast, uptown beats to them. Other smooth and slower beats with short vocals in the background. No two songs sound alike and they don’t sound like other stuff that was out at the same time. Other songs you may have heard on the radio include Slow Jamz with Twista and Jaime Foxx and Jesus Walks. Jesus Walks of course had a lot of controversy around it with its content as well as video’s made for it. It’s one of those songs that make you listen to it regardless of how you feel about religion though. Two of my favorite songs of the album, Family Business and Last Call were not played on the radio and they finish the album out.
College Dropout is a great story based around the album title. And the first of a progression of West’s thinking as well as his music progression. The album is one where you put it on and listen from beginning to end. It is a album that I would never but on random or mix the songs and unless I want to hear a certain song, I will listen to it from beginning to end. It’s a album to have play in the background and you will find yourself singing along, nodding your head and enjoying every time you hear it.
I think the thing that makes this the best album of the decade is that it changed “rap” as it was known. It was not gangster in any way. Kanye showed that you did not have to follow the formula and could speak about things that are important to you like religion, sexuality or the appreciation of you friends. It has classic lines and shows the many faces of the man called West. If you haven’t heard it, then go find it. If you have heard it, listen to it again. Then let me know how you feel.
