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''The College Dropout'' is the debut album of American hip hop artist Kanye West, released February 10, 2004 on Roc-A-Fella Records. It was recorded over a period of four years, beginning in 1999. Prior to the album's release, West had worked on rapper Jay-Z's ''The Blueprint'' (2001), which showcased his melodic and soulful style of hip hop production. Produced entirely by West, ''The College Dropout'' features musical contributions from Jay-Z, John Legend, Ervin "EP" Pope, Miri Ben-Ari, Syleena Johnson, and Ken Lewis. Discarding the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop, West's lyrics on the album concern themes of family, religion, self-consciousness, materialism, and personal struggles.

The album debuted at number two on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 441,000 copies in its first week. It was a massive commercial success, producing five singles that achieved chart success. Upon its release, ''The College Dropout'' received general acclaim from most music critics and earned West several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Grammy Awards. It is West's best-selling album in the United States, with domestic sales of over 3.5 million copies and worldwide sales of over four million copies. ''Rolling Stone'' named it the tenth-best album of the 2000s decade. - Wikipedia

Three years ago, unknown producer Kanye West kissed Jay-Z's ring and was graced with key tracks on the don's Blueprint album. Now signed to Jigga's Roc-A-Fella empire, West has two singles under his own name in the pop charts at once-not bad for an ostensible college dropout. On West's full-length thesis of the same name, he proves that if he's not quite the production equal of Timbaland or Pharrell Williams, he's sure as hell a better rapper. Listening, it's important to remember just how short the sampling era really was: 1987-1995. In most parts of the south it never even took hold, and Dr. Dre was as fond of session musicians as he was of Parliament LPs. West is as much in love with the sound of samples (the grain of disembodied voices) as what he can do with them (odd juxtapositions): this is the document of a life lived-no, measured-in old records. It sounds as though he threw the punch-drunk "Thru the Wire" together in twenty minutes, fired up by a loop from his favorite Chaka Khan song. At its worst. this is (as one wag I knew put it) "like 1992 minus the songs." But West's talents run deeper than crypt robbing. "Work Out" smears middle-eastern violins over jitterbugging bongos, handclaps and piano, before a Roger Troutman vocoder solo sets up testimonials from those who have benefited from Kanye's Workout Plan ("All you mocha lattes/ You gotta do Pilates"). The last part should tip you off that, though he's seriously hot on the mic, Kanye's a little, uh, wacky. Maybe because he's a seemingly down-to-earth guy signed to the blingest label in hip-hop, West seems perpetually strung out between keeping it "real" and collapsing into giggles.

 

"Three years ago, unknown producer Kanye West kissed Jay-Z's ring and was graced with key tracks on the don's Blueprint album. Now signed to Jigga's Roc-A-Fella empire, West has two singles under his own name in the pop charts at once-not bad for an ostensible college dropout. On West's full-length thesis of the same name, he proves that if he's not quite the production equal of Timbaland or Pharrell Williams, he's sure as hell a better rapper. Listening, it's important to remember just how short the sampling era really was: 1987-1995. In most parts of the south it never even took hold, and Dr. Dre was as fond of session musicians as he was of Parliament LPs. West is as much in love with the sound of samples (the grain of disembodied voices) as what he can do with them (odd juxtapositions): this is the document of a life lived-no, measured-in old records. It sounds as though he threw the punch-drunk ""Thru the Wire"" together in twenty minutes, fired up by a loop from his favorite Chaka Khan song. At its worst. this is (as one wag I knew put it) ""like 1992 minus the songs."" But West's talents run deeper than crypt robbing. ""Work Out"" smears middle-eastern violins over jitterbugging bongos, handclaps and piano, before a Roger Troutman vocoder solo sets up testimonials from those who have benefited from Kanye's Workout Plan (""All you mocha lattes/ You gotta do Pilates""). The last part should tip you off that, though he's seriously hot on the mic, Kanye's a little, uh, wacky. Maybe because he's a seemingly down-to-earth guy signed to the blingest label in hip-hop, West seems perpetually strung out between keeping it ""real"" and collapsing into giggles.

 

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