Kanye West - The College Dropout
Hello everyone, welcome back to my blog. Today, I will be reviewing Kanye West's debut studio album, The College Dropout. After working as a producer for many big MCs at the time, we finally released his first hip hop album. Let's see what this fresh mind has to offer.
The Intro skit features a man that sounds like he's constantly running out of breath, and then, we open with We Don't Care. At first, I found the song a bit off putting, however, with repeat listens, I started to enjoy it more and more. The production is also super clean.
After a short interlude, we move onto All Falls Down, featuring a sample from Lauryn Hill. I love Kanye's flow on here, as if it dances around the singing in the sample.
I'll Fly Away is a jazzy interlude, which leads us into my favourite song on the album, Spaceship. The smooth soul instrumental is amazing, and Kanye's bars describing how fed up he is with is job keeps me intrigued all the way through.
Jesus Walks, as the name implies, is a Christian song, but it doesn't sound corny at all. The choir on the hook is very catchy, and the way Kanye manages to express his faith is an example that Jesus Is King, hopefully, followed.
Never Let Me Down is one of the lesser songs on here. The hook is pretty weak, and the instrumental is boring.
Get Em High, on the other hand, has one of the most memorable hooks on the album. It also features one of the cleanest instrumentals on the album, and my favourite part in the song is when we rhymes with "six", from "Now who the hell is this?" at 1:40. That flow sounds very smooth for me.
After another short skit, The New Workout Plan is the grooviest song on the album. The spoken word part in the middle of the song gives the song flavour, and that deep voice at the end sounds like Tyler, The Creator. I'm not the only that hears it right?
Slow Jamz is another favourite from the album. I love the RnB sound of the song, and the fast verse from Twista adds a bit of much needed variation in the five minute song.
Breath In Breath Out has a very catchy hook and the instrumental is one of my favourites on the album.
After a very hard hitting skit, School Spirit is one of the lesser songs on here. The hook is weak, and the instrumental is rather boring. Not necessarily because of the sample, but it just get's pretty boring.
Next we have Two Words, which is another favourite from the album. I like the more aggressive sound of the song, contrasted by the vocal sample.
Through The Wire is one of the more forgettable songs on here. It doesn't have any standout features. The song, if I'm not mistaken, was released after Kanye suffered a car accident and had his jaw wired shut. That doesn't take away from the weakness of the track, compared to the rest of the album.
Family Business is another highlight from the album. I love the smooth beat and the bars. It's simple, but highly effective.
And finally we have Last Call, which lasts 12 minutes, but only the end and beginning are rap, and the rest is spoken word from Kanye, telling us about the making of the album, and that storytelling keeps me hooked, as I get invested with the story.
Overall, this album is full of catchy hooks, great production and stellar bars and flow. The skits can feel a bit unnecessary at points, we do have a few stinkers here and there, and the length of the album is a bit off putting, but aside from that, this record is amazing. It sounds so lowkey and casual, detailing everyday life, in a way that makes it interesting.
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