Kanye West Album: “Graduation [PA]”

Even if you're hopelessly alienated from American rap and hip-hop, Kanye West is extremely hard to resist if there is a musical bone in your body.

On this excellent record, he duets with Coldplay's Chris Martin on "Homecoming" and teams up with the young Grammy-winning blues guitarist John Mayer on "Bittersweet Poetry".

What makes these collaborations so good is that Kanye West is obviously not looking for crossover acceptance, rather he is demonstrating how he can excel in such distinguished company.

There's deft sampling of anyone who serves the cause, from Steely Dan and Elton John to reggae lion U-Roy and Daft Punk, and a new found maturity that ensures the swaggering but warm "Graduation": is that rarest of things: a keyboards-led hip hop album. It's tip top.

It's mature, adventurous, addictive.

With "Graduation", Kanye West proves once again that he is way ahead of the hip-hop pack.

Album's highlights: "Drunk and Hot Girls", "Can't Tell Me Nothing", "I Wonder" and "Stronger".

I'm loving it!

If you want an average CD, with minimal character in the lyrics, and some alright beats, you've found it. This album proves to me that it's time for Kanye to get back behind the tables and let the MCs do their thing and let him do his thing, which is produce. We will have to wait for Murs and Moka Only and Atmosphere to break onto radio before Hip-Pop can be a legitimate art form again and draw some market share back from country music.

I believe that this album is a little over-hyped. In the late 90's people jumped all over Puff Daddy for sampling and not being original and rhyming very weak. Now in 2007, we have a new Puff Daddy. Seriously, on every song he samples another song, and then raps weakely on it. What's the difference? On this new album there are some songs that are darn right laughable. I will also admit that there are some good songs on this album as well, but this time around, the bad outweigh the good. I consider this a very average album.

The College Dropout was the album that convinced me that hip-hop was worth listening to. "Last Call," "Get 'Em High," "Breathe in, Breathe out" and "School Spirit" had some of the best beats I'd ever heard--and Kanye's flow was at time spectacular as well, especially on the second verse of "School Spirit" and the first of "Get 'Em High." Not to mention that while I wasn't always a fan of the subject of his lyrics, Kanye's were often better and more introspective than most rappers' ("Jesus Walks," "Never Let Me Down" and "All Falls Down" especially).

And then the best songs of Late Registration were just as good or not better. Where have you heard a better beat than "Heard 'Em Say," "Touch the Sky" or "Gone"?

And then he produced this...I can't believe the general consensus is that these beats are good. These beats, for the most part, suck! I seem to be the only person who thinks the "Stronger" Daft Punk sample just doesn't work. I don't like "Champion"s beat, "I Wonder" at least has a good sample, but then the flow sucks. "Barry Bonds" and "Drunk and Hot Girls" are two of the worst songs I've ever heard! Kanye shouldn't apologize to Mos Def for "Breathe in, Breathe Out" he should apologize for putting him on this crappy song.

The album's not THAT bad, I guess. I like "Good Morning" a lot, "Homecoming" is pretty good, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is okay, despite how "stupidly" he comes up with lyrics for it, "Flashing Lights" isn't terrible even though the beat kind of annoys me. I can't remember the name but I also like the song that rehashes "School Spirit" (the chorus goes "I'm a get on this TV, mama..."). And I also like the rap on "Stronger" despite it's weak beat.

The beats are just weird on this album. On the first half of the album I feel more like I'm listening to a crappy Flaming Lips cover band with rap instead of the amazing Kanye West.

It's just that College Dropout and Late Registration were two of the best hip hop albums ever made, and Graduation is, at best, mediocre. My eighth or ninth favorite song on College Dropout, "Two Words" would be my favorite or second favorite on this one (after "Good Morning"). That says a lot about how good College Dropout is, but also a lot about how mediocre Graduation is.

First off let me say that I'm a HUGE Kanye West fan! Being from Chicago yet away from home, in the Air Force, Kanye's music has been the pictures from home I need when I'm away! Now after all of that I have 2 say I'm really disapointed in what I heard when I opened up that creative little package the CD comes in! After Late Registration came out a lot of mainstream media publications complained that the skits were unfunny and annoying. It seems that with Graduation Kanye did something I wouldn't expect him to do, he caved in to critics! There are NO skits on Graduation. What he didn't realize was those "annoying" skits upheld the theme of the album. I was SO LET DOWN when I started 2 play my Graduation CD for the first time and did not hear Chicago comedian Dee-Ray's Bernie mac impression either bashing Kanye for his poor performance doing his school years or congratulating him for graduating. From that point on there is NO CONNECTION to the first two albums as the title suggest and for a huge fan of those CDs like myself that was something that was hard to get past. Kanye seems to spend a lot of the album answering to critics about past statements he made or past outfits he's worn! Where's the guy who doesn't give a damn what ANYONE thinks and goes with what he feels??? I support that guy! All and all the songs on this CD are very good and MUCH better than anything that's out now! You have to admire someone who's made it without constantly harping on guns, drugs, the club and stealing someone's girl. But I bought into the hype and RAN out and bought the CD as soon as possible so Kanye's 1st week sells would beat 50's "and they DID! YES, HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD!" and I argued with friends who thought about downloading this CD. But in the end as good as this music is and it IS A REALLY GOOD CD, it was not what I was waiting for and I was left hoping for more.