Kanye West - Graduation
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Kanye WestBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Explicit Lyrics
Published: 2007-09-07
CD Release Date: 2007-09-11
Music Label: Roc-A-Fella Records
Product features:
- WEST KANYE GRADUATION
- Good Morning
- Champion
- Stronger
- I Wonder
- Good Life feat. T-Pain
- Can't Tell Me Nothing
- Barry Bonds feat. Lil Wayne
- Drunk and Hot Girls feat. Mos Def
- Flashing Lights feat. Dwele
- Everything I Am feat. Scratches by DJ Premier
- The Glory
- Homecoming
- Big Brother
Free Music Notes for Graduation
Free Music Review: Kanye "Graduates" at the top of his class
Hit: 5 Stars
Any Hip-Hop fan can tell you 2007 has been an unusually weak year for the genre, so maybe thats part of why Graduation is such an easy album to love. But regardless of if this was the best year for hip hop or not, Graduation would still stand out, as Kanye West puts out a record that has little to no filler and some serious killers, making Graduation, in my opinion, the best of his three albums so far, even over "The College Dropout". The album is definitely a West record, making heavy use of samples (nine out of the thirteen tracks sample at least one song), but this time West is more adventurous, sampling from artists like popular French House band Daft Punk on the second single, "Stronger", as well as using stuff ranging from Michael Jackson to alternative band Can. These completely different genres fused into Hip Hop are a big reason why a lot of the songs on Graduation seem fresher than anything thats come out of the genre in a while.
West is his usual outspoken, flawed but likeable, self on the album, and theres really a wide array of topics discussed throughout the thirteen tracks. The album starts with "Good Morning" a great intro song to the album that has a somewhat light hearted vibe. Champion comes next and is highlighted by a sample from Kid Charlemagne, and some of West's best rapping on the album. The single "Stronger" follows, and is definitely a highlight for me of the album. Some were quick to diss this when it came out for the unusual mixing of techno/house into hip-hop, but like I said before its these kind of odd pairings that really make Graduation stand out. The song has a sick beat, and some fun lyrics that find Ye searching for his "black Kate Moss" and telling all his haters "that that don't kill me, can only make me stronger." "I Wonder" is up next, and is driven by a hell of a great sample. The song is very unusual and has a dream like quality about it, with West taking his time before finally getting a real flow going. Because of this the song can seem a tad tedious at times, but it overall ends up being a standout on the album.
Moving on, the too-amazing-for-words third single, "Good Life", really sends Graduation's greatness into the stratosphere. Undoubtedly my favorite track on the album, it will no question be the "Gold Digger" song of the album at radio, and what can I say this song just fails to get old for me. The beat, the unusual incorporation of a sped up sample from Michael Jackson's PYT, the feel good "Throw Your Hands Up in the sky" lyrics, just make this track pure mainstream hip hop genius in my opinion. What's so great is that the track doesn't seem like it was made with the sole intention to cater to radio like so many songs these days seem to be (I'm looking at you Ayo Technology), and yet it ends up being the catchiest song I've heard all year. T-Pain fits in great on the song as well, as he and west talk about the "good life" of fame and fortune. Oh and the music video is incredible too. The album's first single "Cant Tell Me Nothing" follows, and while its hardly the best track on the album, it's memorable, and does a good job at summing up Kanye's 'I'll do what I wanna do' personality. Graduation hits its weakest patch with the next two tracks "Barry Bonds" and "Drunk and Hot Girls", although neither songs are bad. "Barry Bonds" features Lil Wayne and is interesting but sort of forgettable, and "Drunk and Hot Girls" has a very slow and drawn out beat, and is probably the worst track on the album, yet still kind of entertaining.
"Flashing Lights" brings the album back up, and is another favorite of mine. The song has a very slick, addictive rhythm and beat, and Dwele sounds great in the song. A very R&Bish track that is different from anything else on the album. "Everything I Am" shows West at his vulnerable side, as he raps "I never be picture perfect Beyonce" and spits about how people want to try and say what he should be, but Ye's response is "everything I'm not made me everything I am." It's a notable, very laid back track. "The Glory" follows, and is possibly the most sample heavy song on the album. West spits about how the glory of fame effects him, and the track is catchy, but can get somewhat repetitive by the end. "Homecoming is a shout out to Ye's home town Chicago, and features the unusual pairing of Coldplay singer Chris Martin with West. The song is radio ready and likely to be a future single, and though I do like the track, I would have preferred someone like John Legend singing Chris Martin's parts. The closing track "Big Brother" probably contains the best lyrics on the album and is an ode to West's mentor Jay-Z. A likely to be fan favorite with some heart felt lyrics and some superb rapping by West.
Overall "Graduation" is easily the number one Hip-Hop album of 2007 so far in my book, and wraps up Ye's "school" themed trilogy nicely. Kanye shows that by just doing some experimenting Hip Hop can be evolved, and doesn't have to be a dying genre. Fellow rappers take notes, because at the moment West is at the top of the class.
My Top 5:
1. Good Life
2. Flashing Lights
3. Stronger
4. I Wonder
5. Big Brother
Graduation Poster
Graduation is the 3rd installment in the Kanye West series of ground breaking albums, targeting every school kid, from those that have dropped out (Debut Album, College Dropout), to those late registrants (sophmore album Late Registration), to those that have gone on and completed school (current album Graduation). Though technically this earmarks a junior year, West's approach to crafting this album was very much senior. Kanye teams up with veterans Daft Punk and Edwin Birdsong on "Stronger"- Graduation's forthcoming single; as well as enlisting a little help from current chart topper T-Pain on "Good Life". Chris Martin of Coldplay appears on a track called "HomeComing" as well. Kanye has continued to prove his understanding and appreciation for a wide array of music and musical influences. What makes GRADUATION so special? Like most Kanye titles, his fearlessness and blindness to inhibiting boundaries, coupled with his fan driven core competence is evidence that he knows exactly what people yearn for...great music, perspective, and a voice to be heard.Kanye West's third in a whimsical trilogy of "scholarly" albums, Graduation wears its predecessors' badges of success on its sleeve. Matriculation has its rewards, apparently, and it's time to take stock. Lyrically, there's plenty of self-congratulation to attend to, but the real fun comes in the collabs, and West chooses co-conspirators like a kid in a candy store--John Legend ("Good Life"), Coldplay's Chris Martin ("Homecoming"), Mos Def and the Section Quartet (both adorable choices for the foreboding "Drunk and Hot Girls")--and plucks samples with A-list braggadocio: Elton John, Steely Dan, Daft Punk, Can, Michael Jackson, Public Enemy. Nothing here quite captures the superlative symbiosis of West's past best beats (think "Gold Digger"), but the central motif remains: No one ever accused Kanye West of being too cool for school, and Graduation still knows how to party. True, Kanye West will happily whine about the pitfalls at the top of the heap, clear his throat and try to rhyme it with Barry Bonds, or diss fish in a barrel all day, but that can't stop a shameless good time, and Graduation maintains an unshakeable knack for producing it. --Jason Kirk
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