The College Dropout

Never really listened to kanye and dislike the person he is but this album surprised me

Obviously a good album, but not peak kanye yet.

I didn't know anything about Kanye West before listening to this, apart from the fact that he did the 'gold digger' song, and that he's a flaming bellend in real life.

So I had no idea what to expect here. I was definitely expecting it to be way more obnoxious than it is, and I was under the impression that he was quite minimalist, but that's definitely not the case.

It's actually pretty impressive how varied and broad this is in scope. There's lots of different, interesting beats and samples, and the content is also more varied than I was expecting. It's incredibly well produced, and I hate to admit that this is good, but it is.

3.5 rounded down

Fuck Kanye. And fuck me for liking this. Production, samples, and features are brilliant with some great hooks too.

Let me get this out of the way: Kanye is a POS that put out good albums in the early aughts. I feel conflicted enjoying these albums these days. 3* for me, rounded up..I dig what I can only dub as "melodic hip hop."
Tracks I enjoyed/remembered: All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Through The Wire

Kanye is a terrible human being and I wish he wasn't talented so I wouldn't have to hear about him. But he is, and it's evident on this album. By far my favorite of the Kanye we listened to. That's not to say I enjoyed it, I didn't really. But I can see how much talent is here. Give me this 100 times over that terrible Yeezus album

No me apetece nada. Ninguna de estas canciones está entre las 10 más oídas en Spotify. Vamos a pasar una horita con esto. Coritos de niños y rap. Y veo influencias de Lauryn Hill que me parecen bien. Me guardo "All falls down" y "Jesus Walks" pero tengo que darle otro repaso, creo que también a su disco con más hits, "Graduation".

Jos turhat skitit ja muu läski leikattais pois, olis helppo 5/5. Valitettavasti ilman tiivistämistä jää neloseen, vaikka osa Kanyen parhaista biiseistä onkin täällä.

This was rough. Basically Kanye babbling about with some beat tracks playing in the background for over an hour. Pretty stupid. 1/5

No, it's okay guys, he watched 21 Jump Street.

Actually, I'm shocked, but I quite liked this. What happened between this and Yeezus that went from something so good to something so... Yeezus. Any way, this was pretty great, nothing amazing, but satisfying flow and great beats. Only some songs where my dislike for Kanye started to shine through, but that ego definitely wasn't fully developed yet.

oh thank fuck I'd already heard this so I don't have to listen to it now for this dumb challenge

Not usually a fan of hip hop, but like the mixture of rapped verses/sung choruses.

Smooth beats, flows well. Would add to car playlist

Brilliant hip hop album, and probably Kanye's best in my (possibly controversial) opinion. It's Kanye back when he had a somewhat manageable ego! It's not a perfect album however. It's very long at 75 mins, I would have cut at least 20 of that. I normally don't like skits on albums but the School Spirt ones are quite funny. 9/10

Fave Tracks: We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Get Em High, School Spirit, Through the Wire
Least Fave: Workout Plan, Slow Jamz, Breathe In Breathe Out

As unlikeable as Kanye is, he is a genius, this is a great album, maybe slightly on the long side.

Brilliant, one of my favourites before, but even more so after listening in full again. Jesus Walks is an absolute classic, Spaceship is a rare 12/8 rap song, and All Falls Down is masterful pop music. Couldn't be less than 5 🌟!

I liked this a lot! Kanye really has a gravity about him, where I feel like I interpret a lot of the generator’s other rap/hip-hop selections in context of what they mean in context of things before/after KW's big deal albums

This is the Kanye I miss. He broke the mould for the mainstream hip hop of the time here. Expanded the palette lyrically, beatwise, and, I'd argue most importantly, emotionally. He had the audacity to simply be himself rather than hiding behind a cartoonish projection (except maybe on the album cover). Yes, there's tons of over the top boasting to be found here for sure (par for the course), but he's just as likely to be introspective, even self critical, or, heaven forbid, vulnerable. I love that he is so transparent and open in telling his story through music. It sounds funny, but for somebody who has gone on to practically become the dictionary definition of an artist who is out of touch with reality, he started his career being eminently relatable. This album is absolutely bursting with ideas and emotions. All over the place in a contagiously exciting way.

The narrative intro on this album is really engaging, I'm hooked. Jesus Walks comes in like a bomb on the first third of the album. I think the album feels bloated in the middle. Get 'Em High is pretty bland. The New Workout Plan is pretty fun and very influential. Slow Jamz kicks ass. I really like School Spirit. Through The Wire is really impressive. Last Call is nuts and I love it.

So much texture, enthusiasm, and charisma. Moves so fast, freewheeling and joyously so. Made me smile so much.

How does one appreciate the art without considering the artist? If you're going to marry the two opinions together, do you consider who the artist was at the time of the creation of the art, or what you know about their whole life? This album made me struggle with this idea, because it is a great album but I'm not much of a Kanye fan nowadays.

Every song on the album is a winner. So many great collaborators and the tracks themselves are as enjoyable to listen to (in some cases moreso) than the rap itself. Holding it all together is the clear narrative of the impact poverty on a generation. And yet some of the songs still convey hope and celebration. It's an album that hits on so many levels and I really enjoyed revisiting it.

Who knows. Maybe I'll see what Kanye has been up to since then. Maybe.