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Kanye West - Graduation [2007]

January 7, 2008 · Filed Under Hip-Hop 

Review by Anthony Rupert “shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!!!”

Kanye West can maybe be dubbed “the king of the second single” because while his first singles from each of his respective albums don’t do a WHOLE lot chart-wise, the following singles just blow up (yes, people, “Stronger” is the SECOND song released from this album, not the first). And his latest album Graduation keeps the good times rolling.

Now, I always thought that Kanye’s albums were a little overrated because I could never give any of them five stars — actually, I gave all of them three-and-a-half stars (albeit for different reasons). But I was wondering if I would even be able to give this album THAT much because of the nonsensical two-in-a-row of “Barry Bonds” and “Drunk & Hot Girls” (featuring Lil’ Wayne and Mos Def, respectively). And when I found out that the song that precedes those two, “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”, was the first single, I wondered why it didn’t make any waves; but then I listened to it and I said, “Oh.”

But there are plenty of good songs, like “Good Morning”, “Champion”, and my favorite, “The Glory”. The Dwele-assisted “Flashing Lights” is a contender for my second favorite, except for when Ye sloppily ends the second verse with: “You know you can’t Rome [roam] without Caesar.” There are also two good collaborations with two Chris Martins, the Coldplay frontman on the necessary tribute-to-your-hometown “Homecoming”, and the Gang Starr DJ on “Everything I Am”. In addition, the final track “Big Brother” is an interesting song about Jay-Z even though I’m not quite sure whether Ye is showing love for him or dissing him.

The only other song that I can really do without is “I Wonder” (especially that weird sample, but Ye does get more momentum toward the end of the song). While I don’t think Graduation is classic material like everyone says it is, it still has enough good moments to be worth your while. (And one more thing, R.I.P. Donda West.)

Anthony Rupert.

Full Album Tracks Listing
[MP3 Direct Download]
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1. Good Morning [Explicit]
2. Champion [Explicit]
3. Stronger [Explicit]
4. I Wonder [Explicit]
5. Good Life [Explicit]
6. Can’t Tell Me Nothing [Explicit]
7. Barry Bonds [Explicit]
8. Drunk and Hot Girls [Explicit]
9. Flashing Lights [Explicit]
10. Everything I Am [Explicit]
11. The Glory [Explicit]
12. Homecoming [Explicit]
13. Big Brother [Explicit]

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