kanye west first album
[3] The staff of Rolling Stone were more receptive in a retrospective review than Caramanica was previously for the publication, calling the album "a demonstration that hip-hop—real, banging, commercial hip-hop—could be a vehicle for nuanced self-examination and musical subtlety". "Never Let Me Down" reuses a Jay-Z verse first heard in the remix of his song "Hovi Baby". Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do. He was the musical guest for Saturday Night Live on May 18, and performed "New Slaves" and "Black Skinhead. The College Dropout is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. [76] Dave Heaton from PopMatters found it "musically engaging" and "a genuine extension of Kanye's personality and experiences",[35] while Hua Hsu of The Village Voice felt that his sped-up samples "carry a humble, human air", allowing listeners to "hear tiny traces of actual people inside". After the heartbreaking loss of his mother, Donda West, and the … [5] On the song "School Spirit", West relates the experience of dropping out of school and contains references to well-known fraternities, sororities, singer Norah Jones, and record label Roc-A-Fella Records. [131] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his stand-up material. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. West had already taken pictures dressed as the Dropout Bear - which would reappear in his later work - and Duvauchelle picked the image of him sitting on a set of bleachers, as he was attracted to the loneliness of what was supposed to be "the most popular representation of a school". West took a minimalist approach for the project, which was present in all of the songs and … The production of The College Dropout was primarily handled by West and developed his "chipmunk soul" production style, which made use of sped-up, pitch shifted vocal samples from soul and R&B records, in addition to West's own drum programming, string accompaniments, and gospel choirs; the album also features contributions from Jay-Z, Mos Def, Jamie Foxx, Syleena Johnson, and Ludacris, among others. [15] The former recorded the second-highest ever per-track streaming average for an album. He has been influential in the 21st-century development of mainstream hip hop and popular music in general.. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West was first known as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000s, producing singles for several mainstream artists. I think that's when we did 'Last Call.' The album was promoted with singles such as "Through the Wire", "Jesus Walks", "All Falls Down", and "Slow Jamz", the latter two of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period o… The album became West's first to top Top Christian Albums, and Top Gospel Albums charts,[16] and made him tie Eminem as the only other act to have nine successive studio albums debut at number one the Billboard 200. [22], West finished recording around December 2003, according to his older cousin and singer Tony Williams, who was recruited by the rapper two weeks before the album's deadline to contribute vocals. 1 in Australia Following Sales Recount", "Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo' Debuts at No. Diverging from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop, West's lyrics concern themes of family, self-consciousness, materialism, religion, racism, and higher education. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Ye, "Kids See Ghosts & Dierks Bentley Debut in Top 3 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart", "Kanye West's 'Jesus Is King' Makes History On Hot Christian Songs, Hot Gospel Songs Charts", "Kanye West's 'Jesus Is King' Arrives as His Record-Tying Ninth Consecutive No. For a time, he acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. "The Design Evolution of Kanye West's Album Artwork: "Kanye West × The Heavy Hitters, Get Well Soon (2003) – Clinton Sparks' 30 Favorite Mixtapes", "Kanye West: How the Rapper Grew From 'Dropout' to 'Yeezus, "American album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Kanye West is 'humbled' by fans as his debut turns ten", "The UK's Official Top 40 biggest rap albums of the Millennium revealed", "Does Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' Stand the Test of Time? [94] NME placed the album at 273 on its 2013 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[95] while Rolling Stone ranked it at 74 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. Pat said in reference to the Franklin sample: "That song would have been so weak if we didn't get that sample cleared". [52][53] In 2004, The College Dropout ranked as the twelfth most popular of the year on the Billboard 200. The image is framed inside gold ornaments, which Duvauchelle found in a book of illustrations from the 16th-century and West wanted to use to "bring a sense of elegance and style to what was typically a gangster-led image of rap artists". He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. [34] West called upon Johnson to re-sing a vocal portion of "Mystery of Iniquity", which ended up in the final mix. It was his first honour from the Recording Academy in eight years, and his 22nd career Grammy. Music Talks Most Memorable Studio Sessions With Kanye", "Kanye West on His Next Album, Designing Yeezy, and Kobe Bryant", "No Reading And Writing, But Rapping Instead", "Kanye West Collaborating With Lauryn Hill on New LP", "Common, John Mayer Drop in to Preview Kanye West's Dropout", "15 Things You Didn't Know About Kanye West's "The College Dropout, "The 100 Best Kanye West Songs: 24. "West then unveiled the artwork and title, Yeezus, of the album on his website. [63] "The New Workout Plan" was the fifth and last single. [35][40] The song features verses by spoken word performer J. Ivy who offers comments of upliftment. [84] Billboard named The College Dropout the second best album of 2004. At one point, West hovered between making a portion of the production in the studio and the majority within his own apartment in Newark, New Jersey. [21] In 2011, an uncensored version of the track was distributed online. [11][34] The chorus and instrumentals sample a pitched up version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire". American rapper, musician and record producer Kanye West has released nine studio albums, two collaborative studio albums, one compilation album, two live albums, one video album and four mixtapes. Washington: American rapper and record producer Kanye West won his first gospel Grammy, for his `Jesus Is King` album. The song features Jay-Z, who rhymes about maintaining status and power given his chart success, while West comments on racism and poverty. [11] The song provides a mostly comedic account of his difficult recovery, and features West rapping with his jaw still wired shut from the accident. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. [77] Fellow Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote that "not only does [West] create a unique role model, that role model is dangerous—his arguments against education are as market-targeted as other rappers' arguments for thug life". [8], In November 2010, West released his fifth studio album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, with the fourth-highest ever digital first-week sales. According to John Monopoly, West's friend, manager and business partner, the album "...[didn't have] a particular start date. The record was hailed by Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times as "2004's first great hip-hop album". Due to his association with D-Dot, West wasn't able to release a solo album, so he formed and became a member and producer of the Go-Getters, a late-1990s Chicago rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar. [20] It was revealed by Plain Pat that there were around three other versions of the song, but West disliked them. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999. Williams had impressed West by singing improvisations to "Spaceship" during one of their drives together. Kanye West, The College Dropout", "NME: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : October 2013", "Consequence of Sound's Top 100 Albums Ever", "The 25 Greatest Hip-Hop Debut Albums of All Time", "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)", "Amy, Beyonce, Kanye, made decade's best albums", "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)", "The 50 Best Hip-Hop Debut Albums Since 'Reasonable Doubt, "The Times – Best Album of the Decade 2000 – 2009", "The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties", "Usher Scores Five Nominations For NAACP Image Awards", "Thoughts on the tenth birthday of Kanye West's The College Dropout", "25 Greatest Chipmunk Soul Beats from the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty", "Kanye's Blueprint: 10 Albums Directly Influenced By 'College Dropout, "The Definitive Kanye West Album Rankings: A Roundtable", "Lescharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Offiziellecharts.de – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Norwegiancharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Dutchcharts.nl – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kanye West", "Swedishcharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Swisscharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Kanye West Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)", "Kanye West Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)", "Kanye West Chart History (Vinyl Albums)", "2004 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2004", "2005 Year-End Charts - Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums", "Billboard 200 Albums – Decade-end Chart", "Canadian album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "Danish album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", "British album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout", Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_College_Dropout&oldid=1015986040, Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles), Short description is different from Wikidata, Album articles lacking alt text for covers, Album chart usages for BillboardRandBHipHop, Certification Table Entry usages for Canada, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments figures, Certification Table Entry usages for Denmark, Certification Table Entry usages of salesamount without salesref, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming figures, Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand, Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom, Certification Table Entry usages for United States, Pages using certification Table Entry with shipments footnote, Pages using certification Table Entry with streaming footnote, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz release group identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The 25 Greatest Hip-Hop Debut Albums of All Time, The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000–2009), The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time, The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014), The 50 Best Hip-Hop Debut Albums Since 'Reasonable Doubt', The Top 100 Albums of Clash's Lifetime (2004–2012). [86][87], In 2005, Pitchfork named it No. He sells his first beat to local Chicago rapper Gravity for $8,000. [24], The College Dropout diverged from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical subjects for the lyrics. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years". But West’s main aspiration was to become a rapper and it was not until the year 2002 that he was given his first opportunity to record his solo album. (C) 2008 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC [134] "It feels like that album birthed an entire sub-genre", Max Weinstein wrote in retrospect for Vibe, going on to say, "The palette of emotions was so broad, the depth of topics so searingly relevant, that it was bound to make an impression on any artist that heard it. [75] The staff of Mojo said its exceptional hip hop production was miraculous during a time when hip hop's practice of sampling was becoming "increasingly litigious",[70] and those of URB deemed it "both visceral and emotive, sprinkling the dancefloors with tears and sweat". In the same discussion, music journalist Eric Sundermann cited The College Dropout as the first in West's pop rap album trilogy that would be followed by Late Registration in 2005 and Graduation in 2007, while Craig Jenkins called it "a watershed moment in 2000s rap history where the nerds stormed the school to seize control from the jocks, a shift memorialized two albums later when Graduation trounced 50 Cent's Curtis album in their 2007 sales showdown. Best of Kanye West: https://goo.gl/2FXUVWSubscribe here: https://goo.gl/AgJE59Music video by Kanye West performing Homecoming. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. [42], The College Dropout was met with widespread critical acclaim. [129] West instead created a space in the mainstream for rappers to express themselves and black identity without resorting to hip hop's prevalent theme of gang culture. [19], The song "School Spirit" was censored for the album because Aretha Franklin would not allow the rapper to sample her music without censorship being promised. It was his first honour from the Recording Academy in eight years, and his 22nd career Grammy. [92] Dagsavisen listed the album eleventh in its list of the top forty albums of the 2000s decade. He has dominated the hip hop and music scene over the 21st century, beginning with his debut in 2004. 50 in their best albums of 2000–2004. The College Dropout debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 441,000 copies in its first week of sales. "[137], Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[34][138]. [68], Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise. [6], West brought with him to the studio a Louis Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio, producing tracks in less than fifteen minutes at a time. Source: ANI. West's fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak (2008) ... Kanye West's GOOD Music Album The best album of the year Most Anticipated Event of 2012's Second Half Nominated 2013 Kanye West at Governors Ball: Best Festival … It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. [10] Compilation album Cruel Summer released with his label GOOD Music in September 2012 debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. [3] The Blueprint has been named by Rolling Stone as the 252nd greatest album of all time and the critical and financial success of the album generated substantial interest in West as a producer. [28] West explained, "My persona is that I'm the regular person. [17] Recording sessions took place at Record Plant in Los Angeles, California, but the production featured on the record took place elsewhere over the course of several years.