[25] Entertainment Weekly's Michael Endelman elaborated on West's avoidance of the then-dominant "gangsta" persona of hip hop: West delivers the goods with a disarming mix of confessional honesty and sarcastic humor, earnest idealism and big-pimping materialism. He sells his first beat to local Chicago rapper Gravity for $8,000. "We Don't Care" contains samples of "I Just Wanna Stop", written by Ross Vannelli and performed by The Jimmy Castor Bunch. [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. The album earned the rapper several accolades, including nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the 2005 Grammy Awards, winning for the latter. [34] West called upon Johnson to re-sing a vocal portion of "Mystery of Iniquity", which ended up in the final mix. 11 days … [34], On "All Falls Down", West wages an attack on consumerism. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. [49][50], In its first week of release, the album sold 441,000 copies and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, being held off the top spot by Norah Jones' second studio album Feels Like Home. [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. Because it was a two-bedroom apartment, West was able to set up a home studio in one of the rooms and his bedroom in the other. [44] The song "Last Call" is about West's transition from being a producer to a rapper, and the album ends with a nearly nine-minute autobiographical monologue that follows the song "Last Call", however, is not a separate track. The album won in four out of the five rap categories, and West became the first solo artist to have his first three studio albums be nominated for Album of the Year. [7] West's fourth studio album 808s & Heartbreak was released in November 2008, and became his third consecutive number one release on the Billboard 200. [92] Dagsavisen listed the album eleventh in its list of the top forty albums of the 2000s decade. Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, making beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing a style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. 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". Best of Kanye West: https://goo.gl/2FXUVWSubscribe here: https://goo.gl/AgJE59Music video by Kanye West performing Homecoming. Peak chart positions for albums in Germany: (To access, enter the search parameter and select "Search by Keyword"), Peak chart positions for video albums on the Top Music Video chart in the United States: no u, highest-certified music artists in the United States, Recording Industry Association of America, "Bluesfest review: Twenty minutes late, Kanye West still captures massive crowd", "Kanye West – Chart History: Billboard 200", "Kanye West's Sales Triumph, By The Numbers: He Thumped 50 Cent In Almost Every Market", "Kanye Edges GNR, Ludacris For No. The singer later recounted recording with West for The College Dropout at the Record Plant: "I get in, go in the booth, start vibing out on 'Spaceship' and finished it up. [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". [21] In 2011, an uncensored version of the track was distributed online. [2] As of November 2020, West has certified 24 million equivalent albums units in the United States,[3] placing him among the highest-certified music artists in the United States, West's debut album The College Dropout was released in February 2004, it debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200,[4] and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 2004. (2007) by Consequence, A Kid Named Cudi (2008) by Kid Cudi, Asleep in the Bread Aisle (2009) by Asher Roth, Kendrick Lamar's self-titled first EP (2009), Camp (2011) by Childish Gambino, Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011) by J. Cole, When Fish Ride Bicycles (2011) by The Cool Kids, and Acid Rap (2013) by Chance the Rapper. [26] It was regarded by Pitchfork critic Rob Mitchum as a "flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific album". "West then unveiled the artwork and title, Yeezus, of the album on his website. He began his career in the early 2000s as a producer for the record label Roc-A-Fella Records, before releasing his first solo rap album ‘The College Dropout’ in 2004. "All Falls Down" contains interpolations of "Mystery of Iniquity", written and performed by, "Jesus Walks" contains samples of "Walk with Me", performed by The ARC Choir and ", "Never Let Me Down" contains samples of "Maybe It's the Power of Love", written by, "Two Words" contains samples of "Peace & Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement IV (Encounter)", written by Lou Wilson, Ric Wilson and Carlos Wilson, and performed by, "Family Business" contains samples of "Fonky Thang", written by, "Last Call" contains samples of "Mr. Rockefeller", written by Jerry Blatt and, Eric Duvauchelle – art direction and design, Stephanie Reynolds – art direction and design, This page was last edited on 4 April 2021, at 19:11. It sold more than two million copies by the end of the year. Intent on … 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. "[132] Today commented that "The College Dropout, stood out in the rap landscape because of its atypical prose. [West's] words on 'Last Call' inspired me to follow my dreams, and motivated me to graduate despite the album title." [28] West explained, "My persona is that I'm the regular person. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date. In 2004, West's debut album The College Dropout produced four singles, including the Hot 100 top ten single "All Falls Down" and the Grammy Award-winner "Jesus Walks". 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. Then we did the 'I'll Fly Away' join". [42] "The New Workout Plan" is a call to fitness to improve one's love life. Club, Nathan Rabin observed in the music "substance, social commentary, righteous anger, ornery humanism, dark humor, and even Christianity", calling it "one of those wonderful crossover albums that appeal to a huge audience without sacrificing a shred of integrity". [131] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his stand-up material. 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. 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. [65] At one point, "Two Words" was also intended to be released as a single, and a video for the song was filmed, and later uploaded by West online in 2009. [28] The next track, "Graduation Day", features Miri Ben-Ari on violin,[33] and vocals by John Legend. In a scene still dominated by authenticity battles and gangsta posturing, he's a middle-class, politically conscious, post-thug, bourgeois rapper – and that's nothing to be ashamed of. On May 1, 2013, Kanye West tweeted "June Eighteen," leading to speculation about West's sixth studio album. West and Jay-Z, both went into the 2021 Grammys with 21 wins … [43], "Through the Wire" features a high-pitched vocal sample of Chaka Khan and relates West's real life experience with being in a car accident. [9] Watch the Throne, a collaborative album with Jay-Z, was released in August 2011 and broke the US iTunes first-week sales record. [1] All nine of his studio albums have been certified at least gold in the United States. Rapper Kanye West on the cover of Time: Will rap music shed its "gangster" disguise? [48], The College Dropout was originally scheduled for release in August 2003, but West's perfectionist habits producing the album led to it being postponed three times. [14] "Through the Wire" was first available on West's Get Well Soon... mixtape, released December 2002. 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. According to John Monopoly, West's friend, manager and business partner, the album "...[didn't have] a particular start date. The College Dropout debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 441,000 copies in its first week of sales. Diddy. 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". In September 2007, West's third studio album Graduation debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 957,000 units in its first week, becoming the fastest-selling album in the US since Late Registration, and breaking the record for most digital albums sold in a week. [63] "The New Workout Plan" was the fifth and last single. [56][57] On November 23, 2020, The College Dropout was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Washington [US], March 9 (ANI): Amid his divorce from the American reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, rapper Kanye West has started working on his next music album. [6] The album was the ninth best-selling album of 2005 in the United States. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years". [85] Rhapsody named it the seventh best album of the decade and the fourth best hip hop album of the decade. Just think about whatever you've been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album". Kanye Omari West, 21-time Grammy award-winning rapper and music producer, was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. Kanye's first big break arrives. Find Kanye West discography, albums and singles on AllMusic. It has since been named by numerous publications as one of the greatest albums of all time, including Rolling Stone and NME, who ranked it at 74 and 273 respectively on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time lists, and is credited for popularizing the chipmunk soul and conscious rap subgenres in the 2000s. [83] Dutch magazine OOR named it the seventh best album of 2004. 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). The song features Jay-Z, who rhymes about maintaining status and power given his chart success, while West comments on racism and poverty. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart", "Kanye West Earns Eighth No. [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". [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. [11][34] The chorus and instrumentals sample a pitched up version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire". "Never Let Me Down" reuses a Jay-Z verse first heard in the remix of his song "Hovi Baby". CHANNELZEROTV.COM presents Kanye West's "Through the Wire", winner of the 2004 Source Award for "Best Music Video". Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do. [93] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The skit is followed by "We Don't Care" featuring West comically celebrating drug life with lines like "We wasn't supposed to make it past 25, joke's on you, we still alive" and then criticizing its influence amongst children. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. [11] The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The College Dropout is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was his first honour from the Recording Academy in eight years, and his 22nd career Grammy. [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. [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. "[137], Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[34][138]. [35][41] "Get Em High" is a collaboration by West with two socially conscious rappers, Talib Kweli and Common. I would much rather listen to any other Kanye album than Jesus Is King. [6] On his personal blog in 2009, West stated he was most inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and listened to the album every day while working on The College Dropout. [5][35] The song features singer Syleena Johnson and contains an interpolation of Lauryn Hill's "Mystery of Iniquity". [10] Compilation album Cruel Summer released with his label GOOD Music in September 2012 debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It has been an eventful two decades for West, who first became known as a producer, particularly for his work on Jay-Z’s 2001 album The Blueprint. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. For a time, he acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. '"[16], West began recording The College Dropout in 1999, taking four years to complete. Williams had impressed West by singing improvisations to "Spaceship" during one of their drives together. One song lead to another, and by the end of the weekend, I was on like five songs. Kanye West, Get Well Soon... (2003) – The 50 Best Rapper Mixtapes", Kanye West Raps Through His Broken Jaw, Lays Beats For Scarface, Ludacris, "Today in Hip Hop History: Kanye West Drops His 'College Dropout' LP 11 Years Ago", "Producer Kanye West's Debut LP Features Jay-Z, ODB, Mos Def", "The College Dropout is EW's Top Album of the Decade", "When Rap Lyrics Get Censored, Even on the Explicit Version", "The Making of Kanye West's "The College Dropout, "Kanye West – School Spirit (Uncensored Version)", "Tony Williams of G.O.O.D. [1] West came to achieve recognition with his contributions to Jay-Z's influential 2001 album The Blueprint. 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.