Kanye West

Leaving chopped-up soul and orchestral pomp behind, Kanye West has decked out his latest, Graduation, with samples of vintage radio pop and touches of Euro-house. It's a wonderfully gaudy palette, perfectly suited to the messy but engaging mix of ego, luxury and occasional self-doubt that percolates through his third album. Those who dismiss Kanye's new direction as Diddy-esque are completely missing the point. As ever, he's in dialogue with his productions. Just check the first three tracks: he goes from confessional to motivational to supremely confident, supported by brilliant hijacks of Elton John, Steely Dan, and Daft Punk. You're not likely to hear a better opening this year.

Kanye continues to make up for his shortcomings as a rapper with witty wordplay, delivering punch-line rhymes that connect more often than they clunk. He's also still wearing his insecurities on his sleeve—though he's more self-aware than self-deprecating these days, as on the low-key and lovely "Everything I Am." But it's the flashy tracks that grab the most attention. With its neon synths, "Flashing Lights" is two dozen BPM short of being a house track. The glossy "Good Life" (featuring T-Pain) tests the limits of taste, but it's so smooth it's strangely disarming.

Graduation has few guests for such a high-profile release. It's definitely Kanye's vision—mostly for better, sometimes for worse. The weaker tracks are hampered by too many ideas: despite a Mos Def appearance and a Can sample, "Drunk and Hot Girls" lurches along, while "Big Brother" (the Jay-Z tribute) and "Homecoming" (the Chris Martin collaboration) are overwrought and monotonous. Overall though, Graduation is a captivating, exasperating, and ultimately, pretty thrilling album.

—Toby Warner
09.13.07

Graduation's pre-leak talk wasn't as substantive as it was with Kanye West's first two albums. As with just about any other artist's third album, it had to be expected. The College Dropout was one of the most anticipated debuts of the early 2000s, while Late Registration had people wondering why Kanye would feel the need to work so extensively with multi-instrumentalist rock producer Jon Brion (the J Dilla of the chamberlin) and whether or not Kanye's hubristic tendencies would get the better of it. With Graduation, there was Takashi Murakami's artwork, a silly first-week sales competition with the decreasingly relevant 50 Cent, and chatter about synthesizers running wild. That was about it, but it all seemed loud and prevalent, due in part to a lack of high-profile rap albums released in 2007. Graduation is neither as bold nor as scattered as The College Dropout, and it's neither as extroverted nor as sonically rich as Late Registration. Kanye still makes up for his shortcomings as an MC and lyricist by remaining charmingly clumsy, frequently dealing nonsense through suspect rhyme schemes: "I never be picture-perfect Beyoncé/Be light as Al B. or black as Chauncey/Remember him from Blackstreet, he was black as the street was/I never be laid-back as this beat was." The songs that are thematically distanced, introspective, and/or wary -- there are many of them -- are, in turn, made more palatable than insufferable. That his humor remains a constant is a crucial aspect of the album, especially considering that most other MCs would sound embittered and hostile if they were handling similar subjects, like haters new and old, being a braggart with a persistent underdog complex, getting wrapped up in spending and flaunting, and the many hassles of being a hedonist. Those who have admired Kanye as a sharp producer while detesting him as an inept MC might find the gleaming synth sprites, as heard most prominently throughout "Flashing Lights" and "Stronger," to be one of the most glaring deal-breakers in hip-hop history. Though the synthesizer use marks a clear, conscious diversion from Kanye's past productions, highlights like "I Wonder," "The Glory," and "Everything I Am" are deeply rooted in the Kanye of old, using nostalgia-inducing samples, elegant pianos and strings, and gospel choirs. So, no, he's not dreaming of fronting A Flock of Seagulls or joining Daft Punk. He's being his shrewd, occasionally foolish, and adventurous self. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide