Kanye West - Graduation Review

Kanye West Graduation

full review

Tracklist:
1. Good Morning
2. Champion
3. Stronger
4. I Wonder
5. Good Life feat. T-Pain
6. Can't Tell Me Nothing
7. Barry Bonds feat. Lil Wayne
8. Drunk & Hot Girls feat. Mos Def
9. Flashing Lights feat. Dwele
10. Everything I Am feat. DJ Premier
11. The Glory
12. Homecoming
13. Big Brother

Ranking: #171 for 2007

user rating

3.3
great

Chart.

other reviews

YoungOne88 (4.5)
Save for a few questionable decisions Kanye has put out an amazing album and although he is still re...

DhA (4)
Classic, interrupted - a dissapointing mid-trio of tracks hang ominously over an otherwise classic a...

Storm In A Teacup (3)
"Rap and Hip Hop's most arrogant star shines through shaded curtains"...

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On 18 Lists

2.0
poor

Dave de Sylvia STAFF (188 Reviews)

2007-09-06 | 144 comments | 36,222 views

Summary: Kanye's foray into Scandinavian electro-pop is consistent, but consistently boring

Far too much has been written about the supposed feud between 50 Cent and Kanye West, and yours truly is as guilty as anybody (see my Curtis review for proof), but it does make for damn good allegories. The (completely manufactured) feud tells us a lot about the artists who choose to take part in it: Fifty’s campaign smacks of damage control, if that’s the right term to use for an artist for whom even double-platinum would be considered a disastrous failure; given the monstrous “who cares?” which greeted his first three singles, he didn’t have much to lose. Kanye, on the other hand, had plenty to lose, but there was little chance of that happening as a result of a feud with everyone’s most hated rapper. On the contrary, the goodwill generated may go a way toward explaining the enthusiastic reception that’s greeted what is, by some margin, his worst effort to date.

Kanye has built his name as an album-maker in a genre in which albums are a secondary, even tertiary, consideration. His two previous outings, 2004’s College Dropout and 2005’s Late Registration, are among the most consistent, most consistently strong, albums the genre has produced this century. Though he’s never been a great emcee or lyricist, and possesses an awful singing voice of which he makes far too much use, West has established himself as one of the planet’s best producers: his choice and use of samples and loops in his own work and with other artists has been exemplary, particularly on Late Registration. That is, until the release of ‘Stronger’ over the summer. Based closely around the hook from Daft Punk’s instant classic ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,’ it all but begs the question: “is this really what it’s come to?” Never mind 50 Cent’s fall from grace, ‘Stronger’ is about as clear an admission to having no ideas as somebody like West will ever make. Outstanding though the hook itself is, Kanye the MC is no match, and for once it seems as if the arrangement has gone out the window, and West is relying on the one sample to sell the song.

Thankfully, ‘Stronger’ is a one-off in that regard, but it’s not enough to save Graduation. From the outset, Kanye goes for the electronic summer pop jugular, calling to mind his recent mix with Peter, Bjorn & John’s ‘Young Folks’ on the Can’t Tell Me Nothing Mixtape; he’s obviously enamoured with the style, but while other electronic pop artists rely on great hooks, great singing or really great arrangements, the majority of Graduation is little more than ok. Kanye isn’t a great singer or rapper and the bright, vaguely ambient arrangements, do little to distract from his shortcomings. There are odd moments of clarity and occasional brilliance scattered through the record: intro piece ‘Good Morning’ is reminiscent of Royksopp, though it’s driven by a falsetto vocal sample from Jay-Z’s ‘The Ruler’s Black,’ and lead single ‘Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ takes a melodic loop from Australian diva Miss Connie and uses it to hang the best rap of the album upon.

Aside from ‘Good Morning’ and the euphoric T-Pain-produced single ‘Good Life,’ there’s nothing as vital or as fun as tracks like ‘Jesus Walks’ or ‘Gold Digger.’ Graduation is consistent, yes, but it’s consistently boring. Jon Brion brings in a Can sample for his sole outing, the badly sung ‘Drunken Hot Girls,’ and while Chris Martin lays down a great hook in ‘Homecoming,’ complimenting the jazzy piano which holds down the verses, Kanye’s lazy rapping brings down the entire ship. ‘I Wonder’ revisits ‘70s soul, sampling Dutch crooner Jack Jersey over a Dismemberment Plan-like synth/guitar melody, and ‘Champion’ pulls a similar trick with the slightly more well-known ‘Kid Charlemagne’ by Steely Dan, but neither could be considered a great track by any stretch. John Mayer’s turn on ‘Bittersweet’ is a highlight; however it’s inexplicably been reserved as a digital bonus track.

The album’s best track is ‘Big Brother,’ Kanye’s public tribute to his label head and mentor Jay-Z. Atop a fuzzy electro-rock guitar riff, he delivers the album’s best lyric set, confessing: “ J.A.Y, and ‘Ye so shy/now he won't even step to his idol to say hi/standing there like a mime and let the chance pass by/back of my mind: ‘he could change your life.’” Compare that to the bulk of the album where the lyrics range from uneventful to downright confusing, as this peach from ‘Everything I Am’ amply demonstrates: “people talk so much shit about me at barber shops, they forget to get their hair cut.” And my personal favourite, from ‘Good Morning’: “I’m like a fly Malcolm X- buy any jeans necessary.”

While a couple of years ago, Kanye could get away with spitting stupid rhymes or trying to sing, there’s no get-out clause here, no matter how tempting it may be to fabricate one.

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