Graduation

A fair bit better than Late registration but not quite up to the standard of College Dropout, Kanye delivers one of the best hip-hop albums to be released in the last 10 years.

Kanye cuts the crap with this album, with no annoying skits every three or four songs this album is a mere 13 tracks long, compared to the 20 odd tracks of the previous albums. Kicking off with the basic Good morning, West sets the tone for the album. Minimilist beats and limited guest appearances, highlighting Kanye's lyrical talent.

The jay-z sample on good morning fits perfectly. The album rolls along nicely (with Champion being a real spirit lifter), coming to stronger, the daft punk sampled hit that i'm sure you have all heard. The next song, i wonder, is classic Kanye west, with him spitting over a soul sample.

Good life sees the first guest appearance on the album, with t-pain singing on the chorus. Akon must have been busy. It's the third single off the album and deservedly so. Next comes Can't Tell Me Nothing, i'm sure you'll have heard that. One of the best tracks on the album in my opinion.

Lil wayne features on Barry Bonds, the purest hip-hop track on the album, but his voice is annoying to me. Drunk and hot girls features mos def and is the most musically experimental track on the album. Mos def sings rather than raps, wich is refreshingly fantastic.

Flashing lights is much like i wonder and dj premier's addiction to everything i am is excellent. The glory is one of the stand out tracks on the album, again showing off Kanye's effective use of sampling, much the same as the college dropout album. Homecoming, as i'm sure you'll know features Chris Martin from Coldplay, a song that has been remastered from when it appeared back in 2004.

Big Brother is, in my opinion, the best song on the album. With lyrics both praising his mentor jay-z and explaining how close the two are, but also how West felt Jay was keeping him at a distance in the early stages of his career. A deep moment for Kanye.

Overall, Graduation is an outstanding album that closely resembles the Dropout. An excelltn product from West, and well worth the wait.

It's an album like this that keep hip-hop going. Without this, the industry would be flooded with Soulja Boy followers. And what's good about this album is that Kanye West is different. He stands out compared to the other rap artists who seem to just want to be like each other. Yes he can have the odd couple of lines on guns. Yes he can spit a few bars on his relationship with hoes. But the way he puts it all together is unique. It's like he knows what his fans expect on his new album. Every song is differet, and you can relate with each one depending on what mood you are in. There's feel good tracks (Champion, Good Life). There's the story-telling ones (Homecoming, Good Morning). And there's the ones that make your head rock, without you even noticing (Stronger, Flashing Lights). There's not one bad track I can mention on this album. The odd couple don't match up to the previously mentioned (Drunk and Hot Girls, Barry Bonds), but they are still listenable. The features are limited, and some dissapointments (T-Pain, although I suprinsingly liked the track he featured on, and Lil' Wayne). But to make up for it you've got Chris Martin, Mos Def and Daft Punk. There is a disappointment though. You don't get the story-telling vibe you did when listening to "The College Dropout" or "Late Registration", as there is no skits and it feels slightly.. empty. But with the effort Kanye put into this album, you can't complain. I don't just recommend you to by it, I urge you to buy it.

Top tracks:
-Homecoming
-Good Morning
-Stronger
-The Glory

Now this may offend others, but for me this is Kanye's best album to date.
The albums for me have got progressively better, and this have some truly great tracks.
I have to mention Flashing Lights first of all, some reviews have not picked up on how great this track is. It's basically a slowed down dance track (which appeals greatly to me, being a mad dance fan that i am) Kanye's always good with his samples, and its so evident here.
My close joint second favourites are Stronger and Homecoming (which features a certain Coldplay star).
Other great tracks include... you know what, the whole album pretty much.
You don't have to be a hip hop head to appreciate Kanye's skills, this is a terrific album, buy now!