The College Dropout

Wasn't for me but had good variety

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I appreciated the variety in sound throughout the album, for me I’d probably give this a 3.5 if I could. Some songs I wouldn’t listen to again but some I would.

It was fine.

I don't like hip hop but this one was nice. a bit exhausting. Jesus walks is a good song.

Better than modern day Ye. However, the album feels too long. The great tunes are slightly lost amongst the average songs I did enjoy the final track setting out how Kanye became a rapper

decent

Enjoyed the sampling on this album.

Der Typ weiß auch wie man gute Songs schreibt. Und das weiß er auch...aber gibt mir trotzdem nix...

Kanye can be silly, but this is pretty good.

Never got on the Yeezy bandwagon. Thought I might struggle to get through this album, but I was wrong. Noteworthy tracks: Jesus Walks, Slow Jamz - can really hear the influence Kanye had on Lin-Manuel Miranda

Not my favorite of his

I never liked skits on albums. Actual songs are standard early 2000s hip hop.

Meno peggio della mia spocchiosita

Kanye before his out of control ego, and all his BS. Somehow, this is Kanye at his most humble. It's a solid album, but somehow not his best work.

Classic Kanye

I'm just not a fan of chipmunk soul. The lyrics are great but the beats weren't the best. Spaceship is probably the standout track for me.

Some great hits and a few good deep tracks. Monster first album. Reminded me of when Kanye performed Jesus Walks at the Grammys almost 20 years ago- 🤯

Not my style of music

Not my favorite still very good

Not as good as I remember it. He's not a very good rapper at this point, but less of a cock than later on. It's got loads of great beats but far too many skits etc

Alright I’m biased, but at this point it’s difficult to disentangle Kanye’s superstar celebrity ego from his art, especially as someone who has not followed his music. I’m not a huge hip hop fan, but it’s clearly an objectively good sounding hip hop album with good continuity and a counter culture attitude that was obviously very well received at the time. He’s also clearly very talented at composing art from tons of samples. Does this make him a genius? FUCK NO. The guy self-admittedly struggles with mental health problems, yet he has an incessant god complex and compulsion to be a thought leader for people. Dude, you yourself know you can’t even lead your own thoughts. The anti-intellectualism sentiment in this album has also clearly “blossomed” into the shitfuck of a chaotic apocalypse looming world governed by fellow mentally ill celebrities who rely on cults of personality to protect them as they impose their psychotic ideals on the population. This album also came out at a time of hyper-materialism and sensationalism, a world where Kanye lives 24/7. I’m giving it 3 stars because of my attempt at objectivity and the typical low importance I assign to lyricism (which is tricky with hip hop) but he really doesn’t deserve a rating that high. I think a lot of Kanye’s “message” is simply glorifying ignorance, materialism, and ego. You can learn and understand shit and still fight the system, Kanye. Your talent is manipulating stupid people to believe your simplistic views, and to reject authorities who put the work in to actually fucking learn things. Effectively, all you do is polarize and manipulate the population into contrarianism. The same thing Fox News does. You’re a tool being used to help the status quo to continue, congrats dumbass.

26. The College dropout - Kanye West 21 tracks. This isn't for me, but despite that I really liked some tracks. The overall feeling I got was that I was let down by the production on some tracks (which surprised me because I thought that's what he was all about). 3/5

Not really my thing, but odd track I liked

Don't normally like this kind of music. Pleasantly surprised - good, clear delivery. Entertaining and musically diverse. Some of the commentary and skits could be dropped. I actually might choose to listen again!

Two takeaways here - 1) Humble Kanye is weird. 2) Bort Ainsworth still wears Von Dutch.

A little over long, and a few tracks could have been dropped for the sake of conciseness, but overall a great groove with wit and savvy lyrics. Highlight tracks - School Spirit, Two Words

Tells a story well. Easy to hear and listen too

Kanye has a reputation for a reason. This is very listenable.

When Kanye is good, he's great. His lyrics are engaging and music is adventurous. He has a lot of cool/unique concepts that he is fitting into his hip-hop/rap. However, this does get a bit long, the skits get long in the tooth, and i have no idea why Last Call was a good idea to include on this.

trivial

An album that flirts with greatness before losing its way about midway through. Some of the earlier tracks are outstanding (all fall down, spaceship, Jesus Walks) but after this it’s good only in moments and the flow is broken up with those dreadful skits. The last song has no place on any album either, makes wonder how many times the listener would want to hear that same story. Baffling.

Some brilliant tracks but peppered with nonsense and too many skits - better was to come

Mixed feelings about this one. Musically I love it, and I do think it’s one of the best Kanye albums, but the content of the lyrics make it a bit of a tough listen. Not a big fan of the little skits either.

Very good. First listen. I knew a couple of the songs. He has a great style. Interesting. Even with the language I still enjoyed it.

In general I'm not a Kanye fan and I was surprised by how well this captures the time and place of a period in hip hop. Has this album changed my overall feelings about Ye? Not really.

kanye

Solid album overall. Some of the lyrics way too comedic, in an early 2000's kind of way (Slim-Shady-esque) for my liking. I realise this was probably done on purpose, as some sort of commentary, but I just found it irritating to listen to at times. As soon as he dialed it back just a little, his sarcastic humor did a good job on getting his point across. Production quality is probably the best part of the album, along with some hip hop all stars doing features. It was a bit too long IMO.

Nicht ganz so schlimm wie ich gedacht habe. Die Richtung ist nicht meins, aber schlecht ist es durchaus nicht.

Cool songs. Not really what I would listen to in free time. I liked the story bits.

“She got a light skinned friend look like Michael Jackson. Got a dark skinned friend look like Michael Jackson.”

// Favs: Jesus Walks / Never Let Me Down / Two Words / Last Call Score: Decent to Strong 3

3.5 Great moments

I don’t like kanye

Not my thing, but ok

I get it. Since he’s considered one of the greats, you gotta hear where he started.

lotsa cursing! adequate rap album.

This was the third album on my list, but I am rating it while I am currently on album 142. Finally Kanye has been out of the new long enough for me to be willing to listen to it. I do have to admit it is a decent hip-hop album. It does feel very dated to the early 2000s. Still not my thing but better than I expected going in.

Never realized this was KW's highest regarded album (allmusic.com agrees). I would have thought MBDTF would hold that honor. First listen to this one. Good album. More straightforward, less "artsy" than MBDTF.

Yeah, this was quite fun.

Am I over skits? Have I lost patience for skits? I used to love that shit. Nowadays I’m like “get to the music.” By my count there are 6 dope songs on this album, all 5s. There’s also a lot of trash. If you cut out the middle I’d be happy. It’s all dead weight, it also all seems less honest, more vapid, like “look at me” rap. We all know he’s a great beat maker but I like two things about his rap, it’s honest, that bi-polar, no filter reallness he’s famous for truly in touch with his feelings and I like his playfulness and creativity in rhymes, he takes fun chances, does interesting little plays on words or metaphor. In All the good songs this stands out, all the bad songs doesn’t. I even enjoyed his 10 minute vamping over the beat telling a story about his big break. In this album it’s refreshing to feel the Chicago Kanye, not the LA Kanye, a bit more real, a bit more connected to the real world. Lots of great stuff on this album that gives you a good glimpse of the African American experience, you can feel it in the lyrics and in the beats. Not his best album, a lot of fat to cut, but pretty good. B—3

I've always loved this album, tons of nostalgia. Remember when Kanye was just a hip hop artist and not this weird cult personality?

It’s too long. Too much Kanye for one sitting. Nice to be reminded of a time before he was a complete lunatic though.

Too much filler. And high pitched voices. He's done better.

classic kanye. nothing much

Family Business escuchable. Me ha parecido un rollo. Igual si tradujera las letras ....

Rap, hip hop. Muy largo. Tiene cosas interesantes. Mejor que lo previsto.

pretty boring but i liked the line in we dont care about dyslexic 12 questions

Age has not been kind to this album. The mixing is laughable by modern standards. Really muddy mids and an over-reliance on the 808 sound that was so popular at the time. The second half of the album is really where it shines. you start to see the beginnings of Kanye's signature soul-sampled sound Despite all this, the album still has a bunch of standout tracks: Never Let Me Down, Slow Jamz, Two Words, Through the Wire, Last Call

I'd give it a 7, or with this rating system a 3. Maybe his recent antics have influenced me.

Hasn't aged great. Kanye is insane

Yee

Probably a 4/5 for me but gave it the good ol max balance treatment

Liked it more than I thought I would.

I'd listened to the first half of this six or more times before trying to get into it so this was the first time all the way to the end. I respect the brilliance on display but it doesn't speak to me. The transparency and self-awareness, the insecurity and feelings of inadequacy underlying so much of his work is interesting to hear him examine, but his coping mechanism, this Trump with musical talent persona he's adopted, is terribly boring.

The first half is amazing. Through the Wire steals the show on this album.

Day 1: A classic that I have never listened the full way through. For context, I have been listening to Kanye2049 a lot this past week, and it's wonderful, so it is nice to listen to some originals I've never heard. as for songs i havent heard: - spaceship is good - new workout plan is the goofiest shit - slow jamz is fun - SCHOOL SPIRIT! wow, I didn't know 'Good life' takes a line from this song. -lil jimmy skit is... an absurd critique of school and degrees but funny songs i have heard: - jesus walks bridge is amazing - all falls down is a longtime favorite - through the wire is amazing - family buisness is so sweet. - last call is good this is an album that, like in the pitchfork review of Ye, shows a Kanye that kanye isn't anymore, so far from who he became at his height and his descent into today. It's hard to explain. It's like the beatles, if you make an album that changes the trajectory of music, listening to it with the context of today makes it sound just very good average, when it defined the direction everyone else copied / attempted. (and like the beatles, maybe a biiit overrated...) and maybe 8-10 more songs than necessary lol

Bon premier album un peu timide dans l'exécution au niveau des prestations Production très riche

A few good songs, a few odd ones.... the narration parts were a bit hit or miss! Not my usual style, but enjoyable.

second half of the album is to me better musically thematically i dont really care i guess kanye isnt the best source of information

He’s got a bit of a messiah complex and gone a bit rogue. Likes the N word , a lot. Ok in places

Bicho queimadão, vários reviews jogando a nota lá em baixo. Foda, o artista cagar com carreira, ainda mais ele com um negócio tão absurdo que não dá pra acreditar. Tentando separar a arte do artista, parece que ele tem um talento foda. Pelo que vi é o primeiro álbum dele, ele era produtor, tipo o Raul. Tentou fazer a própria arte, e parecia manjar o que o mercado curtia. Não é meu estilo de música, não ouvirei de novo, mas vou dar 2* pela qualidade.

I really tried to look past the human being that created this album and expected it to be a pretty good listen. But it was very disappointing. Apart from a little while in the middle of the album the whole thing felt pretty disjointed. I could not really get into this album throughout. 2/5

Same old rinse and repeat hip hop genre nonsense with better production chops.

Maybe that teacher he was talking about had the right idea all along….

Kanye is obviously an arsehole, so I streamed a rip of this on YouTube to not give him any money. I never understood the tortured genius impression people have - this music is not particularly interesting apart from a few cool samples he picked and is often downright ugly sounding. The skits just suck. Admittedly I’m not big into this kind of music but acts like Kendrick or RTJ sound infinitely more interesting to me. It’s not a one star but it’s not far off.

Torn here as this is my first Kanye album on this list. This is a classic album but it’s extremely difficult to separate the art from the artist here. Gonna call it a 2 star and move on

Bagus tapi bukan buatku

This is one of those albums you have to separate the art from the artist. Kanye's debut album and he comes out on fire, creative raps and great takes on social themes of the black community. He is a good producer and made some cool beats. It's a nice change from the popular gangster rap of that era. Way too long! JFC an hour and 16 minutes, I hate the fucking skits. It is a good hip hop album and brought conscious rap back to the forefront but it is too damn long, cut the skits axe a couple songs with all these guest artist and this would have got a higher rating.

I recognize that the production and the song-craft is good. There are reasons why Kanye is so critically acclaimed and has sold a lot of records. He does a good job of blurring the line between underground gangsta rap and commercial radio-friendly pop rap. Much of this record just doesn't interest me, particularly the "skits" and the last song that just drones on and on and on and on and on (I think it's still going, honestly...) and the more poppy mixes. It's an ok record that I'll likely never listen to again.

It’s alright but he’s a nazi soo

Stupid

for some reason physically repulsive to me.

I have no idea how to rate this. Almost skipped the album, he's that repulsive. It's an entertaining listen, and a glimpse into the artist before he fully went off the deep end. That's why it gets the 2 star instead of the 1.

I think it’s clear that Kanye is a pretty fucked up dude. Narcissist with money and a microphone. Sucks for the world. Fortunately, I don’t give him two shits of my time. Not a big social media guy. He only enters my orbit on this platform. The music is decent, the rap is about average. Nothing special here, and not my thang.

Just not my style of music.

more than an hour is too much for Kanye... and his shameful history doesn't make it easy to give it a honest review... But besides that, he never was a genuis. Using samples over and over....... not as genius as composing yourself

Uncomfortable listening. Iconic sound (at least for the first half of the album and the last few songs), but I don't think this man should have a public platform anymore (at least until he can get his mental health, his hate, and his ego in check)

I saw him in 2001 opening for U2 with just a boombox and a microphone. He never got any better in my book. I just don't understand the fascination or the declaration that he's a genius. He can write clever stuff but it's just not catchy, my kids are brainwashed and I hate that. Minus points for the silly and unnecessary skits & abusing the N word. From my perspective, outside of "We Don't Care" and "All Falls Down" "Spaceship" & "The New Workout Plan" were gibberish. "Jesus Walks" & "Never Let Me Down" were average. The rest were super average and overly wordy with messy beats. A ton of filler, not much killer. Impressive listener counts, that's a fact, no song with fewer than 46M listens. 2 stars, it's not as cool as people want you to believe. No one will listen to this shit in 20 years.

Admittedly, I don’t really listen to Kanye and I’m more familiar with the Graduation Album. This was a bit of a disappointment as it tends to have so much hype.

Not for me.

This is not bad at all, but I still don't get all the hype with Kanye. He's a good rapper (his old stuff ofc, before he got crazy) but it's nothing that groundbreaking.

I did as much as I could (it's a long album). There are some good moments but it's just not my cup of tea.

Could be worse, but it's not worth listening to again.

Nope

A lot of hate for this album in my group. I'm a bit delayed in my rating of it. Are most of the songs on here sexist, misogynist, childish, silly? Sure. Is Kanye's production/flow everyone's favorite? No. Did I skip many songs on here? Yup. Am I writing everything as a question bc I'm too tired/lazy to write out all my feelings about Kanye? Absolutely. Some songs on here are bops, it's impossible to ignore. And this production style is one I like. Unfortunately it's really hard separating this artist from his "art."

People has always told me that the only saving grace of Kanye is that he at least wrote The College Dropout before he went off the rails. I cannot fathom at all what the fuck they are talking about, this is so mid.

The worst part of this was definitely the skits, New Workout Plan, and Get ‘Em High. Some of the production is impressive. The only song I kinda liked was Never Let Me Down. A couple others were listenable. I suppose the final “story” track is interesting once but I can’t see why you’d ever want to play it a second time. I really don’t like the baby/chipmunk pitched up voice that features throughout the record. The length was just unnecessary to me too. Lots of ideas could have been dropped to make this a tighter story and strengthen the concept. Torn between a strong 1 and a light 2, but it’s so much better than the previous hip-hop albums I gave a 1 to. Not particularly looking forward to more Kanye, though I know it’s coming.

Not sure who this is aimed at. Definitely not me.

I dropped out early on this one...

каньэ каньэ не ожидала я от тебя такого сока

2.5

I will give him a star for being a great album. Hard to support him but also most famous people are fucked up.

Sailed the seas to listen to this without supporting Kanye or tainting my algorithm. I understand the hype now, still not for me but I get it.

Better than I thought it would he but still fuck Kanye

Not my style. Still an alright album if you think he wasn’t a nazi back when he made it but will be steering clear of it going forward.

Too poppy and too long. Even aside from who Kanye is this album did not hit me as hard as I was expecting and I don't really want to hear it again.

very competent i'm just tired of Kanye

How on earth to rate this? Groundbreaking. Catchy. Interesting. Deep. Jesus Walks is a peal for help and an expression of faith. Then, um, listen, he really went off the rails, he should take his drugs, no shame in prescriptions here. Album remains solid though. It would be a 3 but it loses a star for it's dislike of women.

Kanye West.. Amazin'. Anyway, without thinking about the person. I don't like this style of music. I just don't understand it. However there was some better bits where I was actually kinda enjoying the music so I can't just dump this into the 1* tier. So 2 it shall be.

Kanye is a dick, but I'm trying to listen to this album putting that aside. I'm not a hip-hop fan, but this album is refreshing in that it's not gangsta rap, and it's pretty tuneful as a whole, in that sense it's fairly listenable. Possibly a bit boring. Lyrically/thematically, a lot of it (unsurprisingly) is about college/education, and Kanye's apparent bitterness about people who decide to actually get an education. I don't really know how I felt about the album as a whole, a lot of it was perfectly listenable, but then there's tracks like "Last Call" which is just an irritating monologue. The "Workout Plan" skit was dire and unlistenable. I think it's probably a 2.

I do try and separate art from artist so I begrudgingly put this on with the compromise I'll only listen to half. I can understand why people like this. It's repetitive but it's sometimes got enough variation that it's hard to notice. The lyricism has the issues I generally have with rap where the flow gets ruined by them suddenly speeding up to squeeze multiple syllables into one beat. I appreciate there's some talent in this but it takes me out the music so much. People were generally saying that the lyrics were unusual for rap and to some extent I agree but I've heard albums on this list from before this album talking about similar issues. Sure it wasn't rap but idk why that matters. I doubt this album massively improves in the 2nd half and I didn't feel any desire to keep listening so you get a 2

If I get another Kanye West album during this year I just might actually kill myself. At least this album was a lot better lyrically and less misogynistic than My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was. The bar is in hell.

I’m sure I judged this album based on how I’ve seen Kanye act since 2004 so this may or may not be a legit review but this just sounds like a rich frat boy trying to be cool and hard, without any real street cred. Overrated as an artist and public figure, as I see it.

Not my genre

Music was ok, but he’s a shitbag

Kanye West is an awful person, this album isn't much better

*Such a good hip hop album unfortunately from a brainwashed maniac

estilo musical que nao me agrada

Not my bag

3/10

🥱 It was just whatever. It’s way too long. I never understood the whole 'skit track' thing on any album (unless it’s Wu-Tang, obviously). Overall, it’s just not my jam.

Dece

Not for me BUT this has the first rap songs I ever liked. So I'm gonna give it two... customary fuck Kanye etc.

He's talented but such a narcissist. Talent isn't enough to make an album worth listening to.

Great beats, terrible human being. Mental health matters.

Hi hum hip hop from Mr West

I can recognise that the instrumentation & beats going on here is of pretty high quality. I can recognise that dude is a skilled rapper (eg. Slow Jamz). I was faring ok with this album until Workout Plan and its associated New Workout Plan hit my ears: My n****, my n****, I'm tired of puttin' 1-8-7 in my n****'s pager. That shit ain't workin' no more. My name Kanye from the Jigga set, Twista said, "Get It Wet". Ooh, girl, your breath is harsh, cover your mouth up like you got SARS. Fuck me.

Pass on free tickets, but 2 stars for instrumental and his collaboration

I just don't know. I guess it's good but I always get annoyed when guys sing too much about pulling their dick out.

Honestly, I am kind of surprised by all the reviews on this one giving this and Kanye's other albums one stars, just because of who he is as a person. I haven't seen the same reaction on the numerous other racist, sexist, homophobic people on this list. You can't just pick and choose to do this? And also, why are we only reacting this way when the artist is a woman or a black person? If a white man, has the same views, you all still listen to him.

Mä en ymmärrä, kun jengi hypettää tätä herraa yhtenä parhaista. ⭐️⭐️

"I miss the Old Kanye" no I don't. This album feels incredibly dated, both in lyrics and in sound. Ye is widely regarded as a great producer, but—much like his political beliefs—the direction just doesn't click with me.

geen onaangename plaat maar aftrek voor fascisme. Get Em High favoriet maar voornamelijk dankzij Talib Kweli

not bad, but Knaye is a twat

I hate him. Album is relatively enjoyable, but likely would not choose to listen to it even if he didn’t make me sick.

Yes, but no.

Har ett par låtar som är rätt bra, men lite för många som var lite väl ”meh”. Inte riktigt för mig!

Kanye sucks

Jesus walk was interesting. First few songs had a good beat but eventually got tired of the swearing and ho talk.

Sounds like very high production value but cheesy and dated. Like awful taste but great execution. The social consciousness feels fake after at least a decade of being awful.

I just dont like Kanye

Not bad not great,

I decided to put everything I think I know about Kanye West to the back of my mind to give this record a fair go but I really bloody hated it within the first three seconds. Once I got past that horrible narration, or whatever it is, and the music started, yeah, okay... it's not terrible. The music and the tunes were okay - the melodies are there and that's something I think is usually missing from hip-hop/rap records. It hasn't relieved me of my general disconnection with the genre but I didn't stamp on my laptop which is what I thought would happen. In fact, I listened to the whole thing and didn't hate it. Trust me, that's high praise. I didn't listen too closely to the lyrics - I suspect if I did, my rating would be adjusted downwards but I know I will never listen to this again, so let's move on.

*sigh* He sucks ass, but I have to say this album was pretty fun with all the skits. Althought the repetition of the lyrics 'Eat yo' salad skip dessert' is a HARD no from me. No diet culture on my watch! I'm also all for not everyone /needing/ to go to college, but uh, I don't think this strongly of an anti-adademic message is what the world needs right now... Tip if you don't want to give him streams: listen to lyric videos on youtube or sth.

More interesting than the previous Kanye album I reviewed, but his narcissism is just too off-putting for me.

NO NO NO NO WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT

its not very good

bättre än 2pac men diggar nog ff inte hiphop :s

Well for those who were shocked by Ye turning heel and saying he’s Jesus - this debut lays that all out there already. Look the beats and rhymes are great. The skits a fucking dumb. Kanye is a turd.

Viel zu lang. Aber ich muss ehrlich sagen, dass es viel besser war, als ich erwartet habe. Ich fage mich, wieso es Chipmunk Rap genannt wird. 2 1/2.

-1 from 3 for being Nazi. Starts strong but meanders and loses impact.

Helt ok, men inte min grej

Nice, bare ein sang igjen Sangen: nesten 13 min

I'm sorry, but I just don't get the appeal of this album. It's fine, the beats are cool I guess, some of the lyrics are inventive and interesting. That's about it. Like most rap albums, it's waaaaaaaay too long. Why do rappers feel the need to include skits? Most of them suck and just interrupt the flow of the album and drag it out. I feel like a lot of rappers underachieve. They have the skills and the talent to do something great and instead they just rap about themselves and money and their dick and chicks and drugs. Sure, they throw in the obligatory 2-3 songs about family and some sad story and everyone goes aww see they care about their family/friends/literally anyone that isn't them. A couple songs on an album over an hour long doesn't make up for all that self-centeredness. The 12:41 song at the end didn't endear this album to me either. Also this fool is straight up a Nazi so I can't give this a good rating.

rating him solely on this album-i don't care at all for the language or demeaning treatment of women, but he does communicate his point of view. sounds are all over the place & not in a good way. way, way too long.

Ok-ish. Not my style. ★★

As a non-Hip-Hop listener, "The College Dropout" was a challenging 2/5 listening experience. The album's bloated length and packed track list were immediate turn-offs; frankly, I'm ready to permanently retire the Hip-Hop skit. While I found the music sonically rich, well-produced, and competently arranged, the repetitive nature of the beats became a significant hurdle. My greatest barrier, however, was the unengaging and dull lead vocal performances, which not even the strength of the choruses or guest artists could successfully camouflage. My patience ran out around "Slow Jamz," but I persevered on, and I'm glad I did, as that led me to "Two Words," easily the strongest track on the album. It's a genuine commentary on the album's structure when the pleasant attention-grabber, eighteen tracks deep, is a simple drum fill. Let's finish on a positive note; I really liked the album artwork, it's a striking image that's instantly eye-catching. 1 "Intro (Skit)" (2/5) 2 "We Don't Care" (3/5) 3 "Graduation Day" (2/5) 4 "All Falls Down" (featuring Syleena Johnson) (2/5) 5 "I'll Fly Away" (3/5) 6 "Spaceship" (featuring GLC and Consequence) (3/5) 7 "Jesus Walks" (4/5) 8 "Never Let Me Down" (featuring Jay-Z and J. Ivy) (2/5) 9 "Get Em High" (featuring Talib Kweli and Common) (3/5) 10 "Workout Plan (Skit)" (2/5) 11 "The New Workout Plan" (3/5) 12 "Slow Jamz" (Twista featuring Kanye West and Jamie Foxx) (2/5) 13 "Breathe In Breathe Out" (featuring Ludacris) (2/5) 14 "School Spirit (Skit 1)" (2/5) 15 "School Spirit" (3/5) 16 "School Spirit (Skit 2)" (2/5) 17 "Lil Jimmy (Skit)" (2/5) 18 "Two Words" (featuring Mos Def, Freeway and The Boys Choir of Harlem) (4/5) 19 "Through the Wire" (2/5) 20 "Family Business" (2/5) 21 "Last Call" (2/5) Total - 52 Average - 2.48 148/1001 78/148 albums reviewed were new to me.

Fuck Kanye and all fascist enablers.

I only have the basic knowledge of this, but even I aim aware that Mr West has well issue and is a tad controversial. Musically he definitely knows what he is doing, but still his world view is kind of omnipresent in 2025. Would honestly have probably have liked the record after my 1 listen musically, but no desire to be a Kanye fan due to said controversy so after hearing won’t be exploring, which as said musically is a shame but there it is. Musically higher score but bellend score 2 Star.

Can't stand him, and this is absolutely my least favourite genre of music so I'm negatively biased but I know it has some merit even if I don't appreciate it

The overall sound of this was better than I expected, for hip hop, but the longer it went on the more it felt like it would never end, and he still seems to be a Nazi controversy stirring pillock, so not going above 2.5.

Never heard a Kanye album before. Don't even know if I've heard a single. Track 1: Okay. Track 2: Man. Banger track. Capitalism is a failure state. Exploiting it is a means for true success. There's intelligence within the system, and there's intelligence to break the system. It all boils down to getting paid. And any intelligence knows who has the money, and how they got that money. Track 3: Good interlude track. The Dean(?) is a bit overly play-acted for me, but the autotuned section was nice. Track 4: Great track. Consumerism. Just chipping away. Track 5: Sang this song at church many a time. A whatever rendition. Just messing with harmonic layers. Kind of puzzled why it's here. Perhaps it's an intro to the next track? Track 6: Favorite track so far. Have you played the video game What Remains Of Edith Finch? This song expresses the theme of my favorite story from that game. Track 7: Holy shit! Banger! Nice Happy Gilmore reference. Glad the intro and interlude tracks went away. Just give me the songs. Track 8: Pretty good. Music good. Not feeling Jay-Z's contributions. Masturbatory. Plus, tonally different than the other two's verses. Praising family, praising helping others. His is just about how great he is. No thanks. Represents that dark side of capitalism and ego. Track 9: Not into this style of track. Slam poetry with a repetitive beat. I'll take another song, please. Track 10: Okay. Track 11: Great song. What a production! Track 12: Nice song. Good vibes. Good story. A good stoey about wanting good vibes. More into the choruses and bridges than the verses. Track 13: More of that bullshit ice rap. Not my thing. Track 14: Ugh. And not in the intended way. Cheesy. Track 15: Okay track. I'm starting to get a bit bored. Album is feeling long. Production is on point, but the writing is feeling a bit uneven. It's starting to feel like a good chef who made too many dishes, and half of them are a great meal. Track 16: Meh. Did he say doctrine instead of doctorate? Intentional. These skits sound like they were supposed to be funny and clever. Track 17: I don't know how to phonetically type out the sigh I just made. Kanye, stop trying to recreate old Adam Sandler cds and stick to songs. These skits are really messing with the average. Track 18: Another slam poetry song, two words at a time. As I get older, I'm more drawn to ambient or lyric-less music. Mostly because I don't give a shit what people have to say as much. People talk too much for how little they are actually saying. A lot of whatever words. Would rather listen to music. Track 19: Yay, a song. Pretty good. Track 20: Decent track. Feels like I should have liked it more. Track 21: Okay. Weird. Almost feels like an audio commentary track on a dvd. But instead of being optional, it's the final song. Alright. Cool story... Overall: The actual songs are really good. The interludes and skits are bad. The slam poetry tracks aren't memorable. 2/5. Only 6 out of 21 tracks playlisted.

Not bad but I can’t stand the man

Why do these hiphop albums always have to be so freaking long?!? The vinyl standard 45min would be enough of this stuff. Still it's not a bad album, i have to say. Style between songs wary enough and there are some good groove's on this, but too much is too much...

Really sleek and well done. I'm also well done after listening The Collage Dropout. No edge or anything that would speak to me. Regardless of that this was really easy listening stuff.

The only thing good about this album is the production, and even that is sometimes on the verge of tacky. It's like this is easy listening hip hop. And the bloody gospel bits, why the hell? I do not get the hype Kanye West received and still does. Was it just the right time to put out something other than gansta rap?

05.10.25 Favourite tracks: jesus walks Rate:3/10 Not my type of music

Better than some rap but still rap. And a little boring.

some good songs, but the artist itself has some bad views, 2

Too many skits on here, and it didn't need to be an hour and a quarter. I like this about the same as Yeezus, which is to say there were moments I liked a lot, but the whole was just too much for me.

“Oh oh Kanye West is the best rapper oh my, Knaye is a god oh his music is amazing oh oh oh blah blah blah I’m an idiot”

Good first album, not my style (especially lyrics). Graduation is much better

Oh my god, how many Kanye albums are on here. It's my 3rd Kanye album from the generator and the previous two (even his views aside) weren't good enough to deserve a spot on the list. The album itself is fine I guess? But like many rap albums: waaaay too long, I thought an hour had passed after just 30 minutes. Worth noting that Jay-Z mentions JP2 on one song? I guess that's the only reference to my country I will find on this whole albums list 2/5

Liked some parts and not others

Kan (Ye) = ABSOLUTE SCUMBAG/LOONEY/... "Art" isnt the same as the artist for me... Therefore: Very good production! Good voice Some good songs But a lot of typicall rap stuff (drugs/woman/d*ck/...) not my kinda "art"...

I am going to use a private session, because f this guy. Separate the man from the music, DazRocket, be objective! Too much use of the n word for me a white man who wants the word nowhere near my vocabulary. Lots of stuff here I don't want to hear again, it's not that it sucks really, but telling s story over background music isn't something I need to hear more than once. Does that last track count as rapping? If so, I am a rapper.

Lo de siempre, sin letras no hay paraíso.

4 for the album -2 for artist.

Pass.

luchino says all falls down is not bad, indeed it's not

Kanye spends an entire 12 minute track at the end of this album talking about how he’s more than a producer and how hard he worked to prove he was a rapper and not just a huge talented beat maker. The entire rest of this album is proof that he absolutely was not ready for an album. Cause his beats are great, but god his bars stink to holy hell.

I remember buying this when it came out. Lots of reviews said is was revolutionary, a masterpiece. I didn't get it then and I still don't get it now. The College Dropout is a bland, self indulgent album, finishing with a twelve minute track that is just Kanye talking about how he got signed (he had to assemble his own Ikea bed - the horror!). I didn't absolutely hate it, and I'm not going to dock marks for his increasingly bizarre behaviour, but this album is a two star album at best.

bored

West is an antisemitic, homophobic, racist, misogynist. So 0⭐️ for the person. But back when this came out, it was my jam! I listened to it on repeat. So sad that I can’t enjoy what this music once was. 4⭐️ for the music (if you can separate it from the artist). On balance, I will give this 2⭐️ and no listens.

Pas forcement mon style

Good music yes. Crappy and despicable human being, even more so.

I thought Kanye sucked before it was cool

Felt like a lot of filler.

Aivan liikaa aikaa taas annettu Kanyelle. Pidän kyllä taustoista. Uhoa on toistaiseksi sopivasti tässä. Mutta nääh.

Maybe I don’t have the context as to why this is seen as so groundbreaking but it did nothing for me.

I would have thought this inventive and fresh when I was in 4th grade, but now it seems repetitive and uninspired (regardless of how much I’m expected to gush over it).

Some great tracks, some blah. Recognize that he influenced hip hop. Doesn't mean all the tracks are good. Removing a star b/c he's a bad person.

A few enjoyable songs, but I really don't want to touch this one. Any merit that this album gained in 2004 has been overshadowed by his later reprehensible behaviour, so is it worth even talking about the album? How can you possibly critique an early '10's painting by Hitler? Same deal here. F--- Nazis, and especially those self-proclaimed Nazis. The less said, the better.

Типичный рэп новой волны, когда он перестал быть слушабельным, когда он плотно слился с РнБ и попсой, как в музыкальном, так и в текстовом плане. Это не ужас нынешних дней, но и слушать ради удовольствия здесь нечего.

same vibe as good kid, mAAd city

Found an old mp3 copy of this so I didn’t have to fuck up my algorithm with a listen.

I just don’t get it

I can admire his influence on the hip-hop genre, but this ultimately isn't something I'll come back to. Funnier than I expected.

Foi uma experiência estranha ouvir um álbum de uma figura que acho o comportamento e ideias desprezíveis. Achei o álbum mediano para ruim. E sei que provavelmente minha opinião sobre ele interferiu. QKZxHBB Hades.

Good album from a nazi.

It wasn’t terrible, but it’s definitely not my favorite rap.

Jesus walks best tune

Nice hip hop but not my kind of music.

Continuo não gostando, mas acho que finalmente entendi como um todo o apelo da coisa. Porém, envelheceu como um leite a carreira e pessoa.

Didn't finish it. Don't want to give much time to this man.

⭐️⭐️ 1001 ALBUMS- # 52 This album is a dropout alright, it sucks! Well, not really, but Kanye is detestable 🙄. I will never understand the overuse of the ‘ni#%a’ lingo in hip hop, which I could kinda sorta look past to the backdrop of impressive beats, however with Kanye his ego is too larger than life echoing across this bloated tracklist. His debut album, while breaking ground still contained typical rap tropes that just turn me off from the genre. The skits between tracks, racist sexist lyrics and self righteous take on the topical themes of religion, socioeconomic issues, personal insecurity and anxiety feel less like satire and more about attention starved preaching. 🎧 Classic Track: All Falls Down 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: We Don’t Care 🚫 Skip Track: All the skit interludes The College Dropout may have help change the face of hip-hop with its soul-sampling production and themes of insecurity, education, and religion, however Kanye’s polarizing approach to his self image, politics and personal life overshadow his art. 🖼️ Album Artwork: At least he’s masking himself 🐻 I understand my take may not be a popular one, however I firmly stand behind my assertions here; good music soured by poor character.

Goes downhill after Jesus Walks

1. intro - 1 2. care - 1.5 3. day - 0 4. douun - 1.5 5. fly - 0 6. zpace - 1.5 7. jezuz - 2 8. never - 1 9. high - 1.5 10. plan - 0 11. neuu - 1 12. jamz - 1.5 13. breathe - 1 14. zchool - 0 15. zpirit - 1.5 16. zchool - 0 17. zkit - 0 18. tuuo - 1.5 19. uuire - 2 20. family - 1.5 21. call - 1.5

Lol the day after Kid A, this shit? Kanye was always an odd fit. Great producer - so, either purchaser or creator of samples, beats, entire songs - with a few tricks that caught a moment with Jay Z. And also a producer who wanted to be an MC. The DJ who wanted to rap. The drummer or lead guitarist who wanted to be the frontman. And he simply fucking could not rap. Not awkward as say, me, a white guy with some rhythm, but just...as rappers and their critics became consumed with the art of the flow, here stumbles in a guy who literally had his jaw rebuilt. Which he made integral to his whole appeal as this album came together! But he had jokes and a fake it til you make it bravado that was annoying, but not disqualifying. Dropout was fun in parts, a bit overbearing and clumsy elsewhere (this would only increase), but mostly seemed perfunctory. I did it Jay! I made my record! What now? Where will my story go next? To what amazing heights will I soar? And oh how I will crash.

The second star is for 'I'll Fly Away' and the cool production.

Does not live up to the hype but a good hip hop album

Meh, 2 stars.

i didn't want this racist schizo motherfucker making any money from my streaming of his albums (i have him blocked on spotify for this very reason) but i also wanted to try rating this and giving it a fair shot. with a little workaround (thanks free mp3 sites ❤️) i managed to give it a spin man what a fucking waste of time. i've heard hip-hop fans praise this album up and down as his best work for years... is the best work in the room with us?? i don't get the hype at all pros: production was okay, that tends to be his strength. i consider the sampling kinda lazy by today's standards, but i suppose this was acceptable for the early 2000s. cons: everything else. he's rapped better in other albums in his discography. too many skit tracks. too long of a run-time. this was one of the few instances where i couldn't stand to sit through multiple tracks without skipping i think my final score is very generous. his performance here, while not impressive in my opinion, was just good enough to not be considered the worst thing i've listened to

Tål inte karln. Man skulle egentligen göra murbruk av honom. Blött murbruk. Han kommer dock undan med denna platta. Det är inte asdåligt. Bara lite dåligt.

i’m so cheesed that kanye crashed out bc this album has some bangers and i do see his overarching theme here, BUT minus stars for being a raging nazi and minus stars for being terrible towards women, though i do have to give him 1 extra star because of the aforementioned bangers and the fact that this album went triple platinum in my car when i first got my license, sorry :/

I am separating art from artist in my rating cause he’s a nazi and if I didn’t it would be a 1. I can appreciate how it was groundbreaking but it still isn’t as much my thing

Interesting one. Not nearly as good as MBDTF from earlier, and truly thought the first 1/3 to 1/2 was just there/bad, but back half beats were pretty stellar. I'd listen to the back half again, it vibed, but still tough to work around

Really not my thing!!!

Two Kanye albums in one week that’s tough! We have had this CD in our collection since it came out and I think this only the second time it’s been played, what does that tell you? I think my partner bought it because she liked the one song which pretty much is still the case.

Some nice beats, but overall not my vibes and I did not finish. Would not relisten and would switch away if possible.

OMG fucking Kanye. He certainly has a confident sense of himself and what he's trying to achieve. Plenty of people see hits artistic intent and emerging genius. Not me. I like my hip hop less chipmonky. Still better than Morrissey. Two stars.

2 good songs, the rest were bad

Cracked called it: https://www.cracked.com/blog/what-if-kanye-west-is-retarded In addition to being a nut job and a terrible person, is Kanye overrated as an artist? This has good samples and some good guest verses, but this, by and large, isn’t great rap. WAY overdoes it on the autotune. Also, “Last Call” is such a stupid song. As an aside, fuck Kanye and fuck Nazi trash.

# Album Name: College Dropout # Artist: Kanye West # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Admittedly, theres a few good tracks on this album which were released. The rest of it is complete dross. And this thing goes on for a loooooonnnnggggg time. That including the crappy skits are enough to drive me mad. Coming in at 1hr and 16 mins this album is simply way too long for what it is. I was blown away by Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album. It was terrific. But this is nowhere near that level. I would have given this a 3 which i think is fair. But the length of the album plus the crap skits drag it down to a 2. Obviously Kanye is a pos now but im focussing on the album only. # Top Tunes: All falls down, jesus walks, workout plan, slow jamz # Would I listen to it again? No, single only.

Breakout album from one of the most controversial people of the century. Musically, there is really nothing to hate, though would point out that 'Last Call' is unreasonably long to close out the album. Disregarding this, Kanye's nostalgic production is engaging enough, and has some highlights, though these aren't high enough to write home about. Best Tracks: - Spaceship - Slow Jamz - Two Words Worst Tracks: - Last Call Rating: 5/10

Didn’t really like this when Kanye wasn’t hated.

iffy

32% banger

Poco he podido rascar de este álbum, incluso tratando de pasar por alto que Kanye West es un nazi. Para empezar, las letras no han resonado mucho conmigo. Entiendo que en su momento fueran revolucionarias, mostrando una vulnerabilidad que separa a este álbum del típico Gangsta Rap de la época. Pero no sé, me siguen pareciendo bastante superficiales. Los temas son pegadizos y muy animados, típicos del rap americano de la época, aunque tanto rollo R&B (con el característico y cansino "chipmunk soul" de West) no es lo mío. Más aún teniendo en cuenta que el álbum dura más de una hora. A la mitad ya estaba deseando que se acabara. En fin, merecería una estrella solo por tratarse de Kanye West, pero vamos a dejarlo en dos.

Ugh. You know you're in for a long one when the homophobic slurs start 1 minute into the first song. "Spaceship" was one of the few songs I liked.

The best thing about this album is the selection of samples.

Kanye is not my jam. Never was, never will be.

Ill drop out of this class too

god i hate skits

The College Dropout feels like a perfect product of the 2000s. From the production to the lyrics and the rhythms, it’s undeniably rooted in that era. It has all the hallmarks of Kanye's early style, but when I listen to it, it doesn’t feel like it pushes the boundaries of the time. It’s an album that fits seamlessly into the landscape of the period, yet doesn’t necessarily stand out or introduce something revolutionary to the broader music scene. It captures the vibe of its time, but in terms of lasting impact or innovation, it doesn’t feel like it shifts things forward.

This is a tough one to rate. I've never been a big Kanye fan, even before his current mental health crises (as of the time writing this he's currently on Twitter literally professing his love for Hitler... you can't make this up), but I can acknowledge all he's done for both production in general and hip hop. Death of an Artist? I still didn't love the album, way too long and too many skits. There were some stand-out tracks: Jesus Walks, and All Fall Down that keep this from a single star.

One of the best album of music history!

1) Hiphop is typically not a genre I like 2) but I can appreciate there were some interesting moments, both musically and lyrically 3) but for the most part, the messages or tens of the lyrics aren't especially compelling to me 4) and finally, going back to point 1: hiphop ain't my thing. Quite a few songs I slipped out of a little past halfway because the setting was getting boring.

I didn't get it. I know the hype around this one. Didn't grab me at all.

A few good songs, but not much more.

My controversial Ye opinion is that his early work isn't that good. Overproduced, autotune, too many skits. But there are some diamonds in here as well.

I automatically assumed I'd hate this. I was tempted to skip it, but I committed to listening to every album. I'm glad I did listen to it. Not that I liked it (I didn't), but I didn't absolutely hate it as I thought I would. So I'll keep listening to everything, as I've found some surprisingly good stuff here. 2 stars, though, cos I definitely didn't actually like it.

Not a Kanye fan. Too much ugliness to separate from his art.

Actually a good album, solid thing, but I'm not into the explicit and I don't want to have many more albums like that so I'm going to give it a 2/5, but musically its a solid 4/5

Either I am racist or hip-hop is a bad genre of music.

Kanye is a jackass. Literally could not wait for Family Bidness and Last Call and the album to be over. (Did think his line about black card being African American Express was funny, ha ha.) Something about this experience made it seem lame, I think it’s his rhymes (1,75*s)

Yeezy got chipmunk soul? I don't think so but this album was massive when it hit and has some good tracks like "All Falls Down" and "Through the Wire." Some better lyrical play and content then I originally thought. Should have finished college though so he could learn to write better skits... so dumb. Ye has been a polarizing character through the decades and def an arrogant bastard that's over compensating for something (lying about his P.h.D.). I will say I like some of his tunes but never dug the lazy rap style much. Not the worst thing to come out of Chi-town...1.87.

Now the, we've had a few modern artists from this genre, and much as I hate to admit it, this is one of the best. Yes he makes some social and political statements, but he's not too in your face about. The lyrics are well put together, for the most part, and it's not bad listening on the whole. But it's just not me enough to give me more than a 2. It's a shame really, as I can't but feel it deserves better. But I just can't do it.

Needs more guitar solos

Okay

Just rated the previous album and had some thoughts about having done this for a year now and oh fuck off.

NGL I was bopping out about the first third of this album because it's kinda fun and the beats are good, if overdone at times as is typical of Kanye. But then you keep listening and it's just dumb, vaguely offensive, Jesusy drivel. There was one creative line in Family Business: African American Express It's also cheesy and like so dumb you have to know you're being dumb several times, which I didn't know was also true of his old stuff. Also cool how Work out for me by J Cole sampled this

Not a Kanye fan

not for me

this was a tough listen, to be honest. and… still don’t like kanye.

more woman-hating pop-rap. 2* because of the Kweli collab tracks

Slow Jamz is a classic but this is objectively before he gets to his best

A lot going on here. Musically, this one is a banger. A ton of wicked licks and drums. Lyrically, I can't get this. Hip hop def isn't for me. From drugs and gang banging, being a general POS to women, to then spouting off about Jesus and family love. The "comedy" if that's what the whole anti-education stuff is super cringy, but aligns with his Trumpian weirdness.

Again Kanye West is technically good but I just cannot get into his lyrical content.

Not going to lie, I went into this with the preconception that I wouldn't like it. However, I didn't hate it. I did get really bored of it about halfway though, so I can't give it more than a 2.

Oh boy, where to start? Let's get it out the way. Praising Hitler is really not where it's at, any vaguely decent person knows that but we're talking about Kanye West here he's not a well man. However if we excused every unwell person for praising genocidal maniacs, we'd be in a real pickle. Music is decent enough, he's done better work I HATE skits on rap/hip hop albums.

The decline of rap

First time I ever listened to Kanye. I now understand the meaning of Chipmunk Soul/R&B/Rap. I can dig the vibe but I'm turned off by his antisemitism - not a musician for me. Bit of weird finish with the long extended stream of consciousness storytelling.

Kanye! I just want to roll my eyes. 21 songs is way too long - my patience wore very thin. Occasionally I didn’t hate it. I quite like All Falls Down but I guess that’s because I remember not hating it 20 years ago and I like Syleena’s voice. But I’m never going to listen to this again voluntarily.

I really don’t like Kanye West. As a person. And I couldn’t name any of his songs. I almost turned this album off after about two or three songs, but I kept going, in the spirit of our endeavor. I can’t say that it is an album I needed to hear or will ever play again, but it doesn’t deserve the one star rating that I was planning to give it. If it wasn’t Kanye, I might give it a 2.5 but because it is a Kanye album I am giving it a 2

I was looking forward to listen to this and to catch a well-deserved break from folk music but I was disappointed. I hated all the skits and the talking. Felt like I was listening to a podcast recorded by men at times.

Ich fand das Album kagge. Schon damals Reimverse die einfach nur stumpf sind, heute ja nicht besser. Hatte er bessere Alben dazwischen? Dieses hier war enttäuschend für den Hype um diese Person

Innovative post-boom bap beats that expertly uses soul samples. This has some of the best songs of his career on it, unfortunately it's not very consistent like his later albums are.

I did not think I had heard this album before, but I recognized more songs than I expected. I know there are many people who love this album but I find it kind of corny, especially the Jesus song. The Jay-Z feature was probably the highlight for me, beyond that it’s pretty forgettable in my eyes.

Well, My son is really into hip-hop right now, so car rides have been filled with Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, (a little) Kanye, etc.. so I have actually listened to parts of this album more recently than I would have without his influence. We will see how this goes. Well, there are some good songs on here -- also a lot, alot of just talking and skits........but Slow Jamz is a banger. ...She said she want some Marvin Gaye some Luther Vandross......

The intro/outro filler was a bit forced and kitschy, nothing that hasn't been done many times before 2004 and not done better here. Lyrics were similarly non-attention grabbing. Of the 21 tracks, 3-5 were really solid. Not a great hit ratio. Breathe in Breathe out was pretty solid. Then lost it with School Spirit as the follow up. That pattern seems to repeat. The critique of college is shallow and annoying. And as far as I could glean, his proposed alternative is to deal drugs and smoke pot? If everyone is dealing, then the value of being a dealer goes down, that's just simple economics, but I guess he dropped out of that class...

citelné kvality v žánru, citelné nekvality u osoby autora. Asi nejtěžší na hodnocení v tomto ohledu. Při hodnocení při uvážení těchto faktorů jako protiváh

Ég skil af hverju Kanye varð svona stór. Þetta eru bara hin fínustu lög þó svo að ég sé ekki mikið fyrir rapp. Mér fannst samt skemmtilegt að hlusta á textana og sketsana inn á milli sem drulla yfir menntaelítuna. Hún á það alveg skilið.

it's OK, but rap is not my thing

He complains about working at the gap. Not sure why that doesn’t hit the same way when someone else complains about a job in a song.

Intro was very profane but okay ig don't like songs that are just talking tho 5/10 We don't care still had some language but I'm gonna assume that's the whole album has that kind of language so I'm gonna not write either down anymore other than that it has good flow and it was a solid start 7/10 Graduation day was weird and I'm not a fan of songs that you can't listen to by themselves like graduation day that just give more info to the other songs on the album 5/10 All fall down had really good flow and I enjoyed listening to it the other singer was very good as well probably on eo fmy favorite so far 8.5/10 Ill fly away was the same line repeated seven times and I don't like short songs 5.5/10 Spaceship had good bars and was very catchy but did have a ton of pizza or anything special to set it apart from the rest of the music 7/10 Jesus walks was good but had some kinda random part like that one auto tuned voice which were all good but it was a bit much other than that it was good 8/10 Never let me down was good I liked listening to it wasn't anything special but good 7.5/10 Get em high was obviously not my favorite and other than the lyrics which I didn't love it didn't have a ton about it 6/10 Both workout plans weren't great again with bad message didn't even listen to he whole song 4/10 Didn't listen to the rest not bad music just nothing worth much of my time other than a few of the better songs which are weak

All aboard the controversy express. Led by this moron. Yes, he’s an idiot, but I’ve heard this is one of his best. I’ve never really listened to Kanye beyond the radio slop, so we’ll see. Jesus. 76 minutes??? Ugh. I worried that this will be clean sounding “bling era” jay-z tinged rap. So far, we’re sounding like a jovial “love the way you lie.” It’s a little infectious. The rap is nothing special, but the beat is weird. Lots of interludes of course. All Falls down is my least favourite kind of rap. Overly dramatic, female chorus. It ends up being fine as it feels like it has something to say. You can see how he stands out. This is not run of the mill, it’s just far too polished for me thus far. This one is no good. Even the feature is underwhelming. The flows are annoying here and the beat is far too simpering. Interminable and boring. There we go. Some grit. This is a hit, but it’s the best one so far. It feels tongue in cheek preachy, but there is an element of cringe to most religious stuff of any denomination. There is the prodigal son. The lamest rapper of the 2000s. Jayson Zee. Needless melancholy. The lyrics SUCK but the last rapper at least has som vitriol in his voice. This is all too sappy. Am I wrong in saying this feels built for the radio? It’s all so clean. Oh boy a Common feature!!!! It’s a clean-off! In all seriousness, this one is cooler. Talib Kweli is a nice feature. Was common even here? Anyway, this one still has that Kanye flow which I’ve realized is always the same. Come on. This sucks. I’ve got a new (er) workout plan. 3 x 10 turning the volume down, 3 x 12 eye rolls at horrendous lyrics, then finish with skipping songs until failure. Give that a rip. Whoa! It gets worse!! I’m not a “sexy r & b” guy. Listen, I’m a white guy not born in the 60s. Oh buddy. It’s 2004 and I’m playing NFL Street 2 again. This is good. Lyrics in first verse are fun. The Mos Def Kweli reference is funny. This song is so very 2000’s but not in such a glitzy way. It kind of stayed where it was, but this one was ok. Good sample on this one. Boring rap verses again. I’d almost listen to this one as an instrumental. It’s funny, that the degree stuff is still pretty relevant. It’s an adolescent criticism in many ways, but it’s also right. Two Words. Much better. Yeah this one is one of the passionate songs. Less screwing around. I don’t know man. I keep saying the same thing, but the pop sensibilities kill me. Luckily this one has less of that. Boring. This hasn’t felt as long as it’s been, however we have two songs to go. Oh god it’s like inspiration rap. I can’t deal with some of the sounds. The shimmering transitions. The lyrics are boring to me. I’m sorry. Fuck the 12 minute song. Get outta here. Ugh. This was not great. Listen, people love(d) this guy. He’s popular. I get it. He’s definitely unique on and off record but the flows are samey, the lyrics are funny at times and others sound like this review. Sloppy stream of consciousness that really doesn’t pack the punch I expected. The samples range from incredible to grating, and the rap is just there. This is mediocre. 2-2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Jesus Walks, Get Em High, Two Words

Not impressed.

2.5, too much nonsense between tracks and the 12-minute last track .... ugh.

This was a pretty good hip-hop album, I enjoyed it more than Yeezus, especially due to all the backing vocals. However, it had so many cringy moments that I can't give more than 2. Stand-out: All Falls Down.

OK, I'm glad I listened to this because now I have some sense what the big deal is with Kanye. Definitely some great tracks and creative production. Ultimately for me and my musical taste, the album is way too long and about halfway through it started to sound repetitive (or I lost focus and couldn't hear the innovation between tracks... which is much the same thing).

Not my cup of tea. Swiftly moving on……….

I mean it's a listenable pop album. It definitely didn't need to use the entire space on the CD. Maybe consolidating the interesting parts or just cutting filler would have made it a bit better.

Man, he sure loves to hear himself talk. I don't get the appeal.

Nope.

That’s two rap albums in a row, am I being punished?

Kanye can definitely produce an album, much like "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy", each part of this is calculated. I think you can tell it's his first album though. He hasn't quite figured out his sound yet, and seems to bounce between different genres in a way that's not as effective as I think he wants it to be. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I don't particularly like the sketches on Kanye albums.

Was a big fan of Kanye’s from Late Registration peaking at My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and falling off after Yeezus. Since then I’ve found it hard to separate the man from the music and somehow didn’t get around to going back to this album. Never vibed with the whole “chipmunk soul” sound but there is plenty of good production on here (so many contributing artists esp for a debut) that would be explored and refined on future albums. A few great tracks in the middle like Breathe In Breathe Out & Two Words and The New Workout is stupid fun.

Kanye under-delivers on enjoyability. 2.1 stars

Rhythm was good and much of the lyrics formed an entertaining story. But it’s too bad someone with so much influence chooses to use it to knock education, widely understood to be the best opportunity to escape poverty.

The featured artists are nice Jesus shouldn't walk Apparently bitter about university oh sorry college

This one was kinda ok, but I’m still salty about what he did to my ears with the last one.

Another "attempt to separate the art from the artist" , but it's hard... a great album from a truly shitty individual, and I'mma let you finish because he was a piece of shit long before his mental illnesses took hold in the last 10 or so years. 4 stars for the album (good the great but not his best) / 0 stars for the antisemitic Nazi turd he is / 2.5 stars to split the difference but in this case I'mma round it down.

People say he's a genius. I get the feeling most of these people probably aren't musicians. Where does this "genius" click in exactly? Is it in the lyrics? Can't hear it. The descriptors boring & annoying do spring to mind.

Obviously I am not with it. This is fine for what it is but somehow this guy is considered some kind of a musical genius. I don’t see it.

Chipmunk soul is definitely not for me. I tried to give this album a fair listen, and couldn't help but skip most of it.

я открыл видос и мгновенно, инстантно сказал "бляя, это канье уэст?" Это как бы вот такие у меня ожидания от этого альбома ну и как бы всё ровно как и ожидалось. Задорные биты, но при этом ну как я должен это слушать. Это рэп про сосаети и господа который указывает путь, а где-то над всем этим возвышается сам Канье, который обличает пороки и бредит. Тут, конечно, не сильно бредит, это молодой канье, ещё плюс-минус адекватный и игривый. Но мммэээ блех. 3

Not to my liking.

Gear: Fostex TH610 Artwork: 🧸🏫😞 Mix: 🧨🔊💎 Musik: 🤔🙄😬 Wertung: 🧸🧸(🧸)/5

My least favourote Kanye West album so far on this list. To be honest, I don't really remember any other record, but this one just wasn't it. Couple songs that are passable, the rest just wasn't really interesting. Quite boring and uninteresting.