Reviews (page 12 of 15)
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
I never heard anything by Kanye that I liked, but enough friends thought he was a genius that i figured "Maybe it's just me, maybe i'll hear something one day that makes me understand". It happened with other artists, could happen here. Well, this is the firat Kanye LP i've listened to in full and...no, I can stick with my first opinion. Production is ok, but really doesn't blow my mind. I guess Jesus Walks is interesting enough? His rapping is passable, but doesn't really blow my mind. None of the lines stand out as amazing. What really sums it up though is the vibe. I'm used to hearing rap of people boasting about their cars and money and women - fine, it's boring, but whatever. This is different. This feels more like the whining of a kid that got bullied, talking about how now he's famous he's going to bully everyone else. The whole 3 track skit mocking higher education...I guess it's meant to show how brave Kanye was, but it just sounds like the most whiny 'chip on my shoulder' bullshit. It's said that when you're used to privilege, equality feels like oppression. This whole album felt like that - the guy who usually has no struggles, talking incessantly about the one time he was treated like less than a god, and how one day he'll show everyone. Ugh. 2, because itsnlt even offensive enough to be a 1.
Same old rinse and repeat hip hop genre nonsense with better production chops.
Best Track - "All Falls Down"
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."
The College Dropout is an attempted concept album that mistakes repetition for cohesion. The college theme is beaten to death through endless skits, while the actual songs rarely build toward anything meaningful. Instead of feeling like a carefully structured statement, it feels bloated, unfocused and desperately in need of an editor. The production is the biggest problem for me. That constant chipmunk-soul style is unbelievably grating: pitched-up vocal samples, crowded arrangements and harsh mastering pile on top of each other until the album becomes physically tiring to listen to. After about thirty minutes, it stops being “soulful” and starts sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks discovered a sampler and refused to turn it off. And the songs themselves simply aren’t strong enough to justify the runtime. Too many tracks drag, hooks repeat endlessly, the rapping is technically limited, and the humour ranges from mildly amusing to painfully dated. Even the supposedly emotional moments often feel buried underneath production that is constantly screaming for attention. There may be an interesting album somewhere inside The College Dropout, but this version is overlong, badly paced, poorly mastered and genuinely headache-inducing. If dropping out of college was the concept, apparently dropping out of mixing school was part of it too. 5/10
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
One Kanye is enough. This one isn’t worth rating as Kanye’s importance has been reevaluated.
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.
Allow me to copy/paste another review I wrote for another album from the guy: The guy is a scumbag, but that's more or less all I know from him, I've lost interest/lost track with mainstream hip hop a long time ago. Is it any good? I don't particularly like his flow (there is no particular edge, it's a bit too smooth/dull to my taste), the background music is not too bad but a bit bloated. We can clearly hear that lots of efforts were put in the production, but I'm not really convinced and it's hard to claim that is pure genius. It wasn't really bad overall, but not that good either. And as the guy is despicable, I don't intend to put too much effort on this.
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.
What to do with this album? Obviously a talented artist, albeit not really in my genre, but I respect the work. Then there’s the person who I usually try to separate out, but this is a bit of a special case. Terrible person or not it’s not an album I would likely return to, it is what it is.
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.
So he’s been spouting nonsense for a long time. The last song really shows his ego.
I think this is my 3rd Kayne album on this list. It's decent musically, but I think Kanye is mediocre with his rap game. Put him next to Snoop, Dre, Tupac, Eminem or Biggie and his voice and flow are completely outmatched. i think I'll skip the next album of his when it comes up.
I missed the boat on Kanye West, and now it seems he is on a different boat on a different planet. I just never gave him a listen. I can't really say I can tell you any of his hit songs. This is my first time listening to a full album. Just not my vibe. Get Em High was my favorite, I guess. I do like all of the guests he has on this album. This album doesn't move me. I don't like the music or beats, and his lyrics don't speak to me.
I can understand the appeal of this album, which probably deserve 4 stars, but since it is Kanye it is 2 stars or D for me.
He got famous with this? This is considered a great album? Really? It wasn’t as bad as I expected but then I guess it couldn’t possibly be. I guess that’s why I don’t listen to much rap from the 21st century. Maybe I’m old, but that’s better than thinking this is good. Two stars just because I was actually expecting worse.
wtf? again?
Entirely listenable but way over rated
Trying really hard to separate the shit human from the art. It's nothing special. It has some clever lyrics, but it feels uneven. Ambitious, yes, but some iffy execution. The shining light here is the production value. Please stop padding albums with skits.
Too bad he didn’t graduate. Wasted potential. He could have climbed the ladder at the Gap, all the way to VP of khakis and spared us so much of his shit.
Oh yay [sarc]. A rap album from a despicable guy. One of my least favorite genres. Should I just give it a “1” and some myself the bother? NOPE, I signed up for this, maybe I’ll be surprises. [listening] Gratuitous profanity? Check Gratuitous use of n-word? Check Glorify drug dealers? Check “F#$& the Police“? Check Glorify crime? Check The music is a bit “smoother” that a lot of rap I’ve been subjected to. But that’s makes it a bit less mind numbing. The 1 minute cover of “I’ll Fly Away” deserves props, but it’s just an interlude. I’ll give it 2/5
Kanye West is a great example of why you shouldn't drop out of college. This album is ok, it has some great hits. I really don't like the whole idea of chipmunk pitching, it hurts my ears.
Second Ye review: I'm very happy this album didn't have an ongoing wheezy old man talking throughout the record. It's like the wheelchair kid in Malcom in the Middle all grown up. Got a job with Kanye. God damn was that annoying. The lyrics in Kanye West songs are just God awful. Even the guest rappers. Expected more from Jay-Z. Ludacris delivered as poorly as I imagined. Twista was great. All of the other artist were boring. Honestly, they did make Kanye shine brighter. His parts were superior with the exception of Twista's part in the one song. I appreciate Ye's production. And how he uses voices as instruments and to fill space and add layers and depth.... But I can only take so many gospel choirs... And I can't stand children singing roles... (even in Pino Floyd's the Wall, I don't care for it. And they are one of my favourite artists.) Or when they edit voices to sound like minions; That's a hip hop trope that needs to expire. This record is just another hip hop record. Underachieving, selling drugs, ego masterbation with a hint of religion. I remember Jesus Walks being this explosive song when it came out but it didn't stand the test of time. It is boring. I liked Through the Wire... I think. The skits are another trope that needs to die. I know it's similar to interludes in other genres... But if you're going to have them. Make them have purpose. Easily and always skippable for me. Every monster rap artists that I listen to, I am always left disappointed.
Overall, this album was good and I suppose Kanye has influenced other musicians (I wouldn’t know, hip hop isn’t my scene) but listening in hindsight of Kanye’s arrogance, and his troubling stance on certain issues I have to knock it down to a 2.
It’s the highlight of a weird ass career
74 Rolling Stone List
This is Kanye West's debut album. Before the release of this album, he had a successful career as a producer. This set of tracks has the elements that made Kanye famous: melodic tracks with consistent rhythms, and a basis in samples. This album shows the arrogance that developed into Kanye's ego-centric lunacy. It's thoroughly anti-intellectual and full of Kanye's odd flexes - enough to makes this very hard to listen to.
Highlight: School Spirit. Kanye knows how to create an effective backbeat. There are a handful of good rhyming couplets throughout. Props for that. But some loops were tiring (eg Spaceship) and some lyrics have aged badly (New Workout Plan, Keep Em High). Don't get me started on the skits... Can you separate the art from the artist? Yes and no. They are connected and they’re independent. For Kanye, it was difficult to pry them apart. He seems to project himself via his various endeavours (music, shoe fashion, etc), many are bold, ambitious but uncomfortably self-indulgent. It’s obvious on later releases, not so much on The College Dropout imho. Overall: 4/10
Really not my thing
A meandering, anti-intellectual concept album covered in the grime of misogyny is sadly not saved by the instrumental production.
A couple of ok hip hop tracks early on but mostly just merged into one big mess
Yet another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex I was going to skip this one, coz Kanye West is a bit of a knobhead these days, but then I wondered if I was missing something with it, so had a listen... it started off fine for a hip hop pop rap album, but once the skits bled too much into the later tracks, I lost all interest.
4/10 I don't get the love for Kanye West. Jesus walks is kind of interesting. The rest is...meh 4-19-2024
You cannot deny that Kanye West is talented. This album has some really interesting samples and music riffs. It’s such a shame that he has such mental health issues that have been allowed to go untreated for so long.
It was okay. I am not sure why this was a #2 album in the US, but then again, rap isn't really my style.
shut up you prick
Sounded self important
Exceptional rhymes and great beats but I can't listen to this without thinking about how much I hate this guy.
no words
Enjoyed it more than I thought I would (considering it reminded me of village hall parties as a 15 y/o). I think there are just so many better rap albums and I couldn't help compare. Enjoyed some of the ambition, including the 12 min skit to finish...
meh, beats were good but i wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it
Musically there's some interesting things. Lyrics are a big turn-off.
I finally learned what PhD stands for thanks Kanye
This is a great album, but I can’t support Ye’s crazy ass
This was a good album. And then the last track made me want to punch him in the face.
Can't like it
Never
Didn't listen but it's Kanye West so can imagine
Nope
Have not heard these songs before. I didn't mind them, but knowing a bit about Kanye West is was a distraction. I would not add this to a playlist because of his image, and some of his public statements.
School spirit was good
I can’t get past his politics. Just can’t do it
Disclaimer: I've literally never paid attention to Kanye. Not before or after he did/said whatever he seems to have said. Couldn't name a single song (until someone told me Gold Digger was his). I'm as blank of a slate as you can be. Please don't hate on me if I make any positive comments. Overall, this is a hip hop album that is more on the pop side than I usually prefer (hip pop). It isn't really my thing but there are certainly some nice tracks. I totally get why it is (was?) popular. It does not lead me to believe that I would like other Kanye albums. 1 - Useless intro. Auto skip in the future. 2 - Fine track. Had a beat. I don't really pay a lot of attention to lyrics. 3 - Annoying interlude. Auto skip in the future. 4 - The female vocals are nice. The beat is catchy. Best track so far. 5 - I won't even comment on further interludes if I don't think they contribute positively to the album. At least this one is musical. 6 - Tried to get into this one but didn't really like it at first. Later on it gets a bit better with more of a swing beat and backing vocals. 7 - Interesting beat with the low vocals; very militaristic with the snare. Never really developed into something I liked. 8 - This has a nice sound to it. Another favorite for this album. 9 - Immediately not really a fan of this as a whole. I cannot identify which guest artists is which but the first one's flow was really nice. 11 - The autotune section towards the end of the track with the simple 4-on-the-floor actually kinda worked for me. 12 - The intro detracts from it and then there isn't anything special about the track either. 13 - Nothing special here. 15 - This is kind of a jam. Probably the 3rd best track? 18 - This is a fine track so far. 19 - The chorus is good but I'm honestly not sure why this is so popular. It's fine. 20 - This beat just doesn't work great for me. Honestly it sounds a bit sloppy/off. I'm sure it is just an off-beat thing I wouldn't have the vocabulary to describe but I know I don't enjoy it. 21 - Well this started off stupid (maybe it's supposed to be funny?). These tracks that mix music and interludes don't work for me. If I wanted to listen to an interview, I'd listen to an interview. Holy shit I can't believe he's still talking/complaining... can I skip to the end? No? Shit.
I didn’t want to like it ,but I did. I give 4 to the album but minus 2 for the artist.
Alguna se salva, otras me dan pereza - 6
Really just not my thing
Just. Not. For. Me.
Maybe 1-2 good songs, otherwise the whole album is just not for me.
This album has some deep topics and a different way of discussing them. I am not a rap fan but this album has some cred.
Just so much nonsense chatter. The music was not awful, just obscured by the noise.
I don't like kanye
This should be good ... Can we seperate the art from the artist????!?!! K so i'm a few tracks in and i like the lyrics. The beats aren't too interestin compared to more old school kind of stuff. Guess he makes them himself rather than str8 up samplin. Not sure i will revisit this one, it's funny in bits. Just hard to take Kanye seriously now he's a nazi
Klingt teilweise echt cool (z.B. workout plan) aber lyrics sind dann eher meh und Kanye selbst halt auch.
I’ve never heard this before. Typically, electronic music (nearly or all digital) and most rap don’t hold my interest long. But I will give it a listen today and report back. (Also, there is the fact that the artist’s personal life choices are going to impact my take on this record - I cannot simply ignore that fact.) OK I made it to “Jesus Walks” and have not finished the album. I really enjoyed this version of “I’ll Fly Away”, being a huge fan of New Orleans style traditional jazz. I enjoy the hooks and can appreciate the artistry at work in the writing and performing, but I want to say…this album is not meant for me. I’m a 47 year old white guy who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. I’m glad the album exists and means so much to so many people. I simply could not get into it.
Ahhh... Kanye before falling off the deep end. I am not the target audience but can appreciate the solid beats.
oh dear. my last album of the year is Kanye's very overrated debut... Kanye is an absolute degenerate, but even putting that to the side here, this is still pretty mid. there ARE a couple lowkey bangers tho, but that's only like 4 songs, the rest are lame as fuck. the last track is literally 13 minutes of rambling nonsense with a beat whacked on top of it. it isnt even a song. fuck off, i dont care about your "issues with promotions" mate. 2/5 overrated as shit
A long and painful listening experience. Not my thing. [0101/1001]
did not like the pop stuff earlier on the album at all. Indie rockers got into Kanye and I kept hearing that he was a production genius and then something that sounded like it could be Justin Timberlake would play. A bunch in the middle is ok. Nothing exciting for me, won't listen to it again. hated. (⌐▤_▤)
Uneventful Hiphop
I like the music and the production but I’ve always found his delivery to be too flat
-1 star for crazy
I'm not a rap fan and I'm definitely not a fan of Kanye the man so it was hard to get past that to be fair and give the music a chance. For fans of the genre I get the appeal. The R&B/soul aspect made this album more musical and interesting than many rap offerings but it still wasn't my thing.
Not a big fan of Kanye
Kanye always felt overrated for me, sure he’s got a few good songs, even has a good album, but this isn’t it. That being said, it’s not horrible, plenty of worse stuff on this list
I have never intentionally listened to Kanye. I would never listen to Kanye by choice. Not my thing. I think he is whiny. I liked some of the music and the beats but could do without a lot of the vocals and most of the interludes. Even tho I'm not a fan of most rap/hip hop, tho I could tell it was "dated" aka of another era sound-wise. Again, I wish there were half stars. I don't think this sucks, so I don't wanna give it a 1. But it's' not quite a 2 for me, but I'll give it a 2 cos it was not awful. I felt it went on about 3 songs too long tho.
An incredibly underwhelming album. I often felt I was forcing myself to listen to it. There were a few good lines, but that’s it. I acknowledge its cultural relevance as Kanye’s first album and its influence on rap culture. Perhaps I would enjoy it more if I paid more attention to the lyrics