The College Dropout

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

I liked the Jesus Walks song, but otherwise I'm not a fan of Kanye.

Je m'attendais honnêtement à plus. J'ai trouvé ça unidimensionnel et répétitif. Je trouve que le rap de Kanye est tellement monotone et inintéressant. La production est quand même bien, mais elle est très safe, ça parait que c'est son premier album. J'ai préféré Yeezus car au moins la production était beaucoup plus impressionnante. 4/10

It was okay, but not something I would revisit. I wasn't a huge fan.

alleen through the wire nice, niet echt mijn confiture

It's not awful, but it's not good, and like a lot of hip-hop records it is overly long (75 mins) and has the weird spoken word segments and skits between some tracks. I don't get it.

Eh

Not for me

It might be the best of its genre. Doesn’t matter to me.

The track with Lauryn Hill is good. There's even a spiritual in there somewhere. But the rest is Kayne being full of himself.

A little disappointed with this one. After hearing MDATF and Graduate first this was kinda boring. It definitely has the 'debut' troubles, where you can hear echoes what they become but it's still very rough comparatively. Might listen again but not soon. 2

2.5 Hooooooooo boy. I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I guess I’ll start with this - fuck Kanye. The dude is a bigoted tool, and I think it's totally fair and understandable to hate this album for that reason alone. That being said, while I would definitely rate Kanye the person a fat 1, I just don’t think I can say the same thing about this album. First impressions - while I’m not grading on this factor, I have to acknowledge how incredibly influential this album was on hip hop. It marks a departure from hardened, violent gangster rap that ruled the 90s and early 00s and a shift towards a style more representative of the everyman, including middle-class college dropouts like Kanye. It also pioneered the production technique chipmunk soul, something I had never heard of going into this, but once I learned it refers to the sped up, high-pitched vocal samples in the background, it occurred to me how much I hear it in hip hop music today. Topically, I appreciated the range of subject matter touched upon throughout, especially with how naturally one social issue seemingly flows into another. While I didn’t really care for the stretch of more sexual stuff in the middle, the tracks more focused on consumerism and higher education stuck out to me as having strong lyricism mixed with some moments of actual insight… though, emphasis on “some”. While I share many of the criticisms Kanye directs at these topics, the further into the album you get, the more his takes feel projective, self-validating, and preachy - especially as the skits come into play. All that aside though, my actual favorite track here was Jesus Walks, which was a bit surprising given that I’m not particularly religious myself. The beats and backing choir are great, though I can’t not mention the bar “So here go my single, dawg, radio needs this/They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, videotape/But if I talk about God my record won't get played, huh?” Ohhh Kanye, if only that was the reason your records aren’t getting played today. Towards the end this album starts to feel a bit long, and right when I was ready for things to start wrapping up, I was smacked in the face with 12 straight minutes of Kanye trying to tell everyone how great he is and “I told you so” to those who didn’t believe in his success. It’s just a bit too self-indulgent - though I don’t know why I expected this to end any other way. All that said, think we’re going to land in the middle here with a 2.5. I actually liked it quite a bit more than I thought I would, though there was just as much that I disliked. Even if you don’t want to factor in Kanye’s behavior outside of the album, there’s still a bit of his persona here that left a bad taste in my mouth. Terrible person, but not a bad hip hop album, especially given its influence and the fact that it’s a debut no less. If it makes me a bad person to say this album isn’t bad, so be it, but I gotta speak my truth here. So, thanks for the album, Kanye, but please go away now.

This guy is so freaking whiny and the beats are so jumbled with unnecessary samples.

Nah. Lots of tonal changes with serious notes and comedic lyrics. Don't think I can get behind supporting Kanye though

For the love of the wee man, how in the blue blazes of all that is fucking holy did Kanye manage to convince people he was good? This is terrible. Lucky he got better as he went on.

A few highlights. Not my cuppa

Blue Scholars vibes, especially the opening track and some flow hallway through the album. Gives similar upbeat 2000s summer feel, but is nowhere near the lyrical content of Blue Scholars. Decent album, a couple of bangers, don't care for skits. It is Kanye though, you can definitely hear the ego throughout, but significantly more humble than 2023 Kanye.

I'm trying to ignore how much i dislike him as a human (BTW, mental health is a very serious problem and should not be ignored) but it's just music I cant connect with. I just didn't like it.

Couple of good tracks, otherwise kind of a slog.

Not that interested. More like anecdotes of an angry man set to music. Not worth the reputation.

Pros: Admittedly I have never listened to a Kanye album before now. I like the sound, it’s fun to listen to, better than I anticipated. Cons: I can’t really relate to most of the things he raps about, and I have a difficult time getting past Kanye being Kanye… I wish entertainers would just stick to what they’re good at.

This album was not made for me. I didn't connect to it's religious motifs or personally relate to its description of black Americans culture, struggles, oppression. Absolutely not holding that against it, I didn't really care for his tone (it felt monotone and staccato in a bad way frequently) & the album was SO long. I don't want to rate the first non-rock album I finally get low but I just don't fuck with Kanyes less like "pop hits single on the radio" stuff (maybe with repeated listens but idk)

Some good points from the collab artists but I don't like Kanye either in his music or his off putting personality so there is zero chance I'll come back to this, I have more fulfilling things to do such as get a root canal.

I've never listened to a Kanye album before, the only song I recognized was "through the wire" it was ok as an album overall. Beats were good rapping was decent, all the guest appearances were better than anything Kanye rapped. So overall meh, not going to give another listen

Its production is much more interesting and unique than most rap albums on here, but it’s still not for me.

BEST SONGS: -All Falls Down -Get Em High

Ik probeerde hier met redelijk open mind in te gaan. Het begon best prima opzich, al excelleerde het nergens. En toen kwam er een tirade over diploma's en wat niet, toen was ik er wel klaar mee. Ja we snappen het Kanye, jij bent vast veel slimmer dan iedereen en hebt college niet afgemaakt, maar kom op, je hoeft je niet zoveel beter dan iedereen te voelen. Stomme gay fish. 2 sterren.

My second Kanye album, and I'm rating it the same as the first. Seems like the guy has always been a dumbass, just a musically talented dumbass. Lyrics are just embarrassing. "The drug game bulimic, it's hard to get weight So nigga's money is homo, it's hard to get straight" "Ooh girl your breath is harsh! Cover your mouth up like you got SARS" Glorifying drug dealing, discouraging kids from going to college, and many, many other things I just can't relate to in this. The album closes with a super long story about how he got a record contract with a beat underneath. I'm sure this won't be the last Kanye West album I'll be forced to endure, unfortunately.

R&B Rap ja pop tyylinen sampläys.. Hyvä albumi nautinnollinen

Not my cup of tea.

Same as I said on the other Kanye album... Many of the more tolerable moments involved guest vocalists.

No thanks

Passable, if I ignore the talking sections. 2.5*

Not as good as the twisted fantasy one. That one had a vibe, this one seems a bit more rambling…

Better than expected

Even though I know he is a very well-known public figure and there seems to be no shortage of commentary on him, I must admit I know almost nothing about his music or his life. It's not some statement on my part; just sort of fell into place that way and I have not yet felt compelled to learn more. For whatever that might mean, this is my first listen (at least that I'm aware of) to any of his music. There seem to be some parts that make this at least in part a comedy album, but when it's on the music side of things, there are some really nice tracks in there. It's a bit more groovy and soul-like -- even some gospel and gospel-influence blues, too -- than most of the rap I've heard, and from what the Wikipedia article tells me there are quite a few contributing artists on this album. I don't know enough about him to be able to tell if the religious themes are part of the comedy or if he is (or at least at the time of this album, was) really religious. I don't listen to any religious music, so it's not my area of expertise. Overall, a little frenetic at times and, frankly, the comedy bits are a little boring to me, as are some of the songs, but it's somewhat entertaining.

Not Kanye again please

oh thank fuck I'd already heard this so I don't have to listen to it now for this dumb challenge

A couple bright spots, but you definitely expect more from a self-proclaimed “genius”. Also, if you look at the album credits, apparently it takes 95 people to make an album.

Pretty cheesy album. Beats were the best part. I’m sure this was revolutionary for middle and high school kids in 2004, but doesn’t really age well in my opinion.

Interesting

Positives: I really like most of the actual songs on the album. Through the Wire grew on me a ton and on my last listen was probably my favourite. I like the gospel choir he uses occasionally. Negatives: Fuck Kanye. The skits are just awful, ruins the flow of the album. Last Call... I have no words. The concept is stupid. Fuck Kanye. I feel like Slow Jamz isn't too far off from being a Flight of the Conchords song. Hearing Ludacris transported me back to high school. Would give this a higher rating if it wasn't for all the 'extra-curriculars'.

- all falls down

De pop-invloeden in nummers zoals 'Never Let Me Down' het fijner om naar te luisteren dan andere Hiphop albums. Dat is namelijk niet mijn favoriete genre. Wel vind ik dat muziek niet compleet los kan worden bekeken van de artiest, zeker niet als veel nummers gebaseerd zijn op persoonlijke politieke/religieuze geloven. En door Kanye West zijn recentere uitspraken heeft dat toch een flinke negatieve invloed op mijn beoordeling.

Debuutalbum Kanye West, autobiografisch met verwijzingen naar social issues. Opgevuld met skits, alles rond het thema van college. Muzikaal goed maar naar mijn smaak te cynisch over hoger onderwijs. - leukste nummer: All Falls Down Opvallend genoeg met bijdrage van Israëlische artiest Miri Ben-Ari

went into this with an open mind but, Christ, this is terrible. bland smug irritating juvenalia. I guess this confirms my prejudice about post-2000 pop music, hip hop in particular. consumerist trash composed by a tedious dickhead, the aural equivalent of his ex-wife

Not a Kanye fan

Honestly liked the collaborative songs better than the songs with just West singing/rapping. Something about West's voice is just grating to me. Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Mos Def made this album better though.

I quite enjoyed the tunes and lyrics. It's not my usual style, but there's a lot of depth to explore here. I could do without some of the irritating sketches in-between tracks. But this was uplifting and pretty much hit the spot on an optimistic blue sky day. The gospel overtones were particularly welcome. It's didn't half drag on though. I'm not sure how it all went so wrong for Kanye.

Not my thing Better stuff than later material Some decent songs. Nothing rememberable

Its Kanye so I can't say I really like it, but I can see the value.

200 years later

It's sad to hear powerful anti-racist songs when he's become an unhinged antisemite. Then he hits out with misogynist songs and diminishes how great this album should be.

Ok

I wish I had listened to this before Kanye came out as a Nazi. It feels like it could've been an album I enjoyed, but at this point most of his songs' messages just feel like preludes to his bigotry. 2/5 since I can see the potential if I had listened to the album before he went off the deep end

Hard to enjoy knowing who made it, but godamn it do bop.

Não me atraiu muito não.... Uma ou duas músicas achei okay, mas não favoritei nenhuma

So, I can definitely hear in this album how Kanye's style was unique and part of the reshaping of hip-hop music during this timeframe. And with his debut album, he came out of the gate with innovations in the genre. But musically, I really just wasn't that interested in this.

no

For all of his production skills, Kayne is not a good singer or rapper. Unfortunately he's also not an actor or comedian either so the skits on this are so cringey.

Listened Before? N First of all, Kanye is crazy as fuck. I do not condone his actions or personal life.... ANYWAY, attempting to separate the artist from the art, this album is pretty solid. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, per-se but I did find myself un-annoyed by it. I got excited when someone came out spitting fire on "Never Let Me Down"... then I realized it was Jay-Z not Kanye so that makes sense. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Never Let Me Down

although i hate him more than anything which makes him a -♾️ some songs (like all falls down) i don’t despise. it only brings him up one though.

I'm not listening to Kanye West right now. The guy needs serious mental health attention. I used to love this album but he's been so shitty as a person I find it really difficult to ignore and just enjoy the music. I don't think Kanye is the genius he claims to be, even musically. He's a great producer and has made some really solid albums but until he takes care of himself and stops with all the hate speech and idiocy, I don't have time for him or his music. Score reflects that I used to love this album but not enough to listen to it through the bullshit Kanye is up to.

Some very good music, but ruined by the main man.

Quand même bon, j'avais déjà écouté... bon chipmunk rap

Never understood the hype of Kanye west. Think I'm just not that into pop.

Not the hugest rap fan but I knew most of these songs so must have listened when I was a kid. That being said, I can't give it more than two stars because Kayne is a bad person.

3/16, 19%

Music is OK, but not amazing and Kanye is too annoying for me. I don't get it

The lyricism and flow is so superior to his later material, but the production is so dull and actually sounds pretty dated at this point. I think i'd take the more scattered vocals with the wild production of his later albums than this safer, more consistent, Kanye.

There’s a lot going on here. The music is well-done. I felt like I should be enjoying the experience because of the quality of the production. I wasn’t. It didn’t help that I’m not a big fan of the chipmunk voice effect (I’m livid about what “School Spirit” did to Aretha’s “Spirit in the Dark”! Please let me unhear that!). It also didn’t help that the last song had me trapped for days listening to him go on and on and on about something… The skits felt gimmicky and annoyed me. The album went on far too long. In the end I felt trapped in a talented artist’s self-indulgent ego-trip.

I guess I can see why people praise this so much. Jesus Walks is a great song. There's some good beats here, and a lot of very talented rhymes. But there's so much bloat; the skits are beyond useless and there's a handful of songs that should have been left off. And like every other mainstream rap album, there's way too many featured performers. Overall, too much focus on being poppy and clever, not enough on actual hip-hop. And I'll never praise an album with this many uses of the n-word. It's horribly ignorant for rappers to continue to spew that shit. The word needs to be expunged from the English language just like we're doing with other slurs, not preserved for use by certain people.

The debut album of a egocentric man trying to be intellectual. Helps that this album is less written by Kanye himself and they are plenty of guests. I like also like the background voices. Extra point for the production

aldri vore ein kanye-person, men da va ikkje så ille som eg frykta

Nice, bare ein sang igjen Sangen: nesten 13 min

Kanye just isn't for me, despite his regular public combustions. I know he's very influential and all that, but his self aggrandizing quickly becomes grating

Nou dat viel me niet tegen. Wat heeft die Kanye veel te vertellen zeg!

Niet heel boeiend, afgezien van 'Jezus walks'... Eigenlijk zijn er maar 2 echt briljante platen van 'Ye', voor de rest is alleen maar hier en daar iets leuk.

Ik hoor echt wel leuke dingen, en heb zowaar bijna driekwart van de plaat weggeluisterd. Maar ik kan gewoon niet onbevooroordeeld naar die rare pipo luisteren.

Some of the background melody was alright and it’s not too “rappy” nevertheless I fail to see the attraction and I confess I gave up just after half way. I’m going to be mean 2 because it didn’t hurt my ears !

The odd song was quite catchy but not a huge fan.

It had some good beats and some songs were pleasant to listen to. It also had some very annoying parts. Almost a 3, but that last song pissed me off enough to drop it to a 2. I'm sorry Kanye, I just don't care.

Already listened to it

Nope

At least I came to this after he became and out-and-out dick, so I don’t have to pretend to like it.

sounds ok, nothing worth remembering. simple Never Let Me Down stands out! Other songs feel filler

Tónlistin er ekki slæm. Röflið í mest pirrandi tónlistarmanni nútímans er slæmt. Þurfti að þræla mér í gegnum þetta.

First of all, I dislike Kayne West, the person, his politics, his ego and his whole arrogant persona. Secondly, I dislike his music and I absolutely can't stand any "music" that overuses auto-tune, and for that matter, ANY music that uses auto-tune! Thirdly, I don't hate it as much as I could have, because there are some redeeming qualities to it as his full blown ego hasn't taken over yet. I haven't fully listened to any of his followup records, but they must be worst. Fourthly, anyone married (past or present) to a Kardashian gets minus (-) stars. Fifthly, the guy in the bear suit gets a star for looking how I feel after listening to this album.

Ok

No oddio, ci sono due grossi malus: hip hop, ma soprattutto kanye west che mi sta sul cazzo. È orecchiabile ma mi fa venire il magone st'omo.

I've photographed Kanye a couple of times and it was fun. Fun for the spectacle and ridiculousness of it all. Fun for 20 minutes but watching it afterwards it all became a bit boring. Inside this 21 track, 76 minute album, there's probably a fairly ok 10 track, 45 minute album trying to get out. At least half of this is just unnecessary.

Not for me

Niet mijn favoriete muziekstijl, maar wel interessant gebruik van samples

Oh dear Kanye, what did you do....? you gotta have some principles, that populist crap wasn't anywhere near in this his first album. Not to my taste and wouldn't be on my list.

Manchmal überraschend lustig und selbstironisch, sonst meh

meh

Kanye heeft mij met dit album niet kunnen overtuigen. Dat het revolutionair was kan ik wel begrijpen

inte för mig men inte helt sämst

well, i'm glad this one's over. full disclosure: i've never cared for kanye. i'm sure this was super influential in its time, but christ is this guy a jackass. i suspect he's always been a jackass, and we're just seeing more of it now. i did love, just about a year after this album came out, when he went off-book during the fundraiser for katrina. his callout was spot-on, even if his delivery was kinda...dumb. but then just a few years later he hops up on stage to talk about how amazing beyonce is, and says god told him to do it..and then whatever happened after that. i did like school spirit. that was fun. but of course, it was a bit of a departure from the rest of the album. sigh.

Eh, Kanye

Rapping and production are decent. I still find Kanye unabearable.

Oh Boy 1 hour and 16 minutes of Kanye West. "Once more unto the breach" I guess. Starts off with some stumbling parody of a dialogue, already hate it. Okay I have to admit it has a good flow and rhythm to it.

Loaded content, lots of emotions, but still not my preferred way if having them shared to me.

I didn't find this as mind blowing as other people seem to.

Didn’t hate it, just would never really listen to it

Hmmm. Too long, some good bits, but too much.

Not my thing.

2/5 I thought there was something there, but eventually there wasn't

Not a fan of Kanye, so this was a bit of  a struggle for me. Some ok songs, especially the ones with other on it,  Get Em High was good . Bit overall not for me at all!

OK, I guess. Don't care for it, but the genre's not my thing.

Tiene alguna cosilla interesante, pero nada más

Was not feeling this.

Chato!

I hate skits.

I expected it to be worse, it is quite smart. I definetly enjoyed the melodic songs more than the rap.

Meah. The singles were great but the rest of it I couldn’t get into.

never got what's so great in kanye west, decent top40 music and hardly anything I can remember

Cannot STAND Kanye West.

Nah

Pish

will not listen.

Unfortunately I cannot rate this as a zero. Did not listen to this and will not listen to anything by Kanye West.

No nazi trash

So far, only "All Falls Down" and "Spaceship" have really stood out to me. I'm not enjoying the album that much overall, and I think part of it is Kanye's vocal style—it just doesn't click with me. The melodies and featured artists are generally good, and the lyrics are decent, but nothing has grabbed me enough to want to revisit the entire album. I could see it working as background music, but I don't think I'd listen to the full album again.

Just like kid rock Will not be giving kanye any streaming time. Fuck this guy

642/1001 2026.06.23 🌑🌑🌑🌑🌑 No soporto este estilo, y no tolero a nazis. No voy a gastar ni 5 segundos es escuchar a este mierda.

Had to fish out my old bootleg CD I burned back in 2007 so I wouldn't give streaming revenue. College Dropout-era Kanye would've written a whole diss album about Ye for how much of a cringey bigoted sellout he became. Would've been 5 stars from me if you asked 5-6 years ago. It's unfortunate to see such pure talent put into this art comes from the "Scoop-diddy-poop" guy in the black Klansman robes. One star for being a MAGA shithead. No idea how someone who wrote The College Dropout and Graduation can be the one cranking out garbage and ranting about Jews on Twitter. He can try to hide behind his bipolar disorder now because he lost so much revenue, but I don't buy that. Your mental health is NOT your fault, but it IS your responsibility.

Stay in school.

Fasciste.

Bad.

I wasn't in the mood to waste my time on this... sorry, but no, sorry! I'm sick of getting dragged into controversies! Kanye was never my type, especially now that he's shown himself to be the stupid jerk he is! I’d give it a zero if I could! In fact, I’m starting to get tired of all this Anglo-Saxon stuff: I’m sure there’s much more interesting music in the world than what’s on this list—or is the idea to always stay inside the same bubble?

I don't need to engage with Kanye, thank you. I'm sure his music is good and a thing of its time. Instead of listening to this, I listened to For You by Tatsuro Yamashita since City Pop is probably not on the list. Good stuff, very entertaining!

Nazis get 1.

Terrible. Horrid. Untalented

Ik weiger sorry

Ja nee not doing that

Ik wil niet eens GECATCHED worden dat ik hiernaar luister op airbuds of spotify vrienden

Guess I need to stand with the hard pass people!

Booooo

Can't get into this one.

Fuck man, why did you have to be insane...

I’ve already given this man steaming income off one album for this project. I will not give another. A pity-he’s got some talent, but I couldn’t even. I got ice cream instead. The ice cream was 5/5: earl grey with shortbread crumbles and raspberry jam, inspired by the jammy dodger cookie.

I don't listen to Kanye west

How do you separate the art from the artist? Shame he went so badly down the rabbit hole. Perhaps be was always like that. Opinions are irrelevant, it's getting a 1 even if the actual art is better.

~ INCOMPLETE ~ not streaming atm. will circle back

Not for me

I can see why he got big, but I've never cared for or about Kanye outside of a song or two maybe.

Hip Hop, 60 eme album =>1/5

Another music icon I know nothing about. I let the music do the talking and find there’s not much here for me. As usual the rap albums made in this era mixes in some R&B which should make the backing tracks more interesting but always end up sounding so boring. Also the usual bragging and “n” words just sours the whole vibe. No wonder youth culture is so fucked up these days if this garbage is what they’re putting on a pedestal. I really hope the other albums get better because listening to this was a really lame experience.

If this was by any other artist it'd likely be a strong three-star album. But Jesus, if any artist was worthy of a zero-star rating, it'd be Kanye.

The hardest part of this was listening to each track for less than 30 seconds so that the douchebag wouldn’t get paid. Can’t separate the art from the artist which is a shame because it’s good music and the collabs are fire.

I have him blocked, which is a shame bc I used to really enjoy his music before all that stuff. Why can't I give 0 stars?

I was very reluctant to give Kanye any time or streams but for completion's sake I did it. It was long. A few 2000s classics at the start but mainly just him coming across as already not a very nice guy tbh. Not great rap because it's so full of other random stuff.

I have a really specific memory of a girl giving me this CD to listen to in first year maths because we were both 13 and having a friendly argument about how our respective favourite music (me: punk rock; her: hip hop) were the true genre to give voice to social commentary. It didn’t win me over then and it doesn’t now but my opinions on hip hop have obviously soften, as I’m sure have hers on punk rock. Anyway I was pretty sure she liked girls so I asked her if she wanted to go to the movies with me and she said “I’m not a fucking dyke”. I didn’t even have a crush on her, I just wanted to talk to other queer girls. Turns out she is fully a lesbian and now I’m married to a man. Life’s strange journey, eh? I’m not rating this because listening to Kanye during this period of his life is a huge buzzkill.

No thank you!

Review Kanye West. ‘We don’t care’ track to sum up my feelings of this album before starting it however I found myself bouncing along to this track. ‘Graduation’ started with a what the fuck was that Kanye comment, my thoughts entirely 😳 ‘All falls down’ features a nice female vocal. ‘Jesus walks’ a track I remember from the mid 00s and it’s not got any better listening to it 20 years later. ‘Workout plan’ I’m not entirely sure what’s going on by this stage of the album, women thanking Kanye for a workout plan that’s made them the envy of their friends, rapping about Michael Jackson two songs in a row and Halle Berry getting shoehorned in too. Then as the tracks go on I hear rapping about a nap sack sprayer, lots of talk of degrees and not working and a lot of rapping about niggers, women and college. The rest of the album just seemed to mould into one constant noise and by the time the album had finished I was relieved. Not my cup of tea but I can appreciate the production of the album was on point and at times it was easy listening. The best track been ‘we don’t care’ Hopefully tomorrow’s offering will be more up my street. Best track - we don’t care. Worst track- lil Jimmy skit. 1.5/10

Kanye - A lesson in how to make 20 minutes of music stretch to 4 times that length with pointless dicking around nonsense. Occasionally I would find something I liked but then I would remember what a horrible example of a human being he is.

nazi scum

Nope. Not listening Hard pass. No streaming revenue for bigots.

Nope. All Kanye West goes in the garbage now.

Fuck Kanye

no. for obvious reasons I am absolutely not listening this album

это надо объяснять? поставил бы 0

På Yeezus fanns ändå nånting i den nedstrippade vågade produktionen. Här finns absolut ingenting. Det har inte ens kvalitet som listpop i dom mest hjärndöda sell-out alstren. Jag vill inte ens kalla det här för hiphop. Jag var inne på det i Frank Ocean kritiken, hur neo-soul och hiphop flyter ihop till nån urvattnad sörja, mycket av detta har vi att skylla Kanye för, kanske börjar det här. Det tog i stort sett död på den ganska spännande neo-soulen som fanns runt den här tiden och en stor del av den i alla fall kommersiella hiphopen gick helt vilse i den där sörjan. Vi måste också återigen betona vilken usel MC mr. West är, det märks om inte annat tydligt när Talib kommer in och gästar. Jag vet nog faktiskt ingen som är sämre än Kanye på rak arm. Jättelångt är det också till på köpet. Jättedåligt

Follow your leader

I'm not sure if it was because I was aware that it was a nazi album playing at me that made me not enjoy this, but I was surprised that I didn't enjoy this as much as I didn't.

Kanye West is a reprehensible individual. Not my type of music either.

No. On principle.

no voy a escuchar a esta sw, aunque su musica sea buena, no me interesa.

No

This was the first time that I listened to a Kanye West song. He has a great talent for rhyming, but I really can not understand the choice of themes and content for his songs. Ugly cover, stupid intro and humour. 1. 25 / 5

I did not listen to this waste of space

I love Jesus Walks, but Kanye doesn't get any money from me. Won't even give this a listen

Pass

Rap. Fattar inte storheten. Gäsp. Etta

Don't like rap and although he is a very a talented musician and wordsmith he has some serious flaws as a human being. I tried to listen to entire album but 2 1/2 songs in was the limit.

muss ich nicht unterstützen

Je ne souhaite pas l'écouter 😒

Kanye’s on my block list. Fuck Nazis

It's such a relief to listen to this for the first time and realise he's a mediocre rapper

im not interested in listening to Ye now for obvious reasons

Listened to the first song and it was actually painful

No.

this had absolutely no business being this long…….. this was just so bad

No.

From the time before he became a nazi A third of the album is odd short spoken word segments I do like Jesus Walks, but the rest is not really my thing Maybe 'cause I ain't no nigga dawg

This gets 1 star because Kanye West is fucking insane. But like, damn, this album is still amazing and would get 5 if Kanye wasn't Kanye. Jesus Walks is an all timer, We Don't Care and School Spirit are great, and Last Call just being a 12 minute interview over a beat is a really fun thing to listen to. Don't be a weirdo nazi shithead tho.

Next

Nope. F*** Kanye

Didn't listen and never will.

Yeah, a common refrain throughout my reviews is ideological agreement != enjoyment, the corollary does not hold, I cannot give West any credit for writing good music. Is he the only monster on this list, no, call it recency bias but I won't positively review a Kanye West album, regardless of how good it is. 1/5

Used to be a big Kanye fan in high school but I can't support him anymore

ew

Mental illness is not an excuse for antisemitism and fascism. I can’t listen to this album without the weight of the horrible things he’s done ringing in my ears. Just no.

wouldn’t give this a star if i could. did not listen

I don’t think Kanye understands that in college, one learns to continue to learn. You learn how to make a habit of learning. That’s the real value. Predatory as some Universities can be, this rage about how college is a sham that will devastate you is a very destructive message. This mentality cripples you in a vital developmental time in your life. I mean, dude’s a nazi, so how intelligent can he be? Fuck Kanye. Boycott until society collectively forgets him.

This is not an album I needed to play. It's the product of a seriously disturbed man with an affection for Nazi politics.

Thanks but no thanks, it just doesn’t work for me.

trash

Last week I had albums by Eric Clapton and Morrissey, so I guess we’re on a racist streak here lately. Unlike those two, Kayne doesn’t suck, musically speaking anyway. He’s a better producer than he is a rapper, but that’s mitigated here by how many other and better rappers there are on this record. And none of it is good enough to justify listening to this record in view of Kayne’s later very public descent into antisemitic psychosis.

What a relief, a record of Kanye West. The greatest relief is that I don't even feel obliged to listen to his utterly crap, because I promised myself never to sponsor his bigot, antisemitic and narcissistic ass by any means, even if it is 0,0005 cents from me listening to his sh*t on Spotify. Apart from that, his music sucks. 0/5

Very good, I like it a lot.

I don't appreciate this style of music at all. Too much swearing, sounds auto tuney, rap is not my jive. Understand the message but only as an observer, not as a lived reality.

Don't listen to nazis

No escucho a subnormales.

The album is really well done. There are numerous hits on here and getting some pretty heavy hitters to guest on some songs was a great idea. This is Kanye at his best. It's too bad he turned into such a piece of shit. 4/5 album, 0/5 human, probably won't listen again

0/5. Not supporting his inclusion The album is a 6/10, but I am a bit biased with rating it due to current events. If he got his shit back together (which I hope he can), might even be a 7-8/10.

Das höre ich mir nicht an. 0 Sterne.

Neću uopće komentirati. 1/5, 1/10

I dont support nazis

Fuck Kanye

Kanye West is one of the most overrated artists in music history, and I'm not even saying that being influenced by how much of an egotistical piece of work he has become. I always try to separate the art from the artist where I can, and even still, I can't do this record. The autotune is egregious, the songs are honestly bland, and his lyrics are honestly nothing to write home about. Okay, so he tries out a few different styles on this record to showcase his creativity, but there's no real focus to it. Ye, like Diddy and Dre before him, is essentially another producer who reckons they can also cut it as a rap artist. And yet, 'The College Dropout' has such rave reviews. Rolling Stone has this record at 74 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time...I'm sorry, what? Now, am I being so critical because I dislike rap/hip hop? No. I've actually come to appreciate how unique and influential the genre is, and there's plenty of 90s hip hop that I actually look on rather favourably. I just don't get why Ye is so highly regarded? He doesn't exactly break any ground with 'The College Dropout', but the success of it catapaulted him into superstardom. I just don't get it. I'll say one thing nice about 'The College Dropout: it's well produced I spose. But yeah, Kayne West....overrated, problematic and downright plaqued by a god complex. I do wonder when he'll get the Diddy treatment? Best songs: Are you joking?

Separate the man from the art? Not this time

Bitch no.

This guy is a nazi. You often hear "yeah Kanye sucks/is a nazi but he made College Dropout!" grow up. Listen to the Roots if you want good alternative hip hop from the early 2000's that didn't involve gangsta rap/excessive bravado. Fuck this piece of shit.

No.

blabla geweldige producent etc ik heb het geluisterd maar nul interesse om me te verdiepen of het goed te vinden

Nah. Wont listen to this.

I enjoyed this album a lot first time around - but given he is now a Nazi I will not be listening this time round.

Incredible album - just great stuff. I guess Richard Wagner made some pretty good music too -- here, have this 1, Nazi.

Not even gonna bother, screw this asshole

sry Kanye, but your music sucks

Not listening

Well, I'll do my best to separate art from artist here, but there is a lot to separate. I’ve been avoiding Kanye since long before he became a Nazi; I just cannot stand his narcissistic and egotistical persona. How am I not even halfway through this album yet? This album is too long. Ugh, and just when I thought it was done with annoying skits, another one pops up. Seriously, why do rap albums need skits? I'm also not a fan of this whole "chipmunk soul" style; something about pitched and sped up samples just gets on my nerves after a while. Ok, ok, I'll try to be a bit more positive. I did like this a lot more than some of the previous hip hop albums I've been generated. Lyrically, it's a lot more interesting and it doesn't just devolve into generic gangsta rap cliches. A few tracks stood out too. In particular, I did like School Spirit and Two Words quite a bit. Oh my god, I thought I was almost done, but noticed the last track is almost 13 minutes. I'll say it again, this album is way too long. Oh good, it’s a 13 minute long autobiographical rant/rap? Just what I wanted to listen to from a narcissist. Holy shit, this track just destroyed any positive feelings I had for this album. I genuinely hated that. I tried, but this just isn't for me and Kanye is a fucking tool.

I don't like rap and this album didn't convince me otherwise, it was hard to listen to the end. Rate 2/10

Fck that Nazi

Don’t like kanye

You do learn stuff from an unlikely source just by following this process. Today I learnt that Kanye West is very much a hate figure by a lot of my fellow 1001’s. This surprised me as I thought he was a national treasure. I thought this because my knowledge of West, his contemporaries and the shit music they produce is the size of a gnats cock (as opposed to rappers fascination about penis size) So whilst this crap was on i made a ‘Nazi Bastard’ placard and felt whole lot better. 1/5 6/1/26

Nazi scum fuck off

1 - Hip Hop de mierda

I did like this record wham it came out. Is a 5 star album but I give it one because he is a piece of shit. Fucking Nazi

Fuck this mother fucker. I’m not supporting this Nazi by listening to his music

i don’t listen to music made by nazis

He's a Nazi

Fuck him

refuse to give him streams