The College Dropout

*sigh* This guy. This is not my kinda guy. I'll give the album the appropriate rating since it's genuinely brilliant. But I can't with this dude. Only thing I'll say: Ye get your life together you fucking psychopath.

The ensuing 20+ years have not all been kind, but there's no denying Kanye was in his bag on this one.

Endelig et alternativ til gangsta rappen. Kaney er langt mere intelligent og har en mere nuanceret beskrivelse af “den sorte mands” kamp. Lidt ironisk at kalde Kaney intelligent når man ser ham i dag. Albummet bliver desværre ca. 30 min for langt.

very good Kanye is nasty tho

Still relevant. It did contain too much talking theough the music for my tastes, but overall really nice

Gammal Kanye er dritfett! Digger det her

I don't really know this album. And it's hard to tell how I feel about his work before he went full Howard Hughes, but this is just not a 3.

0 stars for Kanye the person

Kanye west is good at music

It's still a great album, but listening to it is hard considering who Kanye has become. Here he's a relatable, if messy, 20 something angry at the system and trying to find his way into adulthood. His talent is undeniable and he is both confident and totally clueless. I wish I could just enjoy this as the great, influential, tone setting album is was in the early '00s. The cover is also great, a 4/5.

It’s real separating the art from the artist territory. Because Kanye West is a terrible person, but this is a great album.

honestly came into this with an expectation to dislike it given who kanye is now, and previous experience with his music - unfortunately it was very good haha

Never liked the person but appreciate the artist.

Crazy how 20 years ago he dropped one of the best debuts of all time and now…

4.4/5

Great album. Even the skits aren’t too bad.

better than i expected

This was a really interesting album. As much as I hate him, Kanye is so IN his music it's wild. Never seen an artist interject themselves in an album before. Overall, I liked it. It didn't seem to drag too much despite it's 80 minute runtime. I liked "Be" by Common more though.

This was the most challenging album on the list so far. This album is objectively really good, however Kanye in recent years is an admitted nazi. In an attempt to separate the art from the artist. 4/5

I've always hated skits in rap albums, and these really bring it down. The tracks themselves are very good. Too bad Kanye is also a massive POS.

Good album, definitely ahead of its time. Multiple songs that stand up to today.

I wasn't really enjoying it this much initially but eventually got into it. I definitely prefer his later, more maximalist records, and the soul-esque vibe this album has is also not my thing, but the atmosphere was still very pleasant. It's on the longer side, but the songs were pretty consistently enjoyable, so it didn't feel long. I understand what this skits/interludes were supposed to do to the story, but I didn't like them regardless. It felt like they were distracting me from the actual song, and incorporating them into the music (some of them are) would've been better. Although I had some problems with this album, from the artistic standpoint, it's a wonderfully executed project that fully deserves its classic status. Definitely not my type of music, and I didn't get deep into was going on here lyrically since I don't really enjoy listening to vocals, but I fully understand why some people would consider this a masterpiece.

2025-10-15: I am not used to this type of music and I have some bias against it. I enjoyed the second half better, perhaps because of the content or because I turned the volume down (it was getting late). I wasn't attentive to the lyrics, so if that's part of the appeal, I was missing out on it. I feel the cadence that rapping adds to music to be limited, but probably this is true of other kinds of music that I am more keen about. 2025-10-16: I have half skipped through the album on a subpar setting. Today I have found some of the groove and fun I felt on the latter tracks on the first ones. I still feel that rapping isn't something that I will have time stomaching and that will drag down this kind of music for extended/focused listening. However the fun/delight for which I have upped the score in previous albums is somewhere in there, so I won't rate it as a meh this time.

Fun record, I enjoyed the listen. No sure how much i could revisit since it felt a bit long but really glad I was exposed to it.

Ah yes, here comes the token "non classic rock/punk" album to sprinkle in this list. The way this list picks non classic rock/punk albums is the equivalent of someone saying "Oh yeah, I love Rock Music! Have you ever heard of Nirvana or Red Hot Chili Peppers?" The absolute most obvious, stereotypical, every-single-person-on-the-planet-likes-them-you're-not-special picks you could possibly imagine. That said, this album really was a big deal for the Hip-Hop Genre. One of the iconic ones from the Mid-2000s that still mostly holds up to this day. A few duds in the tracklist as there always was, but it still definitely is an important album for the time. Shame it's retroactively tainted by being created by an absolutely despicable cretin.

Thought this was really good to be fair (as Nazi music goes)

Sigh. I know it’s a jokey thing to say, but DAMN, I miss the old Kanye. THIS Kanye! This music is so instrumental (no pun intended) to me as a person. Those first five albums are soundtracks to teenage Brad becoming a young man. As an extremely white kid, Kanye was one of the first rappers that actually made me sit up and pay attention. He was just different at the time. Weird and nerdy and his choruses were so catchy and sing-y and I just felt seen by him in some way. This album is so big and bright and silly and musical. I really wish he had never become what he has become. It’s genuinely depressing. Still too many skits on this thing, tho.

I never like Kanye but I had never listened to this one. It’s good. Minus the strange, non-sensical lil Jimmy skit track, this is not pretty pretty pretty good. Pretty creative album. But maybe he shouldn’t have hated college so much and tried to learn something back then and he might not have ended up with a brain of mush today. 4 stars.

I have to admit this album is good.

People need to learn to separate art from the artist. This record is amazing.

Not quite up to MBDTF, but excellent nonetheless. 4.

The skits don't really hold up overall, pretty standard.

Who hurt you Kanye? You could have just made a billion dollars doing this over and over again and you needed more so you ruined your sound and your legacy.

Sorry, this is a fantastic album. What an assured, finely crafted, charismatic, explosive debut record. What a fucking waste. Production knocks and he sounds hungry and fired-up. I’m so mad. I DO miss the old Kanye. I will crawl on my belly over broken glass as penance. Thankfully I can at least begrudge this a perfect score because it is about 15 minutes too long and some of the engineering choices haven’t aged well.

The good outweighs the bad. At least musically.

I do not love The College Dropout, but I like it well enough.

I’ve been a fan of his since I heard this record and continue to enjoy his first 5 records to varying degrees (but honestly don’t listen much at all these days, for obvious reasons). Anyway, this is one of the all time great hip hop debuts, and there was a LOT of expectation and anticipation and haters ready to shit on this record, and he came through. I hate hate hate skits, and there’s some filler here but it’s an audacious and auspicious debut. Rob Mitchum nailed it: a flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific album

There’s a reason this guy got popular back in the day, before all the crazy shit. Some bangers on this album but good listen overall even though I disagree with those school spirit skits

Jesus Walks carries this album

This one surpassed my expectations.

Really really fantastic album. Listening to his old stuff, make's it all the more depressing to know how he turned out. Still, this is one of the greatest rap albums ever, and he gets even better later. 4.5/5

Kanye is a wanker. This album is good. Shame. Do I rate it based on how much I hate the guy, how good the album is?

Hate the player, love the game.

This is the first album released during my lifetime that I've had to rate for this and it's a fitting one! The College Dropout is one of those highly-regarded LPs that I've never had the chance to properly listen through – albums like this are exactly why I felt like I needed to finally commit to doing this challenge. Kanye West's debut album isn't the first I've heard from him (it's actually the eighth, including KIDS SEE GHOSTS), but I think you could make a case for it being his best. For the first seven tracks, it feels like a bona fide five star album – the beats are incredible and uplifting, the track-to-track flow is impeccable, the bars are clever and unique. There's a sense of adolescence & humility that I've never really heard from Kanye prior to this point and it makes me understand (ever so slightly more) why his day ones have stood by him through his many controversies in the decades since. The College Dropout is a great album, but it's not perfect (for me, anyway). The album has a pretty sizable dip from tracks 8-13, in which it veers into fairly generic early/mid '00s club hip-hop territory without much of the character and charisma found on the rest of the project. There are interesting moments during the dip ("The New Workout Plan" is a highlight) and I don't outright hate any of the songs in that chunk, but I probably would have enjoyed the whole album like 25% more if it went straight from "Jesus Walks" to the first "School Spirit" skit. Overall, it's a solid project and one that I feel I've truly missed out on all these years (which is ultimately what I'm looking to get out of each album on this list)! It also inspired me to finally check out Late Registration and Graduation, since [SPOILER] neither made the cut for this list. Might share some thoughts on those in my eventual reviews of MBDTF and Yeezus, assuming there's anything relevant to share. Highlights: We Don't Care, All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, The New Workout Plan, School Spirit, Two Words, Through the Wire, Family Business, Last Call

The age old question returns: should we separate the art from the artist? I can't think of a bigger disparity between the art, and artist than I can with this album, and the album's artist. In good faith, I can't possibly give this a five-star rating because Kanye West is an apprehensible scumbag(whether he's using his alter ego "Ye", or not), but at the same time, the album is a musical masterpiece. Is this a fair compromise? Favorite Track: "Through The Wire".

4.5/5

Hip-hop beats and AC. The cure to headaches. 4/5

7/10

Wow that was such a great album. I'm very impressed. Too bad he's crazy now.

J’adore Kanye.

Back in the days when Kanye was any good, and not an anti-Semitic POS. Couple of good songs in there.

I get the protest of Kanye West (Ye) now, but this was an important record for Hip Hop and had much beats. I fucked with the first few albums but don't go back to them. Fuck Ye

This album fucks

great hip hop album with lots of variety, melodic vocals and a cozy mid 2000's vibe

quite good! like the story behind the songs and how it joins together

I hate how much I loved this.

What a bummer it is to revisit this knowing what Kanye turned into. I've been wondering if I could stomach listening to his stuff anymore, because I haven't in years. There's still plenty to like on here, skits and filler aside. There just isn't anything to like about Kanye personally anymore.

Great album. Kanye might be a musical genius, but also a giant piece of shit. I would like to grade this solely on the musical content, and for the most part I will. I have to knock it slightly for how I felt the ick the entire time I listened to this.

A lot of mixed feelings because ye is now a Nazi, and I’m usually a fan of death of the artist but it’s hard when the person is alive and still doing what they’re doing. In saying that, objectively this is a very good album, very well produced with great features and songs, the main thing that drags it down are the skits which I’m not the biggest fan of on rap albums

Como me jode que sea un nazi, pero bueno no he escuchado casi nada de este disco a si que imaginare que estoy en el pasado y este hombre sigue cuerdo, tampoco me parece un discazo de temazos, pero en general esta bien.

I just can't believe the same dude who made these songs is now a Hitler praising edgelord. God, what a waste. What the hell happened, Kanye?

A cunt and absolutely horrible person but good beats

Ye is an out of touch, likely literally insane, Nazi and he sucks. Let's get that out of the way up top. At this point in his career though, he was just an unsuccessful narcissist who finally broke big and what a hell of a break it was. I missed this when it dropped, but his next album Graduation, is what finally made me understand hip hop. While that particular project aged poorly, this one holds up and then some. Last Call overstays but it's the only weak track. Everything else is just so fun and well produced. How can you hate on "She got a black friend, look like Michael Jackson. She got a white friend, look like Michael Jackson."? Is that line dumb as hell, yes. But is it also fun, yes. I don't stream Ye anymore even though I love his music. Glad I had the excuse with this project and sad that he's ruined himself.

I needed an excuse to listen to this album because it's not my favorite Kanye album and I rarely revisit it, especially because of how long it is. I was excited that this was the album of the day giving me the excuse I needed. But relistening to the album my experience was aligned with my expectations, and I feel justified I am hesitant to listen to this without an excuse. After spending time as a producer hidden behind the curtain, Kanye's ego forced it's way out in a debut album that solidified him as one of the greatest rap producers of all time, and kicked off his career as the rapper unafraid to write the corniest lyrics of all time. College Dropout is a sneak peek into everything Kanye will do in the future: an album that drags on, music where I get bored and irritated wanting it to end, songs with stand out production, songs with surprising instrumentals and excellent production that I never noticied before when listening closely, Kanye showing his genius in good ability to know who to collaborate with to make a song really stand out, Kanye lyrics being annoying, Kanye lyrics being clever, Kanye lyrics being funny. However, I'm at my happiest when the album is finally done and I can move on to something else. Rating 4 stars because 3 is an injustice to Kanye's production.

I rarely listen to College Drop Out, and I have to observations reflecting on this album as the origin of his later works: 1) The production value has been strong since day 1. Without context, you'd think that the success of this album was driven by the producer collabs with the top artists of the day (Jay-Z, Mos Def, Jamie Foxx). But in context, you know that he got those collabs because they respected his talent so much. 2) The hard-to-look-away guilty pleasure characterized by Kanye's blend of wittiness and griminess on his overtly sexual songs that make up like half of Yeezus are marginally evolved versions of songs like New Workout Plan. Transitioning from recalls to his mom's involvement in the civil rights movement to calls for women using sex to strengthen their core to making a joke about michael jackson's skin color and landing on a sex -> rapping speed to introduce Twista is maybe the best representation of Ye as a polarizing figure. Some highlights here but ultimately too long and too cringe, 3.5 rounded up

In retrospect, we all probably should have seen the line "The prettiest people do the ugliest things" as Kanye foreshadowing the turns he's taken in the past decade. This album though is fantastic, a near masterpiece that reminds me of why Kanye rose to fame and was EVERYWHERE in pop and rap in the mid-and late-00s. He was a great rapper who knew what he was doing with a unique and interesting sonic brand.

Separating the art from the artist on this one.

4/5 bangers!

lot of variety in soundscape and the type of songs Favorite track: slow jamz other picks: all falls down, spaceship, jesus walks, through the wire

Listening to this album I decided I was going to separate the art from the artist. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the album. Honestly, he was hungry for success, desperate for a win. The beats were pretty diverse, which is such a breath of fresh air in the day and age. I also enjoyed how vulnerable he was at times. That was my biggest surprise of all. Before this album all I knew was the ego and the insane public displays. I understand a bit more how that came to be now

pas mal mais je dirais pas un classique

A man that would reach the apex brought down by society and his own undoing.

Musical Yenius

-Not my fav Kanye album (Late Registration) or his best (MBDTF) but is it his most cohesive? I think it's definitely in the running since the pitched-up soul samples and themes of consumerism, the struggle of African Americans and trying to find meaning in the modern world throughout -Not a lot of skips! But defeintely a few (the skips yes but also a few tracks) -Man that Twista verse on Slow Jamz still takes off like a fuckin rocket, huh?

Kanye, you mad genius. ✅✅✅ All Falls Down ✅✅✅✅ Spaceship ✅✅✅ Jesus Walks ✅✅✅✅ The New Workout Plan ✅✅✅ Last Call

This album is so nostalgic for me, but also still feels so current - like it could have come out today and had the same impact. I've revisited this album many times and stopped once Kanye became so undeniably problematic and scary. Relistening to it yesterday brought back all of the joy and fun I had with this album - it's like one big R&B, hip hop party with everyone coming in and out and doing their thing (I will always love a Jamie Foxx appearance). This is a 4.5 for me, but I'm giving it a 4 only because I think 'Graduation' is tighter and better....but this is still a stunner.

Unfortunately incredible

sense memories of college activated. tougher and tougher to rank these Kanye records in lieu of recent events but in all subjective objectivity- this still throws down.

o kurde belek to był dobry album fav track- roses/touch the sky

The skits on this need more appreciation they're fucking hilarious 4*

Sometimes people are the worst can do good things. This album is good. He absolutely sucks as a human, hes utter scum and I dont listen to him for pleasure now, not one bit. Never let me Down is the highlight. Family Business is good. The singles are great. Too many skits, too long I cant stress this enough; fuck kanye. 4/5

A surprisingly deep glimpse into Kanye to come. The left field gospel is all there, all the desperate measures to appeal to the current hip-hop mainstream is there. The shocking thing is how great of an ALBUM this is. It builds interests, and gets better as it goes along. Even the weaker songs provide something different, something interesting, and it all moves things along. Yes, Kanye is a lunatic now. In a lot of ways, he was a lunatic. But damn, he's a creative force in this era. 4 stars only because it's a bit pandering, and I know what's coming.

Ganske så chill, mer religiøst enn jeg kunne huske

I hate the guy, but this album is fucking good

This takes me back. Couldn't let my kids listen to it (yet), but I do like it.

I went into this album honestly expecting something awful. The other music of Kanye that I’d heard sounded like the auditory equivalent of having somebody urinate straight into my ears, so naturally I wasn’t filled with hope for the album. Kanye’s personality also makes him a pretty unlikeable person too, which adds to this low expectation. However, as much as I may have wanted to dislike it, I couldn’t help but to really enjoy this. The music is pretty great, mixing hip hop with lots of old soul music. The lyrics were actually really good for the most part. I wanted to hate this. I actually quite love it. It’s just too long to give a perfect score.

This album makes you think about the trials and tribulations of inner city life in Chicago and in America. Iconic debut b4 the crazy came out! Collaborating with hip hop’s greatest rappers. Several hits songs in one album. Skits are Crazy, stupid, and hilarious!

Back when Kanye just made fun music

Funny follow up after Be, this is an undisputed classic

Bueno, movido y da sensación de estar en NY

Although its very bloated and you do really have to separate the art from the artist here, I enjoyed quite a lot.

Before the Nazism

God conscious rap. Det er jo Kanye West og det er hans debut album og det er virkelig godt. Det har sådan en Old School hip hop over sig og det er tydeligt at høre hvad han synger. Kan godt lide teksterne og flowet.

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: 4/1001 Extremely real and relatable over a decade later. To get the full experience '1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die' lays out, I'm putting myself in the mindset of when the album was released rather than thinking about it in the context of today. With that in mind, this is the album that led to the Kanye of the 2000s, gave him the fame we all came to know him for, and there's no denying he was deserving of it then. I thoroughly enjoyed this more than I thought I would. A bit long (ending on a 12-minute track is certainly a statement, though) There are many songs here that I could come back to, and some I could've lived without. But overall, the beats are catchy, the songs are real, and the lyrics are deep. It's fun and serious at the same time. There are memorable verses that I was awaiting even after a first listen. Its highs are some of the best of rap, its lows are completely forgettable though they don't diminish the album much overall. It's a strong showcase for an artist clobbering his way to the scene. 'We Don't Care' is the precipitate for who Kanye was at this time, and it was the perfect opening track for this album. It's an introduction to him and the thematic elements this album is shaped around. The album may be titled 'The College Dropout,' but Kanye schooled the industry with this release. Podium: 1. All Falls Down 2. We Don't Care 3. Slow Jamz Honorable Mention(s): 'The Wire' -- While not a podium song for me personally, it's an important track for the album overall, and as I understand it, part of the reason for Kanye pursuing this album in general. The story behind The Wire is too powerful not to acknowledge in a review. It's a solid album, great even, with a decent amount of hits. Though there are skippable parts, the message here is equal parts meaningful and catchy, and it sticks to the theme outlined in the title. It's worthy of being on this list and demonstrates the new beginning of one of the most significant and controversial artists to enter (and change) the genre. For these reasons, I give The College Dropout by Kanye West 4/5 stars P.S. 'But the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem, the prettiest people do the ugliest things' in 'All Falls Down' is just so on the nose for current Kanye)

Cuando kayne west era bueno (dijo nadie nunca)

I miss the old Kanye Beats are fire, flow is sick, lyrics are very good. Not a 5 because it has a 13 minute final song of just talking

Solid beginning up and down

This was huge for me in college. It has held up, while Kanye himself has…not…

When I was younger in the late 2000s, I thought Kanye West was one of the greatest musicians ever, and while it wasn’t my favorite, I argued that The College Dropout was the best proof of this argument. 
I don’t think I need to re-write critical obsessive analysis of The College Dropout and explain why it was seen as groundbreaking. We all know why, if we’re here. But as a 15 year old smoking a one hitter in her Dad’s car before her after-school coffee shop job, The College Dropout felt revelatory, like sound as I had never heard it before. No Graduation, obviously, which was new and my gateway into Kanye obsession, but damn close. But now, nearly 2 decades after I first heard The College Dropout, I feel less enthusiastic. I’ve tried to revisit this album nearly 20 times since pausing this project for personal life reasons, assuming it should be an obvious, if nostalgic, 5-star review. I’ve told myself to pretend that the Kanye of the last decade is a different person, has no impact on this vital record. I know every note of this record like the back of my hand; I should be enjoying it without issue. But I just couldn’t. Sometimes, you grow out of an album. Also, sometimes, bad people make great art, but the seeds of what makes them a bad person– the holier-than-thou ego, the religiosity, the isolationism/judgement of other communities, the self-obsession, the anti-intellectualism, the obsession with riches at the cost of everything else– can still be found in that great art, at least in a seedling form. The harder I stared at The College Dropout, the more obvious it became that Kanye West has always been the same Kanye West…it was just a lot more buttoned-up back then. I found myself getting an ick the more I thought about the lyrics and themes here. I mean, sure, I might be a trans lapsed Catholic, so maybe I’m not the target audience, but there was a time when I at least appreciated this, even as a nerdy white “boy.” Plus, eventually, all groundbreaking music becomes dull and passé. I still think the production on here is great, but given the runtime, once you figure out the schtick, the whole album starts to feel stylistically dull. It’s also a long album, with a lot of songs that were only ever good, even upon release, but the highs were so high, you forgave the mid. Now, the highs are lower but the mid is the same, making it a more even yet still exhausting sit-through. I may also be looking at this in the rearview, since Late Registration is basically a 2.0 version of this and really wears the style thin; I’m sure anyone hearing this for the first time would still be blown away, but if not, it’s definitely become a bit more boring than timeless. And last, but not least, I think sometimes, when you know every note of an album from your youth but may have not continued to carry that album with you into new chapters in your life for whatever reason (and we all know why with Kanye), a revisit isn’t a homecoming, but more a redundant, passive, obligatory revisit, as if you’re having a drink with a high school friend you no longer have much in common with and frankly will never talk to again. For me, all of these elements combined together to create a difficult listen, and one I can’t really assess without also checking my baggage in the loading dock. The College Dropout is still an essential album, especially on a list like this, and it is still largely a great album. If this is your first time hearing this, you really are about to experience something so cold, but even then, it won’t be as revelatory as it was in the mid-2000s, that’s for sure. I found when I just had this on in the background while I was running errands or working, I was more inclined to bop along with it, passively engaging with the nostalgic memorized grooves and words, but if I gave it an attentive listen, I wanted to turn it off. Some songs still work for me because they’re just great or pure camp: “New Workout Plan,” “We Don’t Care,” “Family Business,” “Slow Jamz,” and “Through the Wire” are all amazing, and I can stomach them because they’re songs I have continued to listened to, detached from the Kanye West of it all. But on the whole, the flaws stand out, and the future flaws stand out even more. In short? It’s no Graduation, but it’s still important, but not as important as it felt back then.

I miss this Kanye. What a killer debut album.

All the bullshit aside, this is a pretty great album.

Great album. Questionable person nowadays. (41 known/87 new)

Unfortunately soooo goood??? To paraphrase Glee-- He may be difficult, but boy can he rap hahah (4 because of the artist, 5 if it was someone else)

no comment 8/10

Been a while since I listened to this in full - Kanye used to be genuinely funny and brilliant and such a tonic to the Bling Era of rap. Such a shame listening knowing how it’s all ended.

I loved Kanye's first solo release. It soundtracked my junior year of high school and inspired me to pick-up music production. After listening to it for the first time in a long while, it's easy to poke holes in it's classic status. Musically, it's hard to diminish the monumental impact his production style had on hip-hop. In an era when super-producers like Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and The Neptunes were carving out new sonic landscapes for popular music, Kanye leaned into sample-heavy production styles popularized in the mid-90s that were falling quickly out of fashion, replaced by production that relied less on samples and more on traditional musicianship. His nascent, brimming talent for production is the album's strongest quality — not only did he have great, unconventional taste in samples, but from the onset he was a prolific collaborator, an aspect of his music that only grew in scale with subsequent releases. The same goes for his braggadocios, corny lyrics, stacked features list, and plentiful skits. He covers topics like materialism, religion, slavery, and personal struggles to attain success and fame with a sly smirk, always ready to deploy a tacky metaphor or pretentious posture, a tendency that unfortunately entrenched itself with successive albums. A highlight lyrically is the HBC through-line embedded within the plentiful skits. Kanye highlighted an aspect of black culture for the mainstream that many non-blacks were unaware of, and executed it in a way that amusingly knit-together the dropout theme. And the features only cemented his elevated-status as hip-hop's most enigmatic, dynamic producer: he effortlessly acquired excellent verses from a who's-who of both underground and mainstream rap. Before Kanye it seemed impossible to imagine Jay-Z and Common on the same album, titans of their respective above-and-below ground domains respectively. Kanye also effectively launched John Legend's widely-successful career. This album is still fun to listen to, and not because of it's nostalgic importance to me. The joyous tone is felt throughout, his sped-up soul samples and playful bars are infectious, and you're rooting for the self-proclaimed underdog he was then. While Kanye covers deeper concepts, his ultimate goal then was to make you smile and nod your head, and because fame had not-yet corrupted and inflated his ego he actually wanted people to respect and like him, and he made sure you knew of his genuine intentions to earn that acceptance. From that point on though, Kanye obsessed over and widely-expressed how he felt his greatness was not fully recognized, and that viewpoint calcified and soured year after year, eventually leading to his rapid decline in the mid 2010s. The end result of such unchecked pride and power is a delusional, unshakeable belief in one's supremacy, and Kanye thought — and still thinks — Kanye reigns supreme. As he would say on a subsequent album, "no one man should have all that power". Ultimately Kanye succeeded at what he strove to do with College Dropout: he took the template of classic mid-to-late 90s hip-hop records and retuned it for a wider pop audience. He succeeded wildly, and he nurtured his initial fame and success, planting seeds that ultimately would grow too large for his roots to bare, unearthing and toppling his eventual greatness. "The Old Kanye" oft-discussed by himself and his day-one fans alike never existed in full. The Kanye West we know today was always there just beneath the surface, a significant slice of his personality pie — but he revealed that true self in measured, sporadic ways. His fame turned to infamy too quickly, and I can't help but wonder what kind of Kanye we'd have today if he had the wherewithal and communal support to address his demons and take control over his mental health earlier in his life. Another truly great, generational artist who grappled with fame and fortune and ultimately lost, forfeiting his legacy for one painful headline after another. The eroded, polarized state of his fanbase is as bipolar as his diagnosis: you either worship or disdain him, all nuance stripped away by his extreme declarations and actions. As someone who shares a bipolar diagnosis with him, I'm all to familiar with the symptoms and tendencies at play here, and I truly hope he does the immense work necessary to earn the trust and respect his creative legacy undoubtedly deserves.

0/5 person but pretty good album.

Did not expect to vibe to this as much as I did given that I only know this man from memes, meltdowns, and South Park. Shout-out to the school spirit skits. My degrees will SURELY keep me warm when I'm dead!

I means its college dropout 4.5 stars and i rmbr listening to this in highschool for the first time he changed my broke ass life

Pretty consistent but doesn't hit the same highs that would be reached on Late Registration, may drag a bit late but picks up a little by the end, overall a hopeful debut for perhaps the greatest artist in hip-hop Sucks what's happened to his life and the person he's become, the soul he once had will remain immortalized

Kanye’s best album

Another great album from a time before Kanye went insane. Very honest, reflective. Tongue in cheek humour. Overall a great hip hop record but it had too many skits that didn't have to be there.

7/10 - Kanye music is good but Kanye person is bad

Really is a shame he completely lost it. Would give it a five if it weren’t Kanye

Pretty good album, Kanye is so talented it's too bad he's insane now.

Hate the guy now, but objectively, a great album

kayne at kanyes best

Say what you will about the man, in fact I’ll say it: f*ck Kanye. But his music in this album is absolute bustastic. The production and the beats and variety of vibes and the skits and the 12 minute finale of just him telling his story of getting signed and stuff, like I could listen to him talk forever, it all combines to make one extremely solid hip hop album. It is really quite self evident why this man’s early work became so influential to so many who came after him and the entire future of the genre. So it really is a darn shame he went so far off the deep end.

Such a good start

An hour and 16 minutes!!! Never listened to this end to end. The skits are fun, the whole production is so cool. It's hard to like Kanye these days.

Star-Studded album with hilarious skits between songs. Come get the PHD for Free.99!

Oh how the mighty have fallen. If only he had gotten some therapy, perhaps he wouldn't be a self proclaimed Nazi now. Anyway. This was a good album. Kind of sullied by how crap of a person he is now.

All his bs aside, it’s a pretty stunning album

A visionary, one of the best producers ever, his pen fresh but already sharp. It's a shame what has happened with him in the last couple of years.

fuck this guy

Kanye Goat West

i miss the new old kanye, before he went stictly by ye kanye.. the black skinhead and pablo life kanye… this album aight tho

Years ago, after I first listened to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I got on a brief Kanye kick. This album wasn’t on heavy rotation at that time, but revisiting it, I enjoyed it more than I remembered. There’s an innocence and playfulness to this album that feels bittersweet - maybe even outright sad - given how far its creator has fallen. It makes me nostalgic and almost in mourning of a simpler time in my own life as well; coincidentally, I first heard “Through The Wire” when I was spending a lot of time at the hospital visiting a close friend who had broken her jaw. There were lots of things going on back then, but hearing that song makes me miss that person and that time. I don’t know exactly where I come down on separating the art from the artist, and I’m sure I’m not even consistent. I still find this worth listening to, though. Favorites: Spaceship, Jesus Walks, Never Let Me Down

I'm very sorry but it's very good until the last third. Never Let Me Down (bar Jay-Z) is the highlight.

God damnit. This is really good isn't it. For someone so eloquent and thought out in what he is saying here it is appalling to see that is such a massive tool. I imagine those who have been fans of him since this time must feel devastated. It's inventive, it's interesting, it's funny. I read the wiki and it said no one would sign him cos he wasn't doing Gangstar rap. Good. I can't be arsed with Gangstar rap. Anyway, that also made him innovative. I'm not really keen on the "chipmunk" samples, but I've heard worse examples than on this record. What a shame.

Nem deveria dizer isso, mas eu acho hilário os ativistas de sofá postando aqui que se negam a ouvir esse álbum. Como se o Ye fosse o único artista que tenha feito merda e está nessa lista. Pessoal estúpido. Enfim, tanto faz, cada um com sua vida. Não existe isso de separar a arte do artista. O artista é sua arte, e a arte é o seu artista. Só nao glorifique artistas, eles também são pessoas como você. Isso é óbvio mas a Internet atualmente mais se assemelha a uma creche, onde precisamos falar o óbvio de forma macia, tipo "não corte seu cabelo com as tesouras" e "não morda seu amiguinho". Enfim. Sobre o disco: Uma estréia magistral. Fica claro ouvindo esse álbum que Ye, acima de tudo, queria se provar. Ele claramente era seu maior fã e tinha uma crença absurda em seu potencial e talento. Desta forma, o trabalho final acaba estufado com um pouco de tudo, batidas infectantes, samples finíssimos, versos quentes, flows melódicos, skits cômicos, e até mesmo partes cantadas. Por um lado, no contexto do artista desesperado procurando seu Break e querendo colher imediatamente os frutos que ele andou plantando por tanto tempo e com tanto esforço (Lock yourself in a room doing 5 beats a day for 3 summers), esse bloat imenso faz sentido e é até mesmo charmoso as vezes. Mas não há como negar, os três primeiros discos do Ye são os únicos de sua discografia que eu consideraria "datados". Pra começar: Tanto esse quanto LR possuem uma duração laborosa. Muitas canções poderiam ter sido encurtadas, com participações inconsequentes que poderiam ter sido cortadas. Além disso, as faixas muitas vezes são complementadas por skits que francamente, não são engraçados, e atrapalham muito a fluidez do álbum. Dito isso, ouça All Falls Down e lembre-se imediatamente porque Ye se tornou o artista magnânimo que ele é. O talento do homem é inegável e inconfundível. As batidas aqui são todas PERFEITAS (não uso essa palavra levemente). É perceptível que ele havia guardado esses beats por muito tempo especialmente pra sua triunfante estréia. O mesmo pode ser dito dos seus versos, que possuem flows diversos, trocadilhos brilhantes e um charme interminável. Dito isso, esse disco não está nem perto de ser meu favorito do Ye por conta dos fatores mencionados, mas ao ouvi-lo é impossível ficar parado. Abaixa o punho e ouve o som. 4.5/5 The kid that made that, deserves that Maybach.

Listened to this album a lot when I was younger, and a majority of the tracks still hold up. "We Don't Care" is a strong opener, the singles are all bangers, fantastic hip hop record from the 00's. 4/5

There’s a lot of ideas here, and what works really works. The singles are incredible. The main drawback is that it is overindulgent in ways that I frankly find annoying (it ends with a nearly 13 minute account of how he got a record deal).

kanye was a real talent wasn't he

Truly a shame this guy went Hitler mode cause this is music

Old Kanye

Despite my previously mentioned dislike for Kanye West, and while not as good as MBDTF, this was another strong effort. I'll separate the art from the artist again and give him credit for his talent. The album was full of overall good production and composition, solid rap efforts, and interesting topics that didn't feel like pandering for the most part. The quantity of artists and musical additions to the album almost make West blend in and disappear into the mix at times, which maybe helps him stay toned down. It makes sense that he worked as a producer for years with these tracks, as they sound well constructed and thought out. Much like his other albums, more is really more for him, and it works. He also uses his singing voice infrequently on this one, which I appreciate since I find it generally weak. Aside from the music, the album imagery is fitting; the way I understand it, West dropped out of college to pursue the music career, but wasn't widely accepted in the rap world given his background. He didn't fit the more urban-focused packaging that dominated the hip hop scene at the time. So there he sits, the would-be "dancing bear". A mascot meant to enthusiastically depict school spirit. But instead of dancing, he is sadly alone, having isolated himself from the suburbanites by leaving college while still being rejected by the group he wanted to be a part of. The ornate surrounding literally frames this isolation as the art itself making up/driving the album. It's one of the better uses of album art I've seen come up through here. While there is a lot to like here, it just didn't stand out to me as "great" even it it was very good. Comparing it to MBDTF, I thought this was the weaker of the two. Overall: 3.75/5

Fantastic samples, great flows. Classic Kanye.

It’s a masterpiece start to finish. Really hard not to give this one a 5, it’s Kanye at his very best. Iconic samples, beats and vocals.

One of the greatest rap/hip hop albums of all time.

I think I'd give this 3.5 stars. It's a lot better than yeezus and I liked the general flow of the album.

Great album. Got into it a few years back after watching Jeen-Yuhs.

Kanye in 2025. Ooof! This one is spawning much internal dialogue about “art vs. artist.” There's an argument to be made for separating the two, but when the art is (partially) about race and racism, I don't think I can/should discount the outspoken racism of present-day Kanye. The production is fantastic, and though I think Kanye isn't the most proficient rapper, he can write a good line, and call in great featured artists. 20 years ago, this would be a 5. In 2025, a 4 feels like I'm giving him more grace than he deserves. I hope K gets the help with his mental health that he desperately needs, and does something to make up for the harm he's been doing to himself and his audience of late. "Through the Wire" is perfect, and I hope Chaka made a few million off it.

Det føles ganske teit at mine første moralske kvaler i forbindelse med det her prosjektet dukke opp med Kanye West, bare tenk på kor mange moralske kvaler man burde ha med majoriteten av (mannlige) artister opp gjennom alle tiår med albumlytting. Men det e jo vanskelig når noen man vet va toneangivanes for enogtyve år siden etterhvert har blitt et moralsk forkvakla menneske man nu ikke egentlig har lyst til å støtte, sjøl bare med de få milliøran han eventuelt måtte tjene på min ene gjennomlytting av albumet. Men æ hørte på det, og sjøl om æ ikke har hørt mye nok på rap til å kunne plukke ut de fremragende kvalitetene det her e i besittelse av, så skjønne æ at det e bra. Æ bare kommer aldri til å høre på det igjen fordi æ ikke vil støtte et menneske som e moralsk forkvakla og i aktiv drift.

good album

I miss the old Kanye. 😢 After watching the Kanye documentary a few years ago, I developed a newfound appreciation for this debut. The amount of stick he got from the hiphop community before his breakthrough was ridiculous. No one took him seriously for not being tough like rappers were expected to be at the time. Despite not even being one of his best 3 albums for me, this album is still full of classics. The middle of the album is a little bit bloated, and some of the absolute standouts for me come towards the end of the album, with Through The Wire, Two Words, Family Business, and Last Call giving this album a legendary close. Jesus Walks is the ultimate standout though - it’s a fascinating description of being intent on being a righteous person but working in an industry where that is not rewarded in any way. The production is groundbreaking and immaculate throughout, with this album introducing the chipmunk-style production to the world (sped-up soul samples). I’m not sure what’s crazier: the fact that Kanye followed this up by 3 even better albums back-to-back (Late Registration, Graduation, 808s and Heartbreak), or the fact that these days he has completely descended into madness and is now a despicable human being. No longer a fan, but I still appreciate this great stuff from over 20 years ago(?!)

I’m very conflicted. Kanye is a horrendous person. But this album is undeniably great. Wordplay, production, beats, everything is top notch. Marking it down a star for obvious reasons and because it goes on slightly too long.

really good and a classic. Kanye really cooked on this one

This album is one ive already heard its really good. It also has some of my favorite Kanye songs, like All falls down, jesus wallks, get em high, slow jamz, and through the wire.

production is incredible. a remarkable album. shame about a piece of shit kanye is, and looking at the evidence the guy left about some of his toxic attitudes (see: the next workout plan). one for a category I expect to see a lot of out of this list, "incredible album by someone who is a real piece of shit"

Kanye had (has?) so much talent. This album just makes me sad for all the things we've lost. Also forgot that I know 90% of the words, and that it ushered in a whole new sound for music.

So many just flat out badass songs. Amazing production. Couple that fall flat for me so can't give it a perfect but I still love this album.

The top two reviews actually made me cringe… Ik we’re at a point where this man is either just a straight up cock or needs serious help but he made great music and I hope people don’t forget that. As of typing this he’s the 28th most streamed artist in the world on Spotify and while I don’t think popularity is a factor in quality at shows he’s got something very right. Boycott vultures, bully, ww3 (whenever that comes out) honestly I think there little point beyond kids see ghosts. But this MBDTF and graduation (which should be on this list) are amazing. On this I love all falls down and Jesus walks a ton and always have. Spaceship is great too! Slow Jamz is super catchy. It just lacks bad songs… too many interludes I admit though it’s too long so 4/5

Some of Kanye's best songs ever. A few too many skits and I can't stand Breathe In Breathe Out. 9/10

and of all the time i could get this album it had to be just as i'm into kanye (also for the record as he dropped cousins, man if i could review that). had this review come a year earlier it would be many stars lower but here we are. and it's his first album too. TRACK BY TRACK 1 WE DON'T CARE. it's incredible how catchy this song is, just so uplifting despite the lyrics, which is entirely the point. such a great opener and no i'm not reviewing the skits. rare kanye lyrical W. 10/10 2 ALL FALLS DOWN. it might be slightly starting to click, it's a great song. who cares if its overrated, also this hits different after having heard the lauryn hill performance it samples. 9/10 3 SPACESHIP. gorgeous song. literally as i am writing this a funeral is being planned so this is hard to both write and listen to, such an emotional beat and lyrics. sorry if these are cut short, i love this album and this really should be the perfect time to write it since i've been listening to it so much lately. 10/10 4 JESUS WALKS. a very cool song about... jesus? still it's a very cool song and a very cool beat, that's pretty much all to it to me. 8/10 5 NEVER LET ME DOWN. this is probably one of the most 2000s sounding songs i can think of. the rapping is great but it's an alright song. 7/10 6 GET EM HIGH. it is a very cool beat but kanye does absolutely nothing with it. actually the only memorable part of this song is the beat and kanye saying "gotta catch the beat, yeah, catch the beat". 7/10 7 THE NEW WORKOUT PLAN. the hardest a song has ever harded. the video is great too and it honestly upsets me that this kanye is gone. this song is so self aware and touches on subjects of the objectification of women and self images that the modern kanye is the complete and utter opposite of. still it's a crazily catchy and hard song. 9/10 8 SLOW JAMZ. such a chill and pretty song, a great sample and absolutely insane rapping from twista who kind of makes the song. 9/10 9 BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT. breathe in breathe out. uhh breathe in and breathe out. pull your sleeves out and breathe in and maybe breathe out. pull your breathe out and your sleeves breathe out. that's all i can ever remember. this song is pretty annoying. 6/10 10 SCHOOL SPIRIT. alpha step. omega step. kappa step. sigma step. yo!!! anyway cool song. 7/10 11 TWO WORDS. man this still floors me. what an incredible and hard ass song. crazy hard beat and amazing performance especially from mos def. not much else to say just incredible. 10/10 12 THROUGH THE WIRE. fuck. this is by far the most emotional kanye song, the guy is so genuine, likeable and its already just a great song. amazing sample, so catchy and so many quotable lines. also he doesn't even sound like himself (obviously because his jaw was wired shut, was that because of the cousins incident?). just incredible. this is my favourite version of kanye. 10/10 13 FAMILY BUSINESS. we lost this guy. this last four track run is stunning. bring this kanye back, kill the clone. 10/10 14 LAST CALL. la la la la. la la la la la la la. what a closer. this is just stunning man. the playful brother of mortal man. and no it's not just a cool beat with a long ass interview over it afterwards. it's one of his best songs with a genuinely interesting anecdote afterward that stops me everytime i reach for the skip button. 10/10 such an endlessly fun and giving album, it just makes you sad that this is the same guy that just dropped WW3 and has CUCK on the way (to me in the future, did that shit ever come out? did he change the name again?). one of his best and most consistent, which is so impressive for an album of its length. 9/10

"Never Let Me Down" is a real standout. I'd never listened to anything but the singles before.

Never heard a Kanye album in full so when people say they miss the old Kanye, I get it now. Like REALLY get it now. Great beats, great samples, great album. Enjoyed it all the way through and I thought the skits were hilarious.

Kanye to bardzo chory człowiek z obrzydliwymi poglądami. Ale obiecałam sobie za każdym razem oddzielać płytę od twórcy. A ta płyta jest dobra! Zabawna, z pomysłem, dobrymi featami i no taką zabawą z samplami i bitem, że ociera się to o geniusz. 7.5/10

-listening to this the day Ye hops on Twitter to reveal he used to suck his cousin’s dick… this man is uhh the gift that keeps on giving -I had heard this album once before in high school but I appreciate it much more now. truly genius and definitely helped to shape the sound of modern hip hop. maybe a bit long but in this case it’s allowed to be -RIP to the version of Kanye West that made this -Favorites are All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, The New Workout Plan, and Slow Jamz

A classic

Great album ofc but hard not to think about how terrible KW is while listening

Kanye has a reputation for being unapologetically himself and it definitely shines through in this album. The album highlights Kanye’s progression to fame and denounces traditional ways to making money like going to school (almost too much). This album was funny and hard and told a good story.

Young Ye - het sehr Spass gmacht es ganzes Album vom Kanye durezlose - au en Künstler woni immer nur vom Noah, Basil, Soma etc. ghör, aber selber immer biz berüehrigsängst gha han. Defür das Album vo vorne bis hinde und obe bis unde berüehrt, gstreichlet und kräbbelet. Viellichts wird sogar bald eis vo sine neue Albe duregstreichlet. Vier Streicheleinheite am rechte Ohrläpli

Credit where credit's due. This was a great debut and has held up reasonably well, unlike the man himself.

Solid hip hop album.

sorry sorry sorry sorry

Bangers!

Kayne really changed the game. Genius producer, clever rapper.

Can't believe how old this shit is. I liked Kanye's music, didn't love it, but I did bump it. Kanye is a crazy dick now. It will be interesting to relisten to this with my recent bias of him being a Nazi. It's a fun listen. Kanyes flow is a bit shit and lyrically hes not always interesting but he's just a really good song writer. The album The actual production is a little rough but it the album has a DIY feel and spontaneity that makes it all work. SLOW JAMZ stands out to me because it has an actual rapper on it. Anything with relieving kanye of some rapping makes the tracks infinitely more interesting. It's light hearted and fun and was played at every party I went to in college. I miss the old Kanye. Probably a light 5 downgraded to a solid 4 because Nazi.

Arguably the best debut rap album ever. Docking a star because he has since become a full blown nazi nutcase.

Kanye is a massive piece of shit. He is a product of unchecked ego and unchecked mental illness. He has too much money and too much influence. And somehow along the way he became anti-Semitic (what?). He hasn't put out a good album since 2016. I wish people would stop paying attention to him so he would stop getting the spotlight. But once upon a time, he was a really good producer and rapper. And he put out a series of albums that will always be discussed in the the greatest of all time conversation. This is the album that kicked all that off. It's amazing to me that this is his debut, but obviously a lot had been cooking under the surface for a while. I've listened to Jesus Walks more times than I can count. But I'm not overly familiar with this album as a whole. Man, it pisses me off to say but it's really good. He can rap. He can make a beat. He's got some amazing guest spots. And despite the length, I wasn't tired of it by the end. It's just got banger after banger. It's a hip-hop classic. Someday, after everything with Kanye is over, someone will write a really interesting book on how he went from this to where he is today.

i thought this would be a no skip album 5/5, but honestly not every track hits definitely see how its considered a classic, but also i dont support nazis lol

Lieblingstracks: I'll Fly Away und Spaceship Super Übergänge zwischen den einzelnen Songs

7.5/10. The instrumentation is great, and Kanye West can rap really well. Also, remember to separate the art from the artist.

I can’t bear to write a single thing about Kanye but yes, unfortunately still a great album.

Got me through some hard and good times back then and this album will always be a masterpiece to me.

It's too long. Too many skits. Still, there's some excellent stuff on here. And, more than most, the vaudeville does at least seem to add to the overall arc of the thing. There's some good ideas here, exploring the tension between loading up on conspicuous consumption, vs lifelong education. Kanye doth protest too much... you can tell he wants to be a good student, a church boy, a family man. Be he also wants to push miracle whips and chase women. I rate him highest when he's not trying too hard to be hard. The best tracks are more reflective and vulnerable ones (spaceship, family business). An interesting listen for sure.

Shame he's a tool, but the album is great even if a bit stupid. Loved the School Spirit + Timmy skit

good, but maybe not as mature as my dark twisted fantasy

Classic before he went crazy

I’m upset that Kanye is actually good

A lot of people are going to trash this album and reviews due to Kanye's character, and I don't blame them. But just for a minute, I'd like to talk about the art independent of the artist in this case. College dropout was undoubtedly a game changer for rap. Kanye's unique style when it came to be making, and his creative wordplay with lyrics made him an instant success. This is significant because rap had gone through a couple different iterations by this point. If you've been listening to any rap on this album generator, you might have come across some '80s or early 90s hip hop like Public Enemy or Run DMC or you may be found yourself listening to '90s gangster rap like Biggie or Mobb Deep. Kanye took a sound more reminiscent with less mainstream hip hop like Black Star or Tribe Called Quest (both referenced on this album) and made it the most popular style of rap. If you went to college in the early 00s, Kanye was likely part of the soundtrack of your life. As far as the album itself. I don't think it's Kanye's best work, but it is indicative of his style (meaning you could listen to College Dropout and "get it"), and some of his best work, like "Jesus Walks" is on this one. But, the album is a bit too long, not just because of the skits, which I get are just a part of rap albums but they're not good here, but also because many of the songs just go on for too long and become quite repetitive. Also, I think the second half of the album is much better than the first, for whatever that's worth. Now, back to Kanye the artist. He's lost his mind for sure, and I can't think of anything he's released in the last ten years that's worth mentioning, but do we dismiss the first few albums of greatness? Well, I understand the sentiment of not giving him money via streaming, but let's say you had a ripped copy of this album somewhere, does it hold up? I'd say it does, but it's also rough to listen to knowing what we know about Kanye now. And, his massive ego and his misogyny are already present on his first album. Plus, we're not just talking about generic rap ego (like "I got more money than you" type stuff) but almost equating himself to God, which he does unabashedly and very obviously in his later work. All in all, I do think this is a great album and it's worthy of this list, but due to issues with who Kanye is as a person, I think it's a one and done for me, despite being such a huge part of my early 20s.

Seems this guy is a complete trainwreck. But separating the art from the artist, this album from 20+ years ago is a very solid record. Real and raw. I liked it. Based on the comments, it seems he’s jumped off the rails since this release - but nonetheless worthy of a top 1,000 album.

It's truly great - albeit with some filler - and was groundbreaking at the time, but wow is it depressing to listen to now. Loses a star because of that.

It’s hard to review this album with everything this man has said and done. Even though this was all before that. I never understood the hype around him, after listening to this album it makes a little bit more sense. Just based on the music it’s very good, also for not big rap fans. Still it’s hard to listen to him. Because this is a music platform I’ll give the rating just based on the music.

I got Yeezus last week, so I'm going to skip over ranting about how Kanye being a nazi makes it really hard to evaluate his work. This album definitely feels a bit dated now, as a lot of early 2000s stuff does, I will also say that I prefer his more synthesize-heavy work that came after this. However, as a debut album for a rapper/producer, this is really good and deserves it's iconic position in hip-hop history. Kanye got better from here, and then he got a bit worse, and then he got a lot worse. It's best just to enjoy the music and not think about it too much 4/5

Hubo un tiempo, bastante largo, en el que Kanye era el Rey Midas y todo lo que hacía era brillante. Tenía un horizonte despejado y disco tras disco construía una carrera espectacular. Este, su debut, fue el primer peldaño hacia el infinito. Mejor que Jay-Z y Kendrick Lamar??? Gran pregunta... por cierto Lauryn Hill ya estuvo antes contando cosas personales y reflexivas en clave Hip-Hop... All falls down (tercer sencillo y mejor tema del disco) a lomos de Lauryn Hill, Through the Wire (primer sencillo) en clave Gospell Hip-Hop y Chaka Khan, Jesus Walks (cuarto single) es sencillamente imponente. Slow jamz (su primer número 1) sigue reluciendo como el primer día (colaboran Twista y Jamie Foxx). School Spirit innova con ese sonido "chipmunk soul". Two Words con Mos Def, Freeway y The Boys Choir Of Harlem es una maravilla. En su debe podríamos poner temas como We Don't Care, The New Workout Plan, Breathe In Breathe Out, "amily Business o Last call, que se hace larga con sus 12 minutos (4 de canción y el resto speech innecesario). Aún así un imprescindible por méritos propios.

Horrible person getting trashier by the day. That does not change the quality of the album though. I have never listened to a complete Kanye album before, and I never understood the hype. I get it now. I still don't enjoy him as a rapper, but the beats and the production - and even some of the lyrics - are just above and beyond.

eu escutei eric clapton. e pantera. e mais 3948392 filhos da puta nazista/racista. vo ouvir todos os albuns memo e ser sincero fodas. infelizmente é um album revolucionário brutalzaço, tudo nele é top. não é meu preferido mas bom demais. kanye é maluco nazista pau no cu dele.

fuck

If you're protesting this album because the artist is a nazi - I see you, understand where you're coming from, but challenge you to listen to this through once and put in effort to understand the messages and influence of this album. If it makes you feel better, you playing it once isn't getting him rich. Whatever streaming platform you're listening to it on underpays their artists anyways. If it still bothers you, put your money where your mouth is and donate to a nonprofit. Actually, if you're not making a monthly reoccurring donation to a nonprofit that benefits some sort of marginalized community, particularly a local nonprofit to you, then your protest is likely performative. This album is so damn good. Undeniably so. I have to admit, The New Workout Plan has been on my workout playlist for years. Through The Wire was literally recorded with his mouth wired shut from facial reconstructive surgery after a car accident two weeks prior to recording. And to sample a queen, Chaka Khan, is just iconic. Slow Jamz, Breathe In Breathe Out, All Falls Down, Family Business....So many great songs from this album. I would listen to this album more regularly if he weren't a nazi.

I hope Kanye never reads this but I fucking love this album Taking off a point for the rambling tho

Hoo boy... Seperating the art from the artist is particularly hard on this one in lieu of the recent events. That being said then this is about the greatest album, not the greatest people... And in that aspect this album is really strong. I've never heard it before but found myself going back to listen to my standout tracks multiple times Standouts All Falls Down Never Let Me Down The New Workout Plan Through The Wire 4/5

hey remember when kanye was a good person? i was Not born yet. anyways this album is really good

Know very little about the hiphop timeline, but this felt different than other rap albums I’ve listened to — almost felt more honest and the persona put forth was more real. Kanye gets a lot of hate nowadays for his personal life, but this album was pretty solid. Production was great, lyrically strong and I enjoyed the sampling, background choruses, etc 3.5/5

Kanye is a sick man. But that doesn’t change the reality that the music is the highest quality. Still I’m not taking a self-described Nazi to the desert island. The rhymes are political, creative, tight. The musical backing is great. Still the seeds of Ye’s illness are apparent. Between some if the amazing tracks, are lazy and indulgent tracks. At times, he’s riding the line between revealing the lives of his characters (eg, the kids choir — which is hella funny) and exploiting them. Looking back with 20:20, it’s clear that sometimes (eg, Slow Jamz) he’s mocking his subjects. He might not have meant that at the time — but that’s where it went. Too bad, because this Kanye is super-talented and has important things to say. It’s a 4 — would have been a 5 with some more editing discipline.

крутой альбом, тем более для первого альбома ого

Kanye was truly a mastermind before everything went downhill

too many skits, too many songs. but the highs are some of the highest of the decade.

The skits bog it down, which is why Graduation is superior. Kanye really is the best at this though.

Dude is a huge jackass but this is a great album

Listening to the most misogynistic song I’ve ever heard “wow, this is troublingly classist”. I dunno, this album was a big part of my youth, not sure what the fuck I’m supposed to do with his albums now.

Fuck you Kanye

A masterful piece of work. He's a terrible man mind.

Putting to one side that the guy needs serious help, he made some great music. Personally I prefer late registration, MBDTF and yeezus to this, but this is still great. Beautiful production, clever wordplay and I've always liked his rapping style, it sounds different to pretty much everyone else around

pretty neat. my kind of hip hop

Personality aside, can't deny Kanye is a great rapper. Solid debut, with some great songs I've never heard before.

Really catchy tunes and great lyrics - would def not have listened to this so great to hear it - cheers !

8/10

I saw Kanye in concert in 2014. It was pretty cool. It was a few days after the 10th anniversary of this album so he played a lot from this album. He also yelled about Charlamagne a lot. Weird how no one pays attention to him anymore. Anyway, fuck nazis.

Great melodies. Good story and lyrics. But I can't fully enjoy it due to Kanye's latest behaviour. Guess I can't fully separate the art from the artist. Thereflre the max score I'm willing to give this is an 8. Fuck Kanye.

Amuugy faszos

Bangers and fun, I like his newer stuff better.

Well damn. Didn't think Kanye's debut would slap like this. Baller beats all the way through. On the weaker tracks, Kanye's Flow, the beats and the occasional feature carry you through. The strong tracks are instantly recognizable classics. The album is dripping with innovation and delivers good story telling, all "without using knives or guns". Only criticism: could have been condensed a bit more. 4.5/5

I miss the old Kanye... When he made charmful beats. Also, this album could be a little shorter

BEATS ARE EVIL. I've already heard most of them, but the ones which I hadn't heard surprised me at how good they are (spaceship, breathe in breathe out). Rapping is obviously good probably Kanye's best ever (unfortunately). Hooks are pretty repetitive but often good. Features are also good. Quite a lot of songs shouldn't exist and the skits are not needed at all and all pretty terrible (besides the guy with the funny voice). Overall around 8/10

Authentic, smart, and listenable.

Oh how far he has fallen

Tough to rate with the usual metrics due to skit tracks. I like a lot of this but it’s not my favorite Kanye. Slow Jamz was a fun throwback. This album had some BOPS! Family Business is my fave though. I was gonna say 3 stars but we upgrade to 3.77 on vibes alone. It’s GOOD.

Hiphop klassieker. Pionier van de moderne hiphop productie. Af en toe nog opvallend scherpe social commentary voor iemand die tegenwoordig de draad volledig kwijt is.

First time listening to this entire album, shit fucking slaps. Not a huge fan of his later stuff, but Imo this is prime Kanye. 4/5

Even het boek erbij. Volgens mijn 2006 editie meldt Kan West dat als hij met een beatje eronder de oude soul naar het nieuwe millenium brengt, het net is alsof God dat doet. De man was blijkbaar toen de weg al goed kwijt... Dat zijn wel meer goede artiesten. Dus laten we maar eens luisteren. Het verrast me. Het latere album dat we kregen voelde zo afgeraffeld. Maar dat is nu helemaal niet. Misschien het voordeel van een debut plaat. Alle energie en creativiteit zit dan nog in een artiest. Leve de debutjes! Dit plaatje wordt gekenmerkt door rustige rap. Niet zwoel, maar vooral ongeforceerd. Zonder naar de teksten te luisteren voelt het daardoor 'echt'. Binnen die stijl wordt aardig afgewisseld. En dan luister het plaatje makkelijk weg. Je mist wel een mooie uitschieter of iets onderscheidends. Waardoor het maar een hele krappe 4 wordt.

Ik moet altijd even moed en zin verzamelen bij een hiphopalbum en dan met name als ze weer dik over het uur heen gaan. Dat is soms best een opgave, al heb ik ze ook meer dan eens met een 4 beloond. Ik hoor dingen waar ik me aan stoor: veel te veel skits. Gebruik van autotune (het blijft redelijk binnen de perken gelukkig). Maar ik hoor ook goede dingen. Prima flowende rap, swingende deuntjes en beatjes. Goede samenwerkingen met andere artiesten. Als je dan toch samenwerkt, zorg dan dat het wat toevoegt. Dat doet Ye wel. Zoals gewoonlijk luister ik niet naar de teksten, maar volgens mij gaat het over normalere zaken. Over logischere onderwerpen. Dat hij tegenwoordig wat op hol geslagen is, nemen we voor dit debuutalbum voor lief. Ik kan hier prima naar luisteren. Ik ken er geen hitje van helaas, maar ik wil de 3,5 best wel weer afronden naar een 4. Ben benieuwd of er ooit nog een hiphopplaat een 5 gaat scoren bij mij.

Podrán decir lo que quieran de Kanye West, pero carajo, el tipo sabe como hacer música.

I once again hate how good of an album this is for how bad of a person Kanye is. Ugh. The beats here are great and the mix of styles is soooo impressive. The production here is amazing. I normally hate skits too, but these were good. The School Spirit / Lil Jimmy Skits were pretty funny. I can't believe this a debut album. Pretty impressive. "Last Call" was such an ehhh way to end an album tho. Actual Rating is a 4.5. Perfect Songs: "We Don't Care" , "All Falls Down" , "Never Let Me Down" , "The New Workout Plan" , and "Through The Wire" Liked Songs: "Slow Jamz" , "Get Em High" , "I'll Fly Away" , "Spaceship" , and "Jesus Walks"

His peak I fear

This was the first rap album that I owned I think? Haven't listened to it for ages, but it still holds up pretty well; there's definitely a few tracks that aren't great but the singles are really strong. I don't like skits at the best of times really, and there are too many on this album, but Kanye does them a lot better than most (particularly the School Spirit ones). Solid 4/5.

Should really be a 5/5 but I hate skit interludes and there's like seven interludes on this record

I try really hard, but every time I try to listen to Kanye's music I can't stop thinking about what a horrible person he is. That aside, this was actually not that bad. It shows that this was early Kanye before he went complete bonkers, so this feels much more humble than his later works somehow. The album didn't start out that strong for me. I don't think I really get Kanye that well, or modern rap for that matter (if you can call 2004 modern). It turned at 'Slow Jamz', followed by 'Breathe In Breathe Out' which I think had a really cool riff. The whole school skit section with 'School Spirit' in the middle was actually pretty well done. Usually skits don't add much value but here Kanye portrayed some self-distance. The three last songs were good as well, with 'Through The Wire' being a classic. In summary I think this will have to get a weak 4 to me. It seems very widely praised, and I can understand why to some extent, but it just doesn't sit THAT well with me.

There are two kinds of people. Kanye, and Kanye’s other personality.

Jesus Walks

This is a really great, classic album. Kanye is a fantastic producer whose sound is so recognizable and had such a massive imprint on the sound of hip hop in the 2000s. His rhymes are clever, creative, humorous, thought-provoking and personal. At a time when most rappers where putting out songs to inflate their ego and image as thugs and ladies’ men, Kanye is on some real shit here. And the soul!!! This is a rather long album and I’m sad to say I think it suffers for it. Some tracks fall flat for me, sound pretty dated, and just bloat the album - namely “Never Let Me Down”, “Get ‘Em High” and “Breathe In Breathe Out”. One could also argue the number of skits and interludes is too damn high. None of the skits on their own are particularly bad or tedious, but they also serve to bog down an album that’s chock full of excellent songs. There is, of course, the nearly-13-minute “Last Call”, as well; I really enjoy hearing Kanye tell his story of producer turned solo artist. But again, it’s just… so long. I really want this to be a 5 ⭐️ album and with a stronger editorial hand it absolutely would be. Unfortunately, there are a handful of skips on it that prevent me from giving it full marks. But it really is an excellent album. 8.5/10

Want to hate it. I really can't. Damn it, it's actually really good.

This album is an hour and 16 minutes of pure copium about dropping out of college. Glad it worked out for him though.

Ok, memes aside - this stuff is pretty dope. Młody Kanye, zanim mu odjebało, wiedział, co robi. To są dobre bity i bardzo zgrabne teksty. Dużo dowcipu, gierek słownych, to jest po prostu dobra płyta. That being said - jestem wyedukowanym białasem, a Kanyemu odjebało i został jakąś dziwną karytaturą nazisty, także nie jestem w stanie patrzeć bezstronnie na album, który do przesady gloryfikuje robienie szmalu jako jedyną wartość w życiu i nie tylko krytykuje system edukacyjny w Stanach (do czego ma absolutnie pełne prawo, bo to jest chory shit, teraz jeszcze bardziej, niż w czasach albumu), ale podważa sens edukacji w ogóle (aż dziwne, że jeszcze nie wszedł w komitywę z Trumpem). W tym sensie ten album jest toksyczny.i destrukcyjny, co nie jest obojętne. No i druga sprawa, że o ile nie utwór nie jest o tym, że edukacja jest bez sensu, to jest o przedmiotowym ruchaniu, co też nie jest dla mnie cool. Muzyka i flow tego albumu są naprawdę mocne. Ale jest on koszmarnie niekonstruktywny i destrukcyjny w swoim wyrazie. Ale oceniając muzycznie i konstrukcyjnie zasługuje na cztery imo. Nawet jeśli nie mam zamiaru go więcej słuchać, ani polecać.

This is an iconic album for so many reasons, but it’s bloated with skits and multiple skips. Despite the skits and skips, there’s too many great tracks on the top half of this record to not give it a decent rating. Tempted to go 5 stars, but the back half really waters it down in my opinion.

It’s interesting to go back to this after everything he has become.

I respect anyone who refuses to engage with Kanye’s music on moral grounds. Just like his hero Michael Jackson, the challenge of separating art from the artist is unavoidable, especially when considering the scope of his influence. The College Dropout marked his official debut as a solo artist after years of crafting hits for icons like Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Alicia Keys. This felt like a cultural reset, redefining hip-hop with its groundbreaking sound, relatable themes, and crossover appeal. Hailed as a classic debut, the album broke from mainstream hip-hop stereotypes by embracing vulnerability, humour, and middle-class experiences. With its trademark soulful samples and deeply personal storytelling, it struck a chord at the time. Tracks like "Jesus Walks" and "All Falls Down" have become timeless, cementing their place as influential and widely celebrated anthems. In retrospect, the album isn’t without flaws. The skits, amusing at the time, haven’t aged as well and feel excessive, taking up a disproportionate amount of runtime. Out of the 14 tracks remaining a few lag behind the standouts, but even these imperfections highlight Kanye’s burning ambition and potential. From the start, it was clear this was a generational talent. At its heart, The College Dropout is Kanye’s most grounded and accessible work. Its sincerity resonates even as his later albums ventured into experimental and polarizing territory. This debut laid the foundation for Kanye’s transformation into one of music’s most innovative—and controversial—figures. My relationship with Kanye is complicated. He dominated my listening habits for years, regularly appearing in my year-end top artists. And justifiably so—his decade-long run from this debut to 2013’s Yeezus was extraordinary. While I have albums I favour (and some I am ambiguous about) within his discography, his overall influence during that era is undeniable. However, his actions in recent years—from spreading dangerous conspiracies to making repeated anti-Semitic remarks—have tarnished his legacy. I'm sure he doesn't care but I haven’t revisited his music regularly in a while, reflecting my discomfort with his behaviour. Yet, hearing songs from this era instantly transports me back to a time when his music was simply a source of joy and inspiration. I would gladly return to 2004 if only to experience this Kanye again. Despite its imperfections, The College Dropout remains a landmark release—a defining statement from an artist just beginning to show the world the heights of his talent. Did/Do I own this release? On Mp3 Does this release belong on the list? For its cultural impact Would this release make my personal list? MBDTF all day every day. Will I be listening to it again? For the most part, I'm avoiding Kanye these days.

Solid rap album. It's a shame Kanye lost his mind, he's very talented.

We Don't Care All Falls Down Jesus Walks Slow Jamz Through the Wire

5 beats a day for 3 summers, it's the quintessential album of someone who proved themselves through grind and effort. To this day, still one of his best albums and is near top marks, but it is a bit bloated with some of the skits and 12 minute outro. This is the old Kanye people miss, the Kanye before he lost his mother, before he went off the meds, before he lost Kanye and became Ye. His current abhorrent actions will continue to degrade and spoil his legacy and catalogue, but this is his most 'innocent' stage of his career like Jackson 5 was to Michael Jackson.

Jesus Walks has always been a track that I've been ashamed to like. I'm now ashamed to like a lo more.

Kanye keeps surprising me every time. I avoided hin cause although his producing skills are amazong and his knowledge of music is vast, I just dont like him. But music speaks louder than idiocoracy and his rants and crap. This guy is a producing machine and a musical genius. Apart from all the gospel and praying, I understand its part of who he is and his culture. Not my thing but I get hebis pouring hisbheart out in each and every single song he records.

When Kanye was good and not mental.

Interesting lyrical content and musical stylings.

great but not his best

Hahahahahaha, you fool. I've already listened to this album!

Lekker man. Staan echt lekkere nummers op. Erg onder de indruk. Vind wel het stuk met die School Skits de vaart eruit halen. Is daarna ook weer moeilijk herstellen. Last Call is ook uhhhhh wat.

Als een debuutalbum is het een easy 5, maar in absolute zin is het niet perfect en zijn z'n latere albums meer deserving van een 5, dus ga ik bij deze toch voor de 4

ja fucking goed album, al is mbdtf mn favo kanye

Jesus Walks bestes Lied von Kanye ***** Witzige Skits The New Workout Plan crazy aber gut Through the Wire auch top

75/100, good album. Some standout tracks, with some less good fillers.

Dude sucks

Look, I hate who Kanye has become these days: anti-Semitic, misogynistic, Trumpian, to say the least. But before that, he was a damn musical genius. This album is a masterpiece and it's a shame that I'm never listening to this ever again because of how shitty of a person he is.

Hate to be that guy but listening to this today made me very nostalgic for a time I was excited to hear a new Kanye album when it dropped.

fucking kanye

4.5/5. It lulls in the middle section a little bit for me, but it’s still so good. This would be the album of a lifetime for 99% of other rappers and producers. Hard to be a Kanye apologist nowadays but this is as good a a reason as any.

Honestly, a pretty great debut hip hop album, if also a reminder that there's not much that reveals character like success.

too bad kanye is such a terrible person. reluctant 4 stars

I was in between a 3 and a 4 for this one, but I have to go with 4 here. A lot of good stuff in here, nothing that blew me away, but certainly kept me interested throughout the album.

Some of his best on this one including All Falls Down, Jesus Walks and Through the Wire. This album may be closer to a 3, but I'll bump it up since I enjoy the hits so much and discovered a few new tracks I liked.

Crazy hooks, wild beats and punchy lyrics

the gospel-sounding 'i'll fly away' was a nice suprise, mens voices with a piano accompianment. upbeat music is very different to what i usually listen to, but not bad tbh i don't normally like rap music, but this is a lot more melodic than i thought it would be

I knew how good Kanye is but I've never listen to a full album until now and I've realised how much I've been missing out. Super fun listen, maybe slightly too long but it keeps a high standard throughout. Not even his best stuff either. We Don't Care, Through The Wire and All Falls Down are proper bangers.

I love the old Kanye.

Hella good. It’s crazy where he came from to what he is now.

If I separate the art from the artist, this is easily a 5. In 95% of cases, I can do that (e.g. The Smiths) - but for some reason, I just can’t hear Kanye’s voice and not associate it with who he is. But, credit where credit is due - not just a great rap album, but a great pop album thrown in there alongside. I’ll give it a 4 because I can’t allow it to be on my favorite albums list. But I can’t deny it’s great.

I know a lot of people refused to listen to this and as a Jewish man I certainly have no love for Kanye and understand he is the worse kind of anti-semite imaginable BUT I still have this a listen. ( Honestly i would have to refuse Eric Clapton albums based on how screwed up his world view is but I still listened to his stuff.) All that being said, this is an amazing album. Kind of reminds me of how I felt about Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of ... when I first heard it -blown away by the versatility of the music. Production values are through the roof and I really liked every single song. Hard not to give it 4 stars based on merit and based on just enjoying it. He is still a primo douschbag but he made a classic album.

when he’s not too far up his own ass, he’s a genius

Lots of hits on this album. Still not exactly my taste, but pretty solid.

For a debut album, it does great. The use of pitched soul samples is excellent, beats and production are good, lyrics and features range from goofy one liners to harder hitting verses, it's a solid debut and a good showing of what would come later in his career, and why he would be considered one of the better producers in hip hop. Obviously with his controversial history (especially as of late) I can see people wanting to avoid his works all together, however I knew a friend that had the CD from ages ago and asked to borrow it. I'd give the album a 8/10.

This plays a little long and there is some filler here. Not really any specific callouts but this album has a good vibe and style, and is really strong for a debut. Not quite a 4 for me but I’ll round up. 3.75/5

Really a shame he went off the rails because this was pretty great.

I’m annoyed by how much I like Kanye. An incredible debut. Hard not to like it despite the man behind the music. I don’t think it fully reaches the highs of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but it’s darn close. 4.25/5

Banger, not to my current taste

This was great. Minus one star for it being made by Kanye.

(I won't be rating skits or interludes) Track 1: We Don't Care (9/10) I love this song. It's a perfect introduction to Kanye as a rapper, and his rhymes flow perfectly with the creative beat. Track 2: All Falls Down (9/10) I love the acoustic guitar in this beat! Syleena Johnson's vocals also add a lot to this one. Track 3: Spaceship (8/10) This one is a good showcase of Kanye as a singer, even his rapping is melodic. The featured artists also understood the assignment and I actually like the second verse more than Kanye's. Track 4: Jesus Walks (10/10) Kanye's first masterpiece. I'm not even religious but Kanye has a way of making his faith feel authentic. Or at least, he used to... Track 5: Never Let Me Down (7/10) Kanye did some producing for Jay-Z before this so it made sense for them to collab on this album. It works pretty great but I don't love Ivy's verse. Still a good song that shows what Kanye and Jay-Z can do together. Track 6: Get Em High (7/10) A low stakes, fun song to jam to! Talib and Common we're legends at this point so it shows how much influence Kanye already had. Track 7: The New Workout Plan (8/10) The type of song that makes me laugh and dance in equal measures. Hilarious. Track 8: Slow Jamz (8/10) Pretty decent until Twista shows up and demolishes Kanye. The only thing that sucks is that it's just a song about sex but it's not really sexy at all. Track 9: Breathe In, Breathe Out (6/10) The rhymes weren't good enough to go with the decent beat, still enjoyed it though. Track 10: School Spirit (7/10) Good story to go with this one! Not the best but definitely Kanye lol Track 11: Two Words (6/10) I think this album could've had a couple songs cut and it would be better. This is one of those songs I'd cut cause it was nothing special. Track 12: Through the Wire (7/10) The lyrics made me laugh which brought it up a point. The beat is nothing special really. Track 13: Family Business (9/10) Oh man, this one got me. Kanye is at his best when he gives off a vibe of authenticity, which I totally got from this song. Loved it. Track 14: Last Call (10/10) I honestly love that this doubles as a great album closer and a behind the scenes look at the making of the album. Great stuff, I could listen to it forever and never get bored. Overall: 8/10 Look, I have no love for Kanye West the human being. He's arrogant, antisemitic and disgusting. I do, however, have a lot of respect for him as an artist. I think it's important to be able to separate the art from the artist because if you can't do that then you might as well stop listening to music, or watching movies, or looking at paintings, etc. because so many artists are shitty people. I'm not saying that other people should listen to music that makes them uncomfortable, because it's truly up to the individual what they want to listen to. I just disagree with that mindset. Looking at this album for what it is, I think it's a borderline masterpiece. The only reason it isn't getting a perfect rating is that it's a little lengthy and I wish he cut out one or two of the weaker tracks. I still love this album despite hating Kanye and his politics. Fav Song: Jesus Walks Least Fav Song: Two Words

This was much more R&B-leaning than I expected a Kanye album to be. Kind of glad that this is the first Kanye album I listened, I feel like I learned quite a bit about the man and his upstart on here. I liked a lot of the songs but I wasn't really wowed by them.

Yooooooooooooo, dik hoor

Ok I think I finally get the Kanye thing now. I wrote a bit about my Kanye thoughts when I got Yeezus on here, but generally he's a bit hard to take seriously now for me. But when you go back to where it started, it starts to make a lot of sense. I'm no rap expert, but this feels like a huge step forward from what was happening in the late '90s and early '00s. The samples are fun, the vibe is good, it's an enjoyable sound overall. And the lyrics are really about diverse topics, are thoughtful and funny, it's impressive. It's hard to imagine him humble and trying to break through now, but he was and he made something great. It has some down moments that hold it back a little for me. The skits between songs are a bit hit or miss, some of them are pretty funny (the school spirit ones), others break up the flow a bit too much for me. The last song was a bit unnecessary, and there are a few other songs that didn't interest me as much, but generally this is really great. "All Falls Down" gives it a top-tier song too. One other thing, but "Jesus Walks" was really striking to hear. It's an overtly religious song, and hits on Kanye's devotion to Jesus and how it isn't respected in the music industry. It really stood out to listen to, partly because that theme isn't common in music, and partly because of what Kanye is today. It's not my favorite song, and the message doesn't really land with me personally, but I found it to be a pretty interesting one looking at Kanye 20 years later. Anyway, this is a very solid album, one of my favorite rap albums on here so far. Finally understanding the Kanye appeal a bit. Favorite song: All Falls Down Other: We Don't Care, Jesus Walks, Never Let Me Down, Get Em High, Slow Jamz, School Spirit, Through The Wire, Family Business 9/27/24

Quite liked this

Uhhh…. Ummm …. Hmm ….. outdated list huh?

8.5/10

Lovely debut from Kanye West, feels like a very cohesive record, some of my all-time favorite Kanye songs come from this one, so it's a soft spot for me. Even though, I do not think it is a perfect album.

Bit of a short review today as Monday has been busier than usual. I think this is album that I respect the creation of more than the product itself, how personal it feels and the years of commitment it took to get it made. Obviously Kanye is a very controversial figure nowadays but I'd like to imagine people can appreciate the success story that this album was. All of that is not to say it's not a good album or anything either. It's such an easy listen with how goofy and fun a lot of it tries to be. I feel like a lot of artists these days use the soundscape of old soul in their hip hop as a form of window dressing. It feels insincere. In this case it was such an early case and still feels more innovative with how it was sampled and altered that it really feels like it set a new direction for rappers to take.

I'm hearing most of this album for the first time and it's is awesome. Great instrumentals, lyrics and vocals. The little interstitial tracks are fine Particularly enjoyed We Don't Care, Spaceship, The New Workout Plan, Two Words

Gay-Z and cockefeller records never imagined when they signed Kanye just how schizophrenic he would become. A real time display of the failures of the American mental health system. Thank you Ronald Reagan for closing all the insane asylums, without you Kanye would have been safely locked away in some inpatient facility and never let anywhere near a recording booth. I have no particularly strong feelings about this album other than it’s just good music. No one song jumped out at me as a stand out hit but maybe I just wasn’t listening properly. The one detriment to this album in my view is the 12 minute rambling story about something that happened when Kanye was working at Best & Less, which is odd considering I didn’t think that franchise existed in America?

Family Business aka music Bundy Bogans play at funerals. Aside from this track I had very little exposure to this album and I had only heard that song cause I once was talking to a fat bogan chick about music out the front of fat Louis and she held her phone up to ear yarning about how family means everything to her and even though she hates her cousin who crashed her commo she still loves her.. Anyway great album. Jesus Walks is huge highlight but so are all the others in my fav tracks. 8/10 Fav tracks - We Don't Care, Graduation Day, Spaceship, Jesus Walks, Get Em High, The New Workout Plan, Slow Jamz, Breathe in Breath Out, Two Words, Last Call Least Fav - Family Business

Gonna just open with my rating, 4/5. Not my favourite Kanye West Album but it set the bar by raping through the wire (GOATED BIT OF WORK THAT ONE). That said the thing I did want to focus on is his commentary on how hard it is to be a black man working etc. He correctly points out how fucking shit is having to work so much and still walk away with so little and how big crops/brands make all the money and have all the power. And its so interesting seeing all this commentary early on in Kanye's career, I know he expands on these thoughts too, Diamonds From Sierra Leone and New Slaves. But where did that take him? Yeezes and his other dog shit lines of clothing. People give him shit for being Anti-semetic but I hate this man for just being a fucking sell out. He was arriving at the right points like yeah consumerism is fucked and is holding back black people, then starts selling more shit to them. Clearly Hova from Cockafella records hit him with his black capitalism shit and Mr West ate that shit up. Anyway Fuck Kanye, everything after life of pablo is shit, old stuff is pretty great, including this album.

Hip Hop isn't really my thing but I perked up during All Falls Down and when Jesus Walks came on I had a 'I finally get it' moment. It goes without saying the production value here is incredible, but the album does feel extremely early 2000s for my taste (derogatory). The lyricism is fantastic especially on basically every track on this album. The album has an extremely strong opening string of tracks, the middle of it fall off a bit after Jesus Walks up and really picks up again on Two Words. The end of the album more than makes up for a slump in the middle. Great album, a super solid 4/5 for me. Looking forward to seeing more Kanye in the future. Favourite line: "The doctor said I have blood clots but I ain't Jamaican"

Good album, not sure why I haven’t listen to it before some great tracks

Aguante burzum

It's a good album, but I would say it tails off towards the end. It gets very self-indulgent and somewhat repetitive. But it is a very good album.

it's just good

This first chapter in Kanye's rap story is pretty incredible. So much vision, perseverance, boldness. Knowing what he would become, it's hard for me to not want to separate the art from the person. But he pours so much of himself into his music. What does it mean to separate the art and the artist? I don't know. I appreciate this album. I appreciate young Kanye. Art is crazy. Life is crazy.

It's a classic- my first time listening to this album as a whole, and I think KW did so well in building the college dropout world through each song on the album. This album is special to me not because of the songs, samples or the lyricism (even though they're so rich!)but because of KW self-belief to even get to that moment when he made this album. The passion is dripping off the body of work, and he sounds like he belongs. It's brilliant and something I'm taking with me when considering my music. The passion has to be pouring and for me, it is.

Jesus Walks slaps. The songs are melodic and richly textured.

Much better than I expected! Lots of silly skits, which reminds me of rap albums from the 90s.

Dammit, this asshole's music is catchy. I still refuse to listen to him these days other than this project, though. Fave Track: Never Let Me Down Rating: 4

7.5/10