Graduation

After experiencing disappointment with Kanye's previous effort of Late Registration, I had little to no expectations for this album. Of course, The College Dropout was an instant classic when released, but this album tops it. While Late Registration was spotty with the great and the outright bad, this album is a gem from start to finish. It's one of the few albums I can play all the way through without wanting to skip songs. The standouts (five out of five stars) of the album are "Good Morning", "Stronger", "Good Life", "Can't Tell Me Nothing" and "Flashing Lights". The rest are no less than four to four and a half stars. I think Kanye has finally found his style and groove and I can't wait for his next album.

If you enjoy hip hop, rap, Kanye, you probably already own this album. If not, get it!

I went to see him at the Glow N the Dark Tour in houston.... there is something about him that is so touching... he is a true performer. I think he is at the top of the game... hes brilliant. GRADUATION is a mind-blowing album with excellent samplez...

my favourite track hands down is "Flashing Lights" ft. Dwele. the beat is just OUTSTANDING... the video helped it become a INSTANT CLASSIC...

other joints on this album that i love...
"Homecoming"
"Champion"
"Barry Bonds"
"Good Morning"
"Cant Tell Me Nothing"
"I Wonder"

the whole album is amazing to me... he is alwayz going to b over the top and im not going to hate.... I just wish ppl would just give him the respect that he deserves...

4.5 out of 5 stars

Well the question of whether this album was going to be better than Curtis was answered a long time ago, so I think enough time has passed to look back on it and assess it as it is; Kanye West's third studio album. To start off, the artwork is one of the best I've ever seen on a hip hop album, and it'll catch your eye every time. As far as the music goes, I think it could have been much better had the original version of "Homecoming" been used. I still don't quite understand Chris Martin singing the chorus of a love song about Chicago, but who am I to question the marketing machine that is Mr. West. I think "Home" with John Legend is a far better song and was disappointed not to see it here. And speaking of that, where is "Bittersweet" with John Mayer??? Some of Kanye's best lyrics ever and in my opinion a far better song than "Big Brother" which should have been a b-side or a bonus track somewhere, as I believe "Bittersweet" became. Other than that, you know most of these songs already b/c he's released about 5 or 6 singles from this record. If you like those pick it up, if you're just starting out I'd suggest starting with College Dropout and than Late Registration (my personal favorite West album). 3 1/2 stars.

Kanye West - Graduation (Roc-A-Fella, 2007)

It's no secret: critics love Kanye West. The media loves Kanye West. Whatever wrongs he do in public are forgiven by them and each of his albums end up on some annual "Best of" list. Everybody else, however, has their own criticisms: he can't rap, he gives his best beats away, he's too cocky, etc. Well, this album, Graduation, probably won't change the naysayers' opinions but it is another well-rounded effort from Mr. West.

What you may notice is that this album is more condensed than his other albums (read: no stupid skits). It gives the listener more time to listen to 'Ye's lyrics. And he doesn't disappoint, especially on "Can't Tell Me Nothing", where he sums up the argument about how hip hop ain't how it used to be: "Old folks talkin' 'bout 'Back in my day'/But homey this is MY day". In other words, quit living in the past. Other great songs come in the forms of "Good Life" (any artist + T-Pain = instant hit), "Everything I Am", the funny "Drunk and Hot Girls" and the revealing "Big Brother" about Kanye's previous jealousy of Jay-Z.

Unfortunately, Kanye still has a way of trying to introduce old material to the masses, thinking that we never heard a certain rap before. One of The College Dropout Proper Advance's tunes, "Home", which used a girl as a metaphor for the city of Chicago, shows up on here called "Homecoming" and does an injustice to the original. And I'm not gonna lie, The College Dropout will always be Kanye's best album to me. Still, if you haven't yet, attend Kanye's Graduation because it's a special event. -EJR

This is not a review as such of Kanye West's "Graduation" album. Not a whole lot more that I can say about the album that hasn't been said somewhere in the hundreds of other reviews here. Instead, I wanted to comment on the disaster that was Kanye's performance at Bonnaroo in June, which I witnessed first hand.

Kanye was originally scheduled to perform at 8:15 PM Saturday evening, at the same time that Jack Johnson was scheduled to perform on the main stage. Claiming that he wanted to make sure it was dark enough for his stage show, Kanye requested that his set be moved to a 2:45 to 4 AM slot at the main stage (even though by 8:30 Central time, it's pretty much complete darkness). His request was granted (this was the first time ever that such a late performance would be held at the main stage). The headliners of the evening, Pearl Jam, ran over by 30 min. and finished their set at exactly 1 AM. Then the waiting started. 2:45 AM came and went with no sign of Kanye. The waiting went on and on and on... People were getting very frustrated, for obvious reasons. Lots of people simply left. Finally, at 4:25 AM, Kanye came on stage, no explanation given, no "thanks for hanging in there", like nothing was wrong. The set started with "Good Morning", and how appropriate it was as dawn started to break. By the time Kanye finished at 5:25 AM, it was complete daylight. So much for glow in the dark!

I had heard a lot about the Glow in the Dark tour, and was very curious to see what the brouhaha was all about. Well, color me mightily disappointed! The 'special effects' came across cheaply, for one. Separate from the faux pas for not apologizing for being so late, the show is just a one man performance, dancing and singing to pre-taped music (not a single 'live" instrument), just like on the Disney channel! Very disappointing. Later I read that Kanye blamed the fiasco on the Bonnaroo organizers "who clearly don't know how to put on a show". Sure, Kanye! Me personally, I think that "Kanye don't like white people"...