The College Dropout: Difference between revisions
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==Conception== |
==Conception== |
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===Background=== |
===Background=== |
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Kanye West was born in [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. At the age of three, West's parents divorced and he moved with his mother to [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Arney |first=Steve |date=2006-03-08 |accessdate=2008-04-26|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-142980674.html|title=Kanye West Coming To Redbird. |work=[[Pantagraph]]|date=2006-03-08 }}</ref><ref name="leader">{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_19_111/ai_n19206336|title=Dr. Donda West Tells How She Shaped Son To Be A Leader In ''Raising Kanye''|author= Christian, Margena A.|date=2007-05-14|work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|accessdate=2007-08-19}}</ref> Growing up in the city, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making beats in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.<ref name=KanplicatedPg2>{{cite web |author=Calloway, Sway | coauthors=Reid, Shaheem | title= Kanye West: Kanplicated| url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/enwiki/w/west_kanye/news_feature_022404/index2.jhtml | date=2004-02-20 | work=MTV | publisher=MTV Networks | accessdate=2009-04-21}}</ref> He crossed paths with producer/DJ [[No I.D.]], with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No. I.D. soon became Kanye's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first [[sampler]] at the age of fifteen.<ref name=Hess-p557>Hess, p. 557</ref> |
Kanye West was born in [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. At the age of three, West's parents divorced and he moved with his mother to [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Arney |first=Steve |date=2006-03-08 |accessdate=2008-04-26|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-142980674.html|title=Kanye West Coming To Redbird. |work=[[Pantagraph]]|date=2006-03-08 }}</ref><ref name="leader">{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_19_111/ai_n19206336|title=Dr. Donda West Tells How She Shaped Son To Be A Leader In ''Raising Kanye''|author= Christian, Margena A.|date=2007-05-14|work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|accessdate=2007-08-19}}</ref> West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age. As his mother recalls, it was in the third grade she first took of Kanye's passion for drawing and music.<ref>West, Donda, p. 105</ref> Growing up in the city, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making beats in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.<ref name=KanplicatedPg2>{{cite web |author=Calloway, Sway | coauthors=Reid, Shaheem | title= Kanye West: Kanplicated| url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/enwiki/w/west_kanye/news_feature_022404/index2.jhtml | date=2004-02-20 | work=MTV | publisher=MTV Networks | accessdate=2009-04-21}}</ref> He crossed paths with producer/DJ [[No I.D.]], with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No. I.D. soon became Kanye's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first [[sampler]] at the age of fifteen.<ref name=Hess-p557>Hess, p. 557</ref> |
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After graduating from Polaris High School, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to [[Chicago State University]] to major in English. He continued making strides in his rapping and beat-making, and some of his earliest beats were sold to local underground rappers such as Gravity as well as major-label artists like [[Mase|Ma$e]]. However, it soon became apparent to West that his busy class schedule was a detriment with his work, and at the age of 20 he made the decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.<ref>West, Donda, p. 106</ref> This action greatly displeased his mother, who was a professor at the university that he withdrew from. She later commented, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called ''College Dropout'' it was more about having the guts to embace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you."<ref name=Hess-p558>Hess, p. 558</ref> |
After graduating from Polaris High School, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to [[Chicago State University]] to major in English. He continued making strides in his rapping and beat-making, and some of his earliest beats were sold to local underground rappers such as Gravity as well as major-label artists like [[Mase|Ma$e]]. However, it soon became apparent to West that his busy class schedule was a detriment with his work, and at the age of 20 he made the decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.<ref>West, Donda, p. 106</ref> This action greatly displeased his mother, who was a professor at the university that he withdrew from. She later commented, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called ''College Dropout'' it was more about having the guts to embace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you."<ref name=Hess-p558>Hess, p. 558</ref> |
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The College Dropout is the debut album by American rapper and producer Kanye West, released February 10, 2004. The album was recorded over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.[2] After years of work that West underwent in order to established himself as an artist, after dropping out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician, he emerged into the mainstream with his debut studio album. Upon its release, the album became a massive commercial success, expressing three ten top singles and selling over 441,000 copies in its first week alone.[3] The College Dropout is widely considered a musical masterpiece, garnering "universal acclaim" by critics.[4] The album received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and won Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song. It has since gone on to sell over three million copies.
Conception
Background
Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of three, West's parents divorced and he moved with his mother to Chicago, Illinois.[5][6] West demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age. As his mother recalls, it was in the third grade she first took of Kanye's passion for drawing and music.[7] Growing up in the city, West became deeply involved in its hip hop scene. He started rapping in the third grade and began making beats in the seventh grade, eventually selling them to other artists.[8] He crossed paths with producer/DJ No I.D., with whom he quickly formed a close friendship. No. I.D. soon became Kanye's mentor, and it was from him that West learned how to sample and program beats after he received his first sampler at the age of fifteen.[9]
After graduating from Polaris High School, West received a scholarship to attend Chicago's American Academy of Art and began taking painting classes, but shortly after transferred to Chicago State University to major in English. He continued making strides in his rapping and beat-making, and some of his earliest beats were sold to local underground rappers such as Gravity as well as major-label artists like Ma$e. However, it soon became apparent to West that his busy class schedule was a detriment with his work, and at the age of 20 he made the decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.[10] This action greatly displeased his mother, who was a professor at the university that he withdrew from. She later commented, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you."[11]
West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, making beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing a style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. He came to achieve recognition and is often credited with revitalizing Jay-Z's career with his contributions on the rap mogul's classic and influential 2001 album The Blueprint. In addition to producing the hit lead single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and the introspective "Never Change", West was also responsible for supplying the beat to the diss track "Takeover", in which lyrical shots were fired at Nas and Prodigy. The Blueprint has been revered by numerous publications as one of the greatest albums of all time.[12] Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, West produced records for other Roc artists, including Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Cam'ron. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson.
Despite his proven talent and success as a producer, West's true aspiration was to be a rapper. Though he had developed his emceeing skills long before he began producing, it was a challenge for West to be accepted as a rapper, and he struggled to attain a record deal.[13] Multiple record companies pushed him aside because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop.[14] After a series of meetings with Capitol Records, West was ultimately denied an artist deal. According to Capitol Record's A&R, Joe "3H" Weinberger, he was approached by West and almost inked a deal with him, but another person in the company got in the ear of Capitol's president, saying, "He's just a producer/rapper. Those record won't do well. He'll never sell." and the deal was nullified.[8] In a desperate attempt to keep their gifted producer from defecting to another label, then-label head Dame Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella Records. Jay-Z later admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he, like many, saw him as a producer first and foremost, and that his background contrasted with that of his labelmates.[14][15] West's breakthrough came a year later on October 23, 2002, when, while driving home from a California recording studio after working late, he fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a near-fatal car crash. The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The accident inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut. The composition, "Through The Wire", went on to become West's breakthrough debut single and helped lay the foundation for his debut album.[16]
Recording
The College Dropout was recorded at the The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California, but its beats were formed elsewhere over the course of several years. According to John Monopoly, West's friend, manager and business partner, the album "...[didn't have] a particular start date. He's been gathering beats for years. He was always producing with the intention of being a rapper. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years." At one point, West hovered between making a portion of the beats in the studio and the majority within his own apartment in Newark, New Jersey.[17] Because it was a two-bedroom apartment, West was able to set up a home studio in one one room and his bedroom in the other.[13] Carrying a Louie Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio and back, West crafted beats in less than fifteen minutes at a time. He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date. However, West decided to use the opportunity to make the album even better, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. As a result, certain tracks originally destined for the album were subsequently retracted, among them "Keep the Reciept" with Ol' Dirty Bastard and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with Consequence.[18] West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, improved drum programming and new verses.[13]
Music
Lyrical content
The College Dropout discarded the then-dominant gangster persona in favor of more diverse, topical proponents.[19] Throughout the album, West touches on a number of different life-related issues, including organized religion, family, sexuality, excessive materialism, and minimum-wage labor. In an interview conducted just before the album's release, West commented, "My persona is that I'm the regular person. Just think about whatever you've been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album."[20]
Singles
The album's first single and West's debut single, "Through the Wire", was inspired by his 2002 car accident and provides a comedic account of his difficult recovery.[21] The chorus and instrumentals sample a "pitched up" version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire".[16] The single debuted at number ninety-four on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number fifteen on February 3, 2004 for five weeks. It remained on the chart for twenty-one weeks.[22] It performed better on the urban contemporary charts, reaching number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number four on the Hot Rap Tracks.[23] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked for two weeks, and exited the chart after nine weeks. The track charted lower in other European countries, reaching the top thirty in Ireland, Sweden, and the Netherlands; the top fifty in Belgium and Switzerland; and number sixty-one in Germany. Its maximum peak time in those countries lasted one week. The single entered the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twenty-four and peaked at number sixteen.[22]
The second single, "Slow Jamz", is a tribute to classic smooth soul artists and slow jam songs. It previously appeared on rapper Twista's album Kamikaze (2003), and contains vocals from Twista, West, and Jamie Foxx.[24] The single peaked at number one in the United States, becoming Twista's, West's, and Foxx's first number one hit. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Q listed it as the nineteenth greatest hip-hop song of all time.[25] "All Falls Down" was released as the third single, and it entered the UK Singles Chart at number ten and peaked at number seven on the U.S. Hot 100. The song features singer Syleena Johnson and contains an interpolation of Lauryn Hill's "Mystery of Iniquity". Kanye originally attempted to acquire legal clearance to sample the recording, but permission was withheld.[13] West called upon Johnson to re-sing a vocal portion of "Mystery of Iniquity", which ended up in the final mix.[26]
The fourth single, "Jesus Walks", is built around a sample of "Walk With Me" as performed by the ARC Choir.[24] Garry Mulholland of The Observer described it as a "towering inferno of martial beats, fathoms-deep chain gang backing chants, a defiant children's choir, gospel wails, and sizzling orchestral breaks."[27] A spiritual trek, the first verse of the song is told through the eyes of a drug dealer seeking God, and it reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse.[28] The single earned widespread commercial success, peaking at number eleven in the United States and becoming West's fourth top twenty hit, while peaking at number sixteen in the UK.[29][30] It was nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, one of ten total Grammy nominations that West received for 2004.[31] The fifth and final single, "The New Workout Plan", peaked at number fifty-nine on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The song contains violin by Miri Ben-Ari.[24] The song's official remix was produced by Lil Jon and features guest appearances from Twista, Luke, and Fonzworth Bentley. The remix was later included on The College Dropout Video Anthology.[32]
Release and reception
![[icon]](/enwiki/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: Commercial performance and criticial commentary from Metacritic. You can help by adding to it. (April 2009) |
The album was nominated for Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and won Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song for "Jesus Walks" in 2005. It was voted as the best album of the year by Rolling Stone magazine and in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, was ranked #1 in Spin magazine's "40 Best Albums of the Year", and received a near-perfect 4.5 mic rating from The Source. Comedian Chris Rock has attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his material.[33] In 2005, Pitchfork Media named it #50 in their best albums of 2000–2004. In 2006, the album was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time.[34] Entertainment Weekly listed the album as the 4th best album of the past 25 years. The album went 3x platinum in the United States.
Track listing
CD
- All tracks produced by Kanye West except "Last Call" co-produced by Evidence.
| No. | Title | Music | Sample(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" (West) | *Vocals: Deray | 0:19 | |
| 2. | "We Don't Care" (West/Vannelli) | * Additional vocals: John Legend, Riccarda Watkins, Keyshia Cole, Terence Hardy, Diamond Alabi-Isama, James "JT" Knight
| * Contains a sample of "I Just Wanna Stop" performed by The Jimmy Castor Bunch | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Graduation Day" (West) | * Piano and vocals: John Legend
| 1:22 | |
| 4. | "All Falls Down" (feat. Syleena Johnson) (West/Hill) | * Guitar: Eric "E-Bass" Johnson
| * Contains an interpolation of "Mystery of Iniquity" performed by Lauryn Hill | 3:43 |
| 5. | "I'll Fly Away" (Brumley) | * Additional vocals: Tony Williams, Deray
| 1:09 | |
| 6. | "Spaceship" (feat. GLC, Consequence) (West/Williams/Harris/Mills/Gaye/Gordy/Greene) | * Additional vocals: Tony Williams, John Legend | * Contains a sample of "Distant Lover" performed by Marvin Gaye | 5:24 |
| 7. | "Jesus Walks" (West/Smith) | * Additional vocals: John Legend
| * Contains a sample of "Walk With Me" performed by The Arc Choir
| 3:13 |
| 8. | "Never Let Me Down" (feat. Jay-Z, J. Ivy) (West/Carter/Richardson/Bolton/Kulick) | * Background vocals: John Legend, Tracie Spencer
| * Contains a sample of "Maybe It's the Power of Love" performed by Blackjack | 5:24 |
| 9. | "Get 'Em High" (feat. Talib Kweli, Common) (West/Greene/Lynn) | * Additional vocals: Sumeke Rainey | 4:49 | |
| 10. | "Workout Plan" (West) | * Vocals: Candis Brown, Brandi Kuykenvall, Tiera Singleton | 0:46 | |
| 11. | "The New Workout Plan" (West) | * Additional vocals: John Legend, Sumeke Rainey
| 5:22 | |
| 12. | "Slow Jamz" (feat. Twista, Jamie Foxx) (West/Mitchell/Bacharach/David) | * Additional vocals: Aisha Tyler
| * Contains a sample of "A House is Not a Home" performed by Luther Vandross | 5:16 |
| 13. | "Breathe In, Breathe Out" (feat. Ludacris) (West/Miller) | * Violins: Miri Ben-Ari | 4:06 | |
| 14. | "School Spirit Skit 1" (West) | 1:18 | ||
| 15. | "School Spirit" (West/Franklin) | * Additional vocals: Tony Williams | * Contains a sample of "Spirit in the Dark" performed by Aretha Franklin | 3:02 |
| 16. | "School Spirit Skit 2" (West) |
| 0:43 | |
| 17. | "Lil Jimmy Skit" (West) | * Additional vocals by Tony Williams
| 0:53 | |
| 18. | "Two Words" (feat. Mos Def, Freeway, The Harlem Boys Choir) (West/Smith/Pridgen/Wilson/Wilson/Wilson) | * Keyboards: Keith Slattery
| * Contains a sample of "Peace And Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) - Movement III (Encounter)" performed by Mandrill | 4:26 |
| 19. | "Through the Wire" (West/Foster/Keane/Weil) | * Contains a sample of "Through the Fire" performed by Chaka Khan | 3:41 | |
| 20. | "Family Business" (West) | * Additional vocals: Thomasina Atkins, Linda Petty, Beverly McCargo, Lavel Mena, Thai Jones, Kevin Shannon, Tarey Torae
| * Contains a sample from The Dells - Fonky Thang (Vocal sample)
| 4:38 |
| 21. | "Last Call" (West/Perretta) | * Additional vocals: John Legend, Tony Williams, Ken Lewis
| * Contains a sample from "Mr. Rockefeller" by Bette Midler | 12:40 |
LP
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Don't Care" | |
| 2. | "Graduation Day" | |
| 3. | "All Falls Down" | |
| 4. | "Spaceship" | |
| 5. | "Jesus Walks" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Let Me Down" | |
| 2. | "Get Em High" | |
| 3. | "The New Workout Plan" | |
| 4. | "Through the Wire" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slow Jamz" | |
| 2. | "Breathe in Breathe Out" | |
| 3. | "School Spirit" | |
| 4. | "Two Words" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Family Business" | |
| 2. | "Last Call" |
Chart positions
Album
| Charts (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums | 5 |
| French Albums Chart | 98 |
| German Albums Chart | 77 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 39 |
| UK Albums Chart | 12 |
Singles
| Song | Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "Through the Wire" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
| Rhythmic Top 40 | 10 | |
| Hot Rap Tracks | 4 | |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks | 8 | |
| Top 40 Mainstream | 32 | |
| Top 40 Tracks | 25 | |
| Song | Chart (2004) | Peak position |
| "All Falls Down" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 7 |
| Rhythmic Top 40 | 7 | |
| Hot Rap Tracks | 2 | |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks | 4 | |
| Top 40 Mainstream | 22 | |
| Top 40 Tracks | 11 | |
| "Jesus Walks" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 11 |
| Rhythmic Top 40 | 16 | |
| Hot Rap Tracks | 3 | |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks | 2 | |
| "The New Workout Plan" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles and Tracks | 59 |
Credits
- Executive Producers: Shawn Carter, Damon Dash, Kareem "Biggs" Burke
- Co-Executive Producers: G. Roberson, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua, Kanye West, Michael Perretta
- A&R Direction: Hip Hop Since 1978, Patrick "Plain Pat" Reynolds
- A&R Coordinator: Shalik Berry, Ramses Francois, Darrin Asemota
- Direction of Joint Ventures: Darcell Lawrence
- Recording Administration: Tony Vanias
- Mastering: Eddy Schreyer
- Marketing for Hip Hop Since 1978: Al Branch
- Marketing for Roc-a-Fella Records: Girard Hunt, Osayamen Asemota
- Marketing for Def Jam: Shante Bacon
- Management: John Monopoly, Don C., Benny MEdina, Andrei McQuillan
- Art Direction & Design: Eric Duvauchelle, Mike Godshall, Jim Morris, Stephanie Reynolds, Lauri Rowe
- Dropout Bear Logo Design: Bobby Naugle, Sam Hansen
- Costumes: O Share Stylez, Kanye West
- Legal Counsel: Alison K. Finley
- Business Affairs: Randy McMillan, Antoinette Trotman, Ian Allen
- Sample Clearance Agent: Eric Weissman
Featured artists
- Kanye West was unable to get permission from Lauryn Hill to use a vocal sample from the track "Mystery of Iniquity" on her MTV Unplugged album. Instead, Syleena Johnson re-sang the lyric, for the song "All Falls Down". The song later appeared with the original sample on the compilation CD Freshmen Adjustment, which also contained the song "Wow" (which West mentioned in "Last Call").
- Aretha Franklin would not allow Kanye to sample her song "Spirit in the Dark" if it contained curse words, so "School Spirit" is the only censored track on both clean and explicit versions of the album. An explicit version was leaked before the album's release.[citation needed]
- "Jesus Walks" was written and recorded as a solo track for Rhymefest, another Chicago rapper, but because he did not have a record deal at the time, he and West re-wrote the song and it appears on West's debut.[35]
- "Get 'Em High" was also scheduled to appear on Talib Kweli's album The Beautiful Struggle, but Kweli revised the tracklist due to the album being heavily leaked.[citation needed]
- "Never Let Me Down" was originally a Jay-Z solo track cut from The Blueprint. West added a verse (as well as a spoken-word verse from J. Ivy) and kept the two original Jay-Z verses.
References
- Brown, Jake (2006). Kanye West in the Studio: Beats Down! Money Up! (2000-2006). Colossus Books. ISBN 0-9767735-6-2.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Hess, Mickey (2007). Icons of Hip Hop: an Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-33904-X.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - West, Donda (2007). Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 1-416-54470-4.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help)
Notes
- ^ XXL (2007). "Retrospective: XXL Albums". XXL Magazine, December 2007 issue.
- ^ The Set Up. XXL. Accessed September 7, 2008
- ^ Hasty, Hatie (2008-12-03). "Kanye Edges GNR, Ludacris For No. 1 Debut". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ "The College Dropout". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ^ Arney, Steve (2006-03-08). "Kanye West Coming To Redbird". Pantagraph. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ Christian, Margena A. (2007-05-14). "Dr. Donda West Tells How She Shaped Son To Be A Leader In Raising Kanye". Jet. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- ^ West, Donda, p. 105
- ^ a b Calloway, Sway (2004-02-20). "Kanye West: Kanplicated". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Hess, p. 557
- ^ West, Donda, p. 106
- ^ Hess, p. 558
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: #464 (The Blueprint)". Rolling Stone. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2007-06-21.
- ^ a b c d Reid, Shaheem (2005-02-09). "Road To The Grammys: The Making Of Kanye West's College Dropout". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ a b Hess, p. 556
- ^ Williams, Jean A (2007-10-01). "Kanye West: The Man, the Music, and the Message.(Biography)". The Black Collegian. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason (2007). "Kanye West - Biography". allmusic. Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 2008-04-24. Cite error: The named reference "amg" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Artist: Kanye West Album: The College Dropout Song: Last Call". The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ Patel, Joseph (2003-06-05). "Producer Kanye West's Debut LP Features Jay-Z, ODB, Mos Def". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ (July 2004) Ebony
- ^ Bradley, Adam (2009). Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop. BasicCivitas. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-465-4145.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: length (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Kearney, Kevin (September 30, 2005). Rapper Kanye West on the cover of Time: Will rap music shed its "gangster" disguise?. World Socialist Web Site. Accessed October 23, 2007.
- ^ a b Kanye West - Through the Wire - Music Charts. aCharts.us. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- ^ Artist Chart History. Billboard. Accessed August 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c The College Dropout (Media notes). Roc-A-Fella Records. 2004.
{{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter|bandname=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|publisherid=ignored (help) - ^ * * * Q Mag: 150 Rock Lists * * *
- ^ Hall, Rashaun (2005-01-21). "Kanye West Collaborating With Lauryn Hill On New LP". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ Mulholland, Garry (2004-08-15). "'Jesus Walks' by Kanye West". The Observer. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Calloway, Sway (2004-02-20). "Kanye West: Kanplicated". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Leland, John (2004-08-13). "Rappers Are Raising Their Churches' Roofs". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Jones, Steve (2005-02-10). "Kanye West runs away with 'Jesus Walks'". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Montgomery, James (2004-12-07). "Kanye Scores 10 Grammy Nominations; Usher And Alicia Keys Land Eight". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ Moss, Cory (2004-04-17). "Run-In With A Bentley Uncovers Some Kanye West Remix Plans". MTV. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ^ Why You Can't Ignore Kanye - TIME
- ^ The All-TIME 100 Albums
- ^ YouTube - Rhymefest freestyle, Jesus Walks and interview
External links
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| Collaborative albums |
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| Live albums | |
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| Books | |
| Fashion | |
| Family |
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| Related articles | |
