Kanye West’s College Dropout 20 Years On: Chipmunk Soul, Pink Polos, and Early Genius

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meIn 2024, it’s impossible to separate the legend of Kanye West from the man. But long before Ye became a constant flashpoint for countless controversies and culture wars, he was Kanye: a daydreaming kid who relentlessly hustled to bring his debut album to the year 2004. The College Dropout in the world. No matter what part of Kanye’s legacy has faded, this epic album is still fresh. It is a testament not only to the sample, but to the creative vision that set him apart from so many of his peers. As the album turns 20 years old today, its warm chipmunk soul sound, which became Kanye’s first signature, comes into its own with a soft nostalgic glow, creating an irregularity that only increases with time. the year.

Kanye would develop a special knack for alienating his audience, but in his early years he presented himself as a more reliable and accessible persona. In a retrospective for Noisey, Craig Jenkins described the album’s release as “a watershed moment in 2000s rap history where the nerds invaded the school to seize control of the jocks”, and cast Kanye as a sophisticated Peter Parker. understood next to the alpha supermen who dominated the rap game at the time. The actual title of The College Dropout and the satirical motif of school spirit – the album cover sees Kanye crouched on the bleachers wearing the head of a mascot costume – casts its makers as middle-class ordinary people . More than a big name rapper, he comes across as an average guy who works a humdrum retail job, racks up credit card debt and disappoints his parents.

For all these boastful, trouble-making gymnasts, Kanye easily portrays himself as an imperfect actor, a mediator between his id and his superego. He believes in Jesus, but is hardly religious or repentant, and fights temptation in the song “Jesus Walks”. He rejects the trappings of material culture, but still succumbs to the temptation to buy shiny new things. Early Kanye was able to reduce consciousness to the same level as the most “conscious” rappers, such as Common and Talib Kweli, who appear on the raucous rock anthem “Get ‘Em High”, but instead of scolding him from above, he is generally speaking. accused himself along with the system – a sinner seeking forgiveness rather than the direct preacher he would later become.

As he put it in the slam poem “All Falls Down”: “We’re all self-conscious / I’m the first to admit it.” The College Dropout still displays the self-indulgence and overconfidence that can be Kanye’s defining characteristic, but what separates him from the blockbuster bloat Pablo’s life (2016) or A wound (2021) is a combination of inspiration and passion in arranging and writing songs. Carefully considered and not rushed due to deadline pressure.

Kanye’s hard work and dedication The College Dropout is central to the autobiographical legend he created, as he tells us of “making five hits a day for three summers” just to get noticed. As Chicago rapper GLC put it in the album’s blurb for SIMPLE, “Every time you hear a new Kanye record, it’s out of frustration because nobody’s been paying attention. That’s what made it so good. On album closer “Last Call,” he breaks the record’s journey into a 10-minute outro that acts as a behind-the-scenes directorial commentary, dictating his origin story to vote before anyone else can write it. him.

The central part of this legend is the famous car accident in 2002 that informs not only the narrative of the single “Through the Wire” but also the transmission of his voice to it, because Kanye – because of the pain ‘jaw closed – just shows his hesitation. the intensity of the battle to be heard. The apparent imperfection of Kanye’s voice makes him feel more human, in some ways, by describing how he uses autotune tones from outside to express a sense of isolation. the album like 808s & trauma (2008).

For the first time, you can literally hear Kanye learning to find his voice The College Dropout. His cousin and frequent collaborator Tony Williams described the album as “honest music” due to the fact that everything was new for Kanye: “Musically , he did not know what he was doing and he did not know how to speak. But it was because of what he felt. It was almost like a child. If we took it now, it would sound very different. We went by what we felt and what we heard in our heads. “

Kanye represented Chicago with pride, and The College Dropout is shaped by the city’s thoughtful rap scene, featuring local talent such as GLC’s “Spaceship” and poet J Ivy’s winning “Never Let Me Down.” BUT The College Dropout in many ways it had regional appeal, a reflection of Kanye’s geographic journey: Chicago is his home, but he was born in Atlanta, and spent years crafting the beat in a house in New Jersey. Kanye has walked a metaphorical Mason-Dixon line, collaborating with New York legends like Jay-Z and Southern wizards like Ludacris, who appears on “Breathe In, Sorry.”

There’s also a West Coast flavor: as Kanye easily reveals on “Last Call,” his first beats often borrow drum patterns from Dr. Dre in 1999’s “Xxplosive”. The old-school aesthetic of the chipmunk soul sound also appealed to many demographics: the edginess and fashion appealed to younger listeners, while the deep vault of vintage R&B samples, from Aretha Franklin and Luther Vandross to Chaka Khan, made it safer to drive. house for your parents.

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In an era when many music writers still considered hip-hop to be of special interest, The College Dropout resonated across the critical spectrum. The album topped the Pazz & Jop Poll that year The Village Voiceand was named the best record of 2004 by publications such as A rolling stone, these are threadsand Ambience. Some descriptions of Kanye at the beginning of his career – when he was just one rapper among many, but not an industry for himself – can read a little strange when you look at it.

these are threadsthe year-end writing of The College Dropout described West as “the son of a college professor and a Black Panther… preaching a bleak sermon that talks about the hustle and bustle of life with a soulful twist.” FOR A rolling stoneJon Caramanica wrote that Kanye “delivered a warm and almost soulful brand of hip-hop”, but also noted that he “isn’t MC enough to carry the whole album” and needs the help of more reliable songwriters. like Talib. Kweli and Mos Def.

Kanye himself has admitted that he is not the best rapper. On the catchy “Slow Jamz,” Kanye’s lover encourages him to drop the speed, and he whispers, “I can’t do it fast, but I know someone who can,” prompting fellow Chicagoan Twista to release the supersonic. flow. This commitment speaks to Kanye’s approach to collaborations, as he deliberately hires guests with strengths that complement his own weaknesses.

When his career as a rapper was just beginning, Kanye needed a reliable partner, and Jay-Z stepped forward on “Never Let Me Down” to offer his blessing. Kanye’s current public fame is due to his collaboration with Jay, producing popular beats for songs such as “Izzo (HOVA)” and “Lucifer”. When they were together in 2011 Look at the throneThe two mavericks may have been on the same page in terms of fame, but on “Don’t Let Me Down,” you can feel Kanye seeking the approval of the man he calls his “big brother.”

At the height of Kanye’s critical acclaim, there were few books published by the media that he considered brave. iron hookwhich gave a perfect rarity score of 10.0 to The Twisted Dark Fantasy in 2010. The College Dropout it earned her the first of seven Best New Music nods in the release, but the album’s 8.2 review was very restrained in its praise. Critic Rob Mitchum noted the “stacked setlist, overabundance of guest stars, and lyrical inconsistencies”, going so far as to encourage the audience to “take the editing into their own hands” and delete the overarching narrative. a lot on his iPod.

However, in Mitchum’s view, the record’s “flaws tend to only serve to make Kanye West more of an artist.” the unique connection with the audience that Kanye has confirmed in the jump. He was never the most technically skilled rapper or the most skilled singer, but he turned those weaknesses into strengths, using the audible limitations of his voice to promote a sense of vulnerability.

Kanye’s one-time greatness makes his current calamity even more tragic – the emptiness of his recent demos only heightens the heat of his best work. On “Family Business,” one of Kanye’s most expressive tracks of his career, he evokes emotional memories from his childhood that are almost audible. The College Dropout today it seems.

Rethinking the album harkens back to a simpler time, when Kanye was a starving man rather than an angry billionaire in search of his own Xanadu – a time when engaging in his work didn’t feel too political. Kanye may have bought into the myth of his own genius, but there’s one thing he’s never pretended to be perfect at: he’s told us about his flaws and failures from the start.