College Dropout

Kanye West

album cover

The Product of a Heavy Awakening

In 2002, the hip-hop producer Kanye West—then known for severe, sizzling beats that anchored super-successful hits for Jay-Z and others—survived a serious car accident. Its aftermath brought a reality check, in which West realized he wanted to do more than just make beats and turn knobs in the studio. Though he'd broken his jaw (it was wired shut), West began writing raps while still in the hospital, including one from this album that became a hit, "Through the Wire," which graphically describes the accident and his subsequent awakening.

The physical recovery took a while. But by West's own account, the attitude change was instantaneous. College Dropout is the confession of a wickedly talented, high-rolling beatmaker whose priorities have been reordered. It's a savagely erudite screed on racism and the socioeconomic conditions of African Americans, a meditation on fate, an audacious lampoon of infomercials, and an outright booty call.

It's also the extremely rare hip-hop record to talk directly about faith. In one verse of "Jesus Walks," West says he knows that kind of talk limits his commercial prospects—that radio won't "spin" an overly religious song. He doesn't care: He goes right back to the pulpit on the very next track, saying, "Whenever I open my heart, my soul or my mouth, a touch of God rings out."

West's message is carried by the same terse, nothing-but-the-essentials production style that put him in demand initially. On "Through the Wire," West speeds up Chaka Khan's vocals (from her hit "Through the Fire") until they're a chipmunk-like blur, but not so much that the original's eargrabbing melody is lost. Other tracks tap the Bacharach/David songbook or draw from collages of defiantly odd sound scraps; several anticipate the more elaborate orchestrations that West (with help from Fiona Apple's producer Jon Brion) would pursue on the otherwise less daring 2005 follow-up, Late Registration.

Genre: Hip-Hop
Released: 2004, Roc-A-Fella
Key Tracks: "Through the Wire," "Slow Jamz," "I'll Fly Away," "Jesus Walks"
Catalog Choice: Late Registration
Next Stop: Jay-Z: The Blueprint
After That: N.E.R.D.: In Search Of . . . .
Book Page: 853

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Comments:

#1 from Brent Carter, chilltown Va - 12/11/2008 1:32

As a huge Hip-Hop fan, and music in general, I was becoming more and more dissapointed with where rap was going. I was always use to rap of the 80’s and 90’s but radio completely started to destroy Rap(except for a few..jay,nas, etc) untill College Dropout. I have been a fan of Kanye ever since I heard that cd. It was WAY different than anything out at that time, it was unique, he wasnt bragging about who he killed, what his car had in it, or how much crack he slang. He stayed true to himself and represented himself and his ideas fully. I also think he is very talented lyrically and a very talented musician.

#2 from Reggie, Boston - 07/22/2009 10:13

Ok, good review overall, but I’d like to point out that the “Whenever I open my heart, my soul etc. a touch of God rains out” isn’t Kanye West rapping. It’s J. Ivy. Secondly, I’ll fly away is just a 30 second sample or something without Kanye or any other artists. How can it be a key track?

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College Dropout

Kanye West

The Product of a Heavy Awakening

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