Kanye West – Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella 2005)
Welcome back to class Mr. West. Late Registration may be late in some respects but it’s just in time to reassure people that rap music has the capability to be the most enlightened music out there, when it chooses to be. Kanye West realizes this and chooses wisely when to be, and when not to be.
His sophomore follow up to the hugely successful College Dropout, does little less than solidify Kanye as what he himself calls himself, a “hip-hop legend”. A little cocky for my taste, but then again, what’s a rapper if not full of himself? Bringing back comedic genius Bernie Mac, West shows his refined taste and why that automatically makes him better than Nelly. So does the fact that he’s from Chicago and not Missouri.
The first single from Late Registration is “Gold Digger” and is a perfect example of Kanye’s style. He can move in one song from one point of a view to another while keeping it smooth and believable and he does this perfectly in this. He starts off telling the listener about a girl with lots of money, many kids, lots of rap lovers in the past, and subsequently how much he still loves her and doesn’t care about how much he has to spend on her. Then he changes his tone and starts talking about a guy who can’t afford her who has “that ambition baby, watch his eyes” whose gonna change to a Benz from his Datsun. I think Kanye is a little bit of both of these guys, he was the kid who had the ambition and then became the guy who had the money and I think he’s a bit lost which personality is his these days.
The second single, “Heard ‘Em Say” is tremendous. It features Adam Levine of Maroon 5 helping out with the chorus over some beautiful pianos and a great bass line. This is just the beginning of showing more of his soul on the album and he does a great job of it here.
It is, as usual, not the singles which are the best songs on the album though, they are just the hooks meant to get you to purchase the album and hear what he really has to offer. What he has to offer is song after song of pure genius, musically and lyrically. From the hypnotic rhythm of “Drive Slow” to the violin enhanced laid back style of “Late”, Kanye shows how relaxed he is capable of being and how much he can vary his style.
There are a few tracks though which would be hits in a just world. Starting off with “Roses” where Kanye talks about his Aunt being sick and how he and his family deals with pain, very reminiscent of the love he shows for his family on College Dropout and also on this release with “Hey Mama”. With lyrics like; “If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS, and all the broke motherf$%^&#s passed away, you telling me if my mommas in the NBA, right now she would be ok?”, you have to respect his pure honest feelings and his disgust at life sometimes.
Without a doubt though, it is his collaboration with Cam’ron on “Gone” that makes this album a godsend. The violins and piano flows smoothly over two of the best rappers out there today in this six minute epic showcasing the best they have to offer. The soulful sound, the clever lyrics, the change up halfway through the song, all genius.
This is an album that could change the way you think if you go into listening it with an open mind. Listening to Kanye’s two first releases makes me believe that he truly could be the next great rapper, that is, if he doesn’t fall victim to what he himself admits is his biggest fault, thinking too much about what others think of him. If he can avoid this, he could end up being the most important rapper for this generation.