| Music Review | Josh Hinkle |
Kanye West "Late Registration"
The follow up to the breakthrough, debut album form the savior of rap. And it's every bit as good as the last one and it's as good as you heard it is. Despite a few questionable guest stars (Adam Levine - Maroon 5, Paul Wall - Houston and the whole chopped and screwed shit) this record actually manages to surpass the previous album from Kanye. While the College Dropout kind of wandered around the middle this one stays strong start to finish. West has never needed any help in the production department, having produced lots of kick ass songs for Jay-Z, he knows when to go with the wall of sound technique and when to go minimalist to let the lyrics stand out. In an industry like rap, where everything is bigger, better, more this one small detail really stands out. There's a reason he's a huge crossover hit - everyone seems to like the guy - hip hoppers, rap fans, pop fans, rock guys, hell, everyone except republicans. Even people that don't like his music seem to appreciate his social conscience ("Diamonds From Sierra Leone", his stance on gay bashing lyrics in rap, his views on respecting women, etc).
Now, that's not to say this album doesn't have a few points that aren't really up to snuff. Crack Music kind of seems directionless, the whole "eighteen years" part of Gold Digger, the chopped portion of Drive Slow- all come across as pandering to expectations rather that meshing with the rest of the album. But I'll chalk that up to the fact that he's still finding his way in the business and it seems like he's maybe trying to appeal to everyone. He'll learn. He tightened up his flow between his last record and this one, and if he achieves the same level of improvement from this album to his next, well... there's no telling if he'll ever be stopped.
Standout tracks: Heard 'Em Say, Gold Digger, Diamonds From Sierra Leone
For Fans Of: Common, Jay-Z, Public Enemy, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, De La Soul
Fun Fact: The little bear on the album art makes me laugh. He needs his own show