Track Listing

1. Intro
2. We Don't Care
3. Graduation Day
4. All Falls Down
5. I'll Fly Away
6. Spaceship
7. Jesus Walks
8. Never Let Me Down
9. Get Em High
10. Workout Plan
11. The New Workout Plan
12. Slow Jamz
13. Breathe In Breathe Out
14. School Spirit (Skit 1)
15. School Spirit
16. School Spirit (Skit 2)
17. Lil Jimmy Skit
18. Two Words
19. Through The Wire
20. Family Business
21. Last Call

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1825 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 76 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
College Drop Out, the debut from the most sought-after hip-hop producer not named Pharrell, delivers the unthinkable: West magically sledgehammers home his opinions on taboo topics over beats that are equally daring. The envelope-ripping beats shouldn't come as a surprise given that he's supplied the soundscapes to monster singles by everyone from Alicia Keys ("You Don't Know My Name") to Talib Kweli ("Get By"). What is freakish is that in West's world, rhymes about strippers, God, college life and guns can coexist tidily and not undermine each other. On "Breathe in Breathe Out" he raps "I gotta apologise to Mos and Kweli/ Is it cool to rap about gold if I told the world I copped it from Ghana and Mali"--tongue firmly planted in cheek. On the catchy "Through the Wire", fuelled by a Chaka Khan hook, he spits some impeccable rhymes despite his jaw being wired shut after a near-fatal car accident. Maybe it was this brush with mortality that kicked his lyrics into high gear on "All Falls Down". The skits on here are just as potent, one poking fun at the overeducated underclass that makes a small fraction of the loot he does. With jaw-dropping cameos from Jay-Z, Common, Mos Def and the Harlem Boys Choir plus the feel-good club tune of the year, "Slow Jamz" featuring Twista, College Dropout is as explosive, contradictory and complex as rap music gets. --Dalton Higgins

CD Description
For most artists who are discovered behind the mixing boards, making the transfer from producer to MC proves a dauntingtask. Fortunately for Kanye West, his verbal skills more than rise to the challenge of his consistently superior beats.A sprawling concept record that tackles issues of everyday life with wisecracking humor and unexpected honesty, THE COLLEGE DROPOUT confirms West's status as one of hip-hop's mostrefreshing voices.
The leadoff single, "Through the Wire", perfectly exemplifies West's distinct vision. Recorded while his jaws were still wired shut after a near-fatal car accident, West hilariously reflects upon his predicament over a sped-up Chaka Khan sample. Other songs address potentiallysomber topics--ghetto life ("We Don't Care"), religion ("Jesus Walks"), and family turmoil ("Family Business")--yet somehow retain a truly hopeful spirit. Although THE COLLEGE DROPOUT features top-notch cameos from Talib Kweli, Common, MosDef, Freeway, Jay-Z, Ludacris, and Twista, it's clearly West's show.

Customer Reviews

Enlightens the mind and soothes the soul.
For those of you who need a little background information, let me introduce you to Kanye West. Kanye West is best known as a hip-hop producer. One of his biggest hits was Jay-Z's "Izzo." Kanye continued to produce hits for the Roc-A-Fella camp and in 2002 it was announced that Kanye had signed a deal with the Roc as an artist--which was surprising to some because most didn't even know that Kanye could flow. Shortly after his deal was announced, Kanye was involved in a near fatal car accident in California. On the album, Kanye even acknowledges that the accident raised his buzz factor and interest in his project.

Fast forward to fall of 2003. Kanye had four hits on the radio. He produced the hit "Stand Up" for Ludacris, Alicia Keys hit, "You Don't Know My Name," and Twista's "Slow Jamz." Not to mention, Kanye's own single, the autobiographical "Through The Wire," was blazing airwaves from coast to coast.

The album is hot. Track to track, cover to cover, this album is quite possibly the best hip-hop debut album of the decade and it is already being considered a classic like, Nas' Illmatic.

Dropping out of college is the theme of the album and most of the albums skits. Kanye is one college drop out who definitely made good. The album is so fire, it almost makes you wonder why they decided to drop "Through The Wire," as the first single. Although this is a good song, the subject matter was confusing to those who didn't know about the accident and there are several much better songs on the album.

Kanye's MC'ing skills are not as dynamic as his production, but are strong nonetheless. His flow proves that he can ride a beat with words, and his lyrics show how introspective the man can be. This is shown in some of the the tracks, namely; "Jesus Walks", "Two Words" and the mind blowing "Never Let Me Down" -featuring Jay-Z and J. Ivy.

I can listen to this album all the way through without feeling the urge to skip a track, it's a masterpiece at best, and a great album at it's worst. You can't go wrong.

Overall, if you're looking for an album that's original, innovative, catchy, and explosive, this is the album you've been looking for. Thanks for reading.

Kanye West - The College Dropout
Today, in hip-hop, its almost impossible to put out a classic album to go down in time like 'The Chronic', 'Illmatic' etc but in my opinion Kanye West has done just that. If it doesn't, it certainly should go down as one of the best of all time.
Basically, there isn't a bad track on here. Some are stronger than others but all are worthy of a listen. How Twista manages to take credit for 'Slow Jamz' is ridiculous, but that is, for me, the best track on the album. The overriding response from most people I talk to is that Kanye West is a great producer (probably the best out right now) but his rap skills are poor. I don't see this. I reckon he, lyrically, has a lot more to offer than a lot of rappers nowadays. He has a lot worthwhile to say, tracks like 'Never Let Me Down' and 'Jesus Walks' showcase this, but West knows the rap game very very well and doesn't depend on his socially conscious nature rule to over the album.
Importantly, the album doesn't sound like anything you've ever heard before. 'Spaceship' is incredible, as is 'Family Business' and 'Through the Wire'. The skits are funny and are West talking about how dropping out of college to concentrate on music was probably the best thing he's ever done. While being funny, he does come off quite cocky. Not everyone has the talent to be the number 1 producer in the world and college, perhaps shouldn't be frowned upon in this manner. But, hey, thats just me being cynical.
The album is brilliant. Get it!

The Best Album in 2004!
The College Dropout by Kanye West is possibly the best album in 2004! I enjoyed all of the tracks from beggining to end. The only downfall is the large number of skits. These can become very annoying. I have had the college dropout since the first month that it was released and it has very rarely left my CD Player I will give a rating out of 5, for the songs.

We Dont Care 5/5 Great Song

Graduation Day 4/5 Not really a song

All Falls Down 5/5 Syleenas vocals are good

I'll fly awayh 4/5 Good Singing

Spaceship 5/5 good appearences by GLC and Consequence

Jesus Walks 5/5 Meaningful lyrics

Never Let Me Down 6/5!!! JOINT BEST (it has JIGGA, it can't fail)

Get Em High 4/5 Not one of the best but still a good song

The New Workout Plan 5/5 Nice Beat

Slow Jams 5/5 I don't need to say anything

Breathe in Breathe out 3/5 The only average song on the album

School Spirit 4/5 It has began to become a little boring

Two Words 5/5 Great song with Mos. Def and Freeway Strong Beat

Through The Wire 5/5 The reason I bought this album

Family Buisness 6/5 JOINT BEST (wicked beat and good lyrics)

Last Call 5/5 Good song, but the talking at the end can get boring if you listen to it more than once

Overall, this is one of the best albums that I have. It comes a close second to such greats as Ready to Die (Notorious B.I.G), Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z) and Illmatic (Nas), I recomend that you buy it today, you won't regret it.