These articles were written in 2018 by Christian Hines, they are being re-posted because there will be a third installment released this week covering the more recent works West has released in the last two years.
Kanye West is one of the most well-known artists of our generation. He’s released seven albums over his career and all of them are critically acclaimed. In this two part series, I’m going to talk about how Kanye’s sound and personality changed over each of these albums. Despite these changes, Kanye’s discography is consistently an impressive one and the changes he went through each album are interesting and were important for hip-hop as a whole.
College Dropout. Kanye’s first album is a classic hip hop album, songs like “Jesus Walks” and “Through the Wire” are considered legendary in the hip hop world. Listening to this album you can tell that Kanye started as a producer and had been producing for a long time. He produced everything on this album and the production is absolutely amazing, the sampling of soul songs and use of voices was groundbreaking at the time, and speeding up soul samples is Kanye’s specialty, having really pioneered that sound. For Kanye’s first rap album, he shows skill in rapping; he flows well over his own beats and tells stories and expresses emotion extremely well; this showed that he had amazing potential and listeners loved it. Late Registration. Kanye’s second album is somewhat similar to the first, but this album is an upgrade in a sense. First off, while the production on College Dropout was “absolutely amazing,” but Late Registration’s production is better than amazing: it’s absolutely incredible. On this album Kanye teams up with musician Jon Brion, who co-produced a lot of tracks. Brion’s added instruments bring the production on this album over the edge; each track is amazing with multiple layers with an excellent use of samples. Kanye himself had changed since College Dropout; he’s fresh off the success from that album and he is on top of his game at this point. He’s seems more confident and tries new things that make this album shine; his lines are hard-hitting and impressive, with all kinds of humor and storytelling, such as, “Before anybody wanted K. West beats, me and my girl split the bucket at KFC.” He also picks great features that add to tracks even more, for example artists like Jay-Z, Nas, and Mos Def give amazing verses that make tracks even better. From this you can tell that Kanye just keeps getting better and broadening his horizons. I feel like trying new things and experimenting with new sounds is a staple of Kanye’s success, and much more of that happens over the next albums. Graduation. Kanye’s third album is not as similar to the first two. The production, while still incredible, is different from the last two, trading abundant amounts of soul samples for synthesizers and a more electronic sound. Kanye makes it work though, with songs like “Stronger” which uses a sample from an electronic song. He did not completely give up his old style; there are still similarities to his previous production, but in a more polished and different way. Kanye shows that he can change his sound and still make amazing music, and it shows his versatility in producing. The lyrical content of this album is not as storytelling-heavy or deep as the previous albums, but include flashier lyrics like, “You don’t see just how wild the crowd is, you don’t see just how fly my style is, I don’t see why I need a stylist.” Kanye kept it simple and had fun with it, creating hits and great songs in the process. The song “Stronger” charted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. You can tell when you listen to this album that Kanye was finding himself and really starting to get good at what he was doing, no matter what people thought of him. Overall, Graduation was the start of sort of a new era of Kanye, and still influenced all of hip-hop at the same time.
Kanye’s first three albums are looked on as some of the most important and influential hip-hop albums of all time. Kanye’s rise from producer to world renowned rapper is an astonishing journey that showcases all of his talents in these three albums. These albums set the bar high, and in the next four, he reaches that bar.
808s & Heartbreak. This album is completely different than the first three. The album starts with “Say You Will”, a dark, synthetic, electronic, and somber ballad. Kanye sings about an ex-girlfriend in auto tune, giving lines like: “I wish this song would really come true, I admit I still fantasize about you.” The lyrical content of this album is emotionally heavy and not extremely complex, but the expressiveness used makes the lines hit harder, and you feel what Kanye is singing. Production-wise, it is much more stripped down; synths and 808 drums are the main components. Dark minor chords and almost foreboding sounds build the background to Kanye’s pained auto tune. At the time of recording this album Kanye was in a dark place; his mother had recently died and he had just ended a six year relationship with his fiancée. You can hear his emotions in this album, in lyrics and sound. Though this album is very despairing, it was still very groundbreaking for Kanye; heavy use of auto tune and completely different production changed everything. Kanye was still crafting his sound and this album really effected how he made the rest of his discography. Mentally, Kanye was different after this album as well, after losing his mother his personality and life completely changed, and with that, his sound. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Many people consider this to be Kanye’s best album. Kanye takes everything he did with previous albums and puts it together on this one, and it is hauntingly beautiful. The production has sounds from all of his albums: bits of soul samples similar to College Dropout and Late Registration, the glossy and flashy sound of Graduation, and the electronic and emotional sound of 808s & Heartbreak. This all combines together to make an incredibly unique sound that fits Kanye perfectly. Lyrically, this album is haunting; Kanye gives a look into his life in a dark and fantasy-like matter, with introspective lines like, “The plan was to drink till’ the pain over, but what’s worse, the pain or the hangover?” Kanye raps about the dark sides of fame and wealth, and is still egotistical at the same time. While much of the public had negative views on Kanye, he ignored what was said and threw the insults right back. Kanye moved his sound on and created an he wanted, it was the perfect sound for him.
Yeezus. This album is best described by the word “experimental”. Kanye experiments with sounds and ideas throughout the album. The production is grimy, simple, and electronic; loud drums and vocal samples dominate tracks. The track “Black Skinhead” is a good example of heavy drums and grimy sound; tribal drums and distorted guitar are the core of the track while Kanye raps about racism in America. The lyrical content of this album is filled with anti-racist themes and personal experiences that Kanye has been through. Kanye made what he wanted, not what fans wanted. In my opinion that shows that he is truly an artist. Kanye expresses himself through music how he wants. Yeezus is a perfect example of that.
The Life of Pablo. Kanye’s most recent album, being released in 2016, is unique and impressive. At this point in Kanye’s career, he is not only a master of creating music, he is a master of orchestrating it; he puts together this album by choosing the best producers and artists to create the sound he wants. The production of this album is large and powerful; gospel samples, triumphant synths, uptempo boom-bap drums, and house-inspired bass lines create a uniquely strong sound. Kanye picks amazing features that fit the tracks perfectly, for example Chance The Rapper on “Ultralight Beam” or Kendrick Lamar on “No More Parties in L.A.” Kanye himself raps in different ways that fit each track, creating songs like “I Love Kanye” a completely acapella track that has Kanye rapping in third person using common criticisms of himself in a satirical manner. Kanye addresses his fame and success, friendships, his insecurities, critiques of himself, relationships, and his previous shoe deal with Nike and new one with Adidas all in one album. Kanye has mastered the music industry and mastered hip-hop in these albums, and he is still not done.
Kanye West is a legend and will be known as one of the most important artists of all time not only hip-hop, but music. There is still more to come from Kanye, and at this point, it can only be good. Kanye will continue to create amazing music and inspire amazing artists. Kanye’s evolution is complete, and he is still not finished.
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