Yeah, I hear you on that. I love that dusty, old-school hip hop sound too, so it was great that Kanye was one of the guys keeping soul samples in rap music alive but with a modern approach. With everything that Kanye has done in the 2010s in terms of his music, I wish he could resurrect that College Dropout sound at some point.
From listening to his older work, Kanye came off as a regular guy that just wanted to succeed. Everyone was doubting him, saying he should just stick to the beats (even Jay-Z) but he proved everybody wrong by being the common man and becoming successful off it. His ego wasn't on a runaway train yet, it felt like he actually had something important to say, and he was more aware of everyone's perception of him. He was never the best rapper alive, but his music was interesting and he was capable of saying a lot with just a few simple lines (like the first verse of "Can't Tell Me Nothing"). Nowadays, he's way too consumed by side projects and the nightmare Hollywood lifestyle to do anything remotely similar to College Dropout. Hell, I don't think he even has another Graduation in him.
Yup. 
