College Dropout has Aged Turribly

[ROFL_GUY]

you dumb motherfukker. you just said since new workout plan wasn't all that great that means there no way the album can be classic....1 song = an album fuccboi?

 

[TheDarceKnight]

@Big Mel correct me if I'm wrong, but all this hip hop savior shyt started with Kanye. People straight up bought this album because it wasn't gangsta rap. How the fukk do you buy something because it's not something else? But the hilarious part about it was.... the album took off because Jay-Z, the hardcore pop rapper, cosigned it.

Since then, there has been a new rapper every couple years that is supposed to be 'the guy who makes hip hop non-violent and wholesome again'.

Kanye was a big part of it. He took what a lot of people were doing (the blue collar/everyday life rap genre) and became the guy to get popular with it. Little Brother, Slum Village, Kweli, Mos, Rhymefest, and others had already been doing it. I feel like Kanye was one of the first to really go big with it.

Here's a good video of 9th Wonder talking about how well Kanye was able to do that. At the time (around 2002), 9th Wonder had produced for Kanye, Kanye was opening up for Little Brother on the road, and that quickly became the other way around.

Kanye's music ALWAYS had weak ass drums. That's why it makes me laugh when Kanye stans act like if you don't fukk with Kanye, you don't know hip hop.

Weak ass drums in hip hop is almost intolerable. It's so serious that it prevents me from liking 95% of Kanye's discography because his stuff doesn't have that funkiness and edge I associate with hip hop. It's that bad.

This one stands out in particular. This was on a heavy majority of his beats from 03-05.



I think I remember him saying in Scratch Magazine that he thought his drums were the weakest parts of his beats. I'll have to dig it out. It's from late 2004.

 

[SirBiatch]

Kanye was a big part of it. He took what a lot of people were doing (the blue collar/everyday life rap genre) and became the guy to get popular with it. Little Brother, Slum Village, Kweli, Mos, Rhymefest, and others had already been doing it. I feel like Kanye was one of the first to really go big with it.

Here's a good video of 9th Wonder talking about how well Kanye was able to do that. At the time (around 2002), 9th Wonder had produced for Kanye, Kanye was opening up for Little Brother on the road, and that quickly became the other way around.

Great interview. Never seen that.

It's so funny when you're "old" like me and you watch someone become a star. Ye made pop, commercial rap from the get-go. It was so obvious. The whole shyt with the bear. It's so funny to see how critics and others attempt revisionist history like "Ye was some genius from the depths of hip hop who evolved the genre"

Kanye's success was the mixing of two worlds: the underground "hip hop" savior movement + the bling commercialism and misogyny of the mainstream. Both of which had reached their commercial peak. The only thing Ye took out was the violence. But he upped the materialism and frequently said questionable shyt about women on wax. But nobody said shyt, simply because he wasn't gangsta.

It was a weird and crappy time. The regular folk I knew who jumped on Kanye were all the people who listened to mostly pop rap. They were the ones buying 50's records because it was gangsta or Cash Money records because it was blinging, not because the music was any good. Yet these same fans started talking about violence and materialism being bad in hip hop when Kanye popped off. These same fans who judged others on fashion and wanted to be rich professionals, but loved Jesus.

It's no wonder the genre has fallen the fukk off. If Kanye West is the guy you're emulating, it's only a matter of time before things devolve into total shyt.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Great interview. Never seen that.

It's so funny when you're "old" like me and you watch someone become a star. Ye made pop, commercial rap from the get-go. It was so obvious. The whole shyt with the bear. It's so funny to see how critics and others attempt revisionist history like "Ye was some genius from the depths of hip hop who evolved the genre"

Kanye's success was the mixing of two worlds: the underground "hip hop" savior movement + the bling commercialism and misogyny of the mainstream. Both of which had reached their commercial peak. The only thing Ye took out was the violence. But he upped the materialism and frequently said questionable shyt about women on wax. But nobody said shyt, simply because he wasn't gangsta.

It was a weird and crappy time. The regular folk I knew who jumped on Kanye were all the people who listened to mostly pop rap. They were the ones buying 50's records because it was gangsta or Cash Money records because it was blinging, not because the music was any good. Yet these same fans started talking about violence and materialism being bad in hip hop when Kanye popped off. These same fans who judged others on fashion and wanted to be rich professionals, but loved Jesus.

It's no wonder the genre has fallen the fukk off. If Kanye West is the guy you're emulating, it's only a matter of time before things devolve into total shyt.

One thing I'll give Kanye though is that I don't think he was chasing a formula. You might disagree with that, but after meeting him, he was genuinely passionate about the songs he was playing and his raps. This was in 2002, and he was still a prick, but was definitely putting himself into his stuff. I don't think the "I'm the best" thing is a gimmick. He was doing ridiculous shyt with less than 10 people around, a full 2 years before Dropout dropped.

One thing that surprised me about Dropout was how bad some of the punch-ins were. I don't ever complain about that kinds of stuff and it didn't mess with how I felt about the album, but some of the punches on there audible to the point where I've heard people that don't even know what they are go "Did he just stop and start again?" He must have either got better at rapping or a better engineer, because I never heard any after Dropout.

I liked early Kanye for no other reason than I'm a geek when it comes to beats. Looking back I think a lot of his beats were overrated, and not as good looking back. But at the time I was a fan of his beats since This Can't Be Life and The Truth. I also think it's interesting when producers rap on their own beats---hearing what beats they choose for themselves vs. others, and what kind of pockets they pick, cadences to rap with, etc.

 

[SirBiatch]

One thing I'll give Kanye though is that I don't think he was chasing a formula. You might disagree with that, but after meeting him, he was genuinely passionate about the songs he was playing and his raps. This was in 2002, and he was still a prick, but was definitely putting himself into his stuff. I don't think the "I'm the best" thing is a gimmick. He was doing ridiculous shyt with less than 10 people around, a full 2 years before Dropout dropped.

One thing that surprised me about Dropout was how bad some of the punch-ins were. I don't ever complain about that kinds of stuff and it didn't mess with how I felt about the album, but some of the punches on there audible to the point where I've heard people that don't even know what they are go "Did he just stop and start again?" He must have either got better at rapping or a better engineer, because I never heard any after Dropout.

I liked early Kanye for no other reason than I'm a geek when it comes to beats. Looking back I think a lot of his beats were overrated, and not as good looking back. But at the time I was a fan of his beats since This Can't Be Life and The Truth. I also think it's interesting when producers rap on their own beats---hearing what beats they choose for themselves vs. others, and what kind of pockets they pick, cadences to rap with, etc.

I'll never say that Ye is complete trash. He's not that bad. He does have some artistic merits. And while so many artists fall off after their first release, Kanye actually improved. Big time.

It's just that he also has a really mediocre side to his music that has never gone away. And it's sad to see how much hyperbole surrounds him. He's literally calling himself a genius, and nikkas know... he aint it. By a long shot.

I absolutely agree that he was passionate. And passion is infectious. This is something I try to explain to newbie hip hop fans. especially nikkas that hate on Lil B. Hip hop, like all great music, is a game of passion. You can have bad mixing, punch ins, etc... but as long as you have passion, and it's being displayed in a unique way that's kind of cool (Kanye was definitely unique - have to give him credit), there will always be an audience. Usually a sizable one.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

I'll never say that Ye is complete trash. He's not that bad. He does have some artistic merits. And while so many artists fall off after their first release, Kanye actually improved. Big time.

It's just that he also has a really mediocre side to his music that has never gone away. And it's sad to see how much hyperbole surrounds him. He's literally calling himself a genius, and nikkas know... he aint it. By a long shot.

I absolutely agree that he was passionate. And passion is infectious. This is something I try to explain to newbie hip hop fans. especially nikkas that hate on Lil B. Hip hop, like all great music, is a game of passion. You can have bad mixing, punch ins, etc... but as long as you have passion, and it's being displayed in a unique way that's kind of cool (Kanye was definitely unique - have to give him credit), there will always be an audience. Usually a sizable one.

Solid post. I especially agree with the last paragraph. That's what was so crazy. The "I'm a genius talk" I mean. He played joints from College Dropout for people in 2002, and I don't remember what song it was, but after one song he literally said, "That may have been a top 5 song of all time, I think we should listen to it again" and he hit the back button and started it over. Kweli has some funny stories about him on here. I remember at early shows he used to play Lucifer and then stop the song after Jay said "Kanye you did it again, you're a genius!"

 

[Wacky D]

You'll have to explain this one, bruh.

what is there to explain??

 

[Ari Gold Bawse]

I think late registration has aged even worse

 

[TheDarceKnight]

I think late registration has aged even worse

Interesting. I've never heard that opinion before. It definitely has a super distinct feel with Jon Brion co-producing most of it. Some songs sound super over the top IMO.

This is a good example. Still 4/5, I just thought they went a little bit overboard with it by trying to make it sound like the most epic thing ever made.

 

[mr. smoke weed]

some of the music was wack then and it's still wack ten years later. Album didn't age wrong lots of people got caught up in the hype.

 

[SirBiatch]

what is there to explain??

explain all the trends Jay-Z jumped on.

 

[NormanConnors]

sped up soul samples n general didn't age well

Wasnt necessarily the samples themselves but more so the drums

 

[Easy-E]

Family buisness my shyt tho

 

[Ces1ne?]

Mhm Sure

"Two Words" gonna still get bumped in 2022......epic fukking song

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

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