Track List:
01 - Wake Up Mr. West
02 - Heard 'Em Say (feat. Adam Levine)
03 - Touch the Sky (feat. Lupe Fiasco)
04 - Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx)
05 - Skit #1
06 - Drive Slow (feat. Paul Wall and GLC)
07 - My Way Home (feat. Common)
08 - Crack Music (feat. Game)
09 - Roses
10 - Bring Me Down (feat. Brandy)
11 - Addiction
12 - Skit #2
13 - Diamonds From Sierra Leone (remix) (feat. Jay-Z)
14 - We Major (feat. Nas and Really Doe)
15 - Skit #3
16 - Hey Mama
17 - Celebration
18 - Skit #4
19 - Gone (feat. Consequence and Cam'ron)
20 - Diamonds From Sierra Leone
Back To Basics (feat. Common) (Japanese Bonus)
We Can Make It Better (feat. Common, Q-Tip, Rhymefest and Talib Kweli) (UK Bonus)
Some love him and some hate him, mainly due to his overwhelming arrogance, but you can’t fault Kanye West for his contributions to hip-hop over the past 5 or so years. After producing and appearing on tracks for pretty much everyone under the sun recently, it’s about time Kanye released a follow-up to 2004’s double platinum “The College Dropout.” Enter “Late Registration,” adopting the same educational theme as it’s predecessor, at first glance the album appears to be more of the same; more soul sampling and more collaborations with G.O.O.D. label mates like Common, Consequence and GLC, but as they say, appearances can be deceiving. This time around Kanye has taken his music further and in a slightly different direction for what looks certain to be the best hip-hop/rap album of 2005.
After listening to the whole album once you can really see that Kanye has stepped up his lyrical game a lot over the last year and is really starting to come along as a rapper, especially on the “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” remix which sees Kanye airing his views of the blood shed over “conflict diamonds” in Sierra Leone, which surprising didn’t seem to get a mention on the original version of the track. However, this track also serves as an example of how the Louis Vuitton Don has a knack of doing collaborations with rappers who outshine him on his own tracks, like Jay-Z on this track, Nas on “We Major” and Common on “My Way Home.” However, this can be easily overlooked with production as good as it is on the album, “Touch The Sky” which uses a sample of Curtis Mayfields’ legendary track “Move On Up” and “Gold Digger” which is this album’s “Slow Jamz” with Jamie Foxx recreating some classic Ray Charles vocals are both guaranteed to get anyone moving. Kanye made a bold decision bringing in composer Jon Brion to co-produce the album, Brion’s use of live orchestra and random instrumentals helped Kanye share his imagination with listeners on levels he couldn’t have achieved alone.
Prior to the release of “Late Registration” there were a few rumours about who would be guest appearing on the album, some of which sounded so ludicrous that they were barely believable, but it turns out they were true. First of all, Kanye has managed to get Nas and Jay-Z on the same album despite the fact that Kanye produced Jay-Z's monumental “Takeover” Nas diss track and rumour has it that there may be a “We Major” remix track with both these legends on. Then there is “Heard ‘Em Say” with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, which is surprisingly good, with Levine singing a hook that goes hand in hand with West’s rhymes.
Some of you may remember “Hey Mama” from some Kanye mixtapes circulating early last year or you may have been lucky and heard him perform it live, well those of you will be happy to know this version is almost identical. The track is everything you would expect from a Kanye West track, which is probably the main reason is one of my favourite tracks from the album, although I’m not sure West’s ode to his mother really fits on the album.
I find it hard to choose which is the better album, “The College Dropout” or “Late Registration,” they are both fantastic albums, both featuring excellent production, Kanye’s patented soul sampling wonder and both have well selected collaborations, but I would have to say “The College Dropout” just about takes it. The only real fault I can find with “Late Registration” is the skits, pretty much every musical track is a 4/5 star affair and if you are going to get a copy of this album make sure you pick up a copy of the UK edition, preferably the DVD version as the UK edition comes with the track “We Can Make It Better” which has Kanye, Talib Kweli, Common, Rhymefest and Q-Tip all on one track and the DVD features 29 minutes of interview and behind the scenes footage in Prague while West filmed “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” as well as the actual video.
Hot Tracks: “Heard ‘Em Say,” “Touch The Sky,” “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix),” “Hey Mama,” “Gone,” “We Can Make It Better”
Artist: Kanye West