“This album is whiter than I’ve ever made before. This album is blacker than I’ve ever made before.”
- Kanye West on Graduation, 8/28/07
With attendees receiving popcorn and a program outside an auditorium near Def Jam’s New York office, the scene last night for Kanye West’s Graduation preview felt more movie premiere than listening party. West came out to introduce the first full listening of the album, set to be released Sep 11 and leaked on…well, probably by now. Calling this both his “comeback album,” (Kinda, but not really) and “One of the top ten albums in Hip-Hop history” (Nope), Graduation is the leanest, most economical album of West’s career. Orchestral flourishes, extended beat-riding and skits are gone, as West admitted looking towards bands like Keane and The Killers for songwriting inspiration.
After a brief introduction, West discussed the album after it was played and took audience questions for nearly an hour, speaking on everything from the role of today’s rappers, (“Rappers are modern-day preachers. Each song [on Graduation] could be a proverb.”), trying to get girls at 19 (“I want to make songs that are peoples’ theme songs,” he said when discussing Graduation’s “Drunk and Hot Girls”), and his refusal to apologize after a flare-up at the MTV European Awards (“That’s what rap music is about. That’s why I got the number one song in the hood….with some tight jeans on.”).
So after all the speculation and hype, Graduation is West’s full-blown attempt to expand his reach past the dwindling hip-hop market. He’s already had one foot in the Pop Star pool for a minute, but, as he mentioned himself last night, Kanye has taken his experiences opening for rock supergroups like The Rolling Stones and U2 to heart. Not content to perform to blank stares administered by those bands’ audiences, Graduation invites those listeners to the ceremony without alienating West’s core hip-hop base. Being All Things to All Men is risky, but certainly not unusual for ‘Ye. On Graduation, it mostly succeeds, even if the album feels more like a collection of songs than past thematic records. Despite what the artist himself insists, Graduation is hardly a classic, but it certainly contains more than enough material to make this one of hip-hop’s best albums of the year (For what that’s worth). And, if West has his way, your mom’ll bump it too.
URB’s track-by-track preview:
“Good Morning”
In a nutshell: Over metallic percussion and a chorus full of trademark, soulful “Ooohs,” ‘Ye welcomes everyone back to his world on the promising opener.
Clever Line: “Look at the valedictorian/scared of the future while I hop in the DeLorean”
Questionable Line: “I’m like the fly Malcolm X/Buy any jeans necessary”
“Champion”
In a nutshell: Taking a cue from jazz-pop, West flips a sample from Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” into a chorus of anthemic proportions. The light, breezy soul and inspiring lyrics is an album highlight.
Clever Line: “Lauryn Hill said her heart was in Zion/I wish her heart still was in rhyming”
“Stronger”
In a nutshell: Most likely, you’ve heard this one before, right? Resurrecting Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” from 2001, ‘Ye ventures into dance music for what is arguably Single of the Year.
Clever Line: “I know that God put you in front of me/So how the hell could you front on me/There’s a thousand yous, there’s only one of me”
Questionable Line: “You know how long I’ve been on ya?….Since OJ had Isotoners”
“I Wonder”
In a nutshell: West said he wrote this thinking of its performance in front of 50,000 people. He called this his version of U2’s “City of Blinding Lights.”
Clever Line: “A psychic read my lifeline/Told me in my lifetime my name would help light up the Chicago skyline”
Questionable Line: “How many ladies in the house without a spouse? Somethin’ in your blouse got me feeling so aroused.”
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