Kanye West certainly doesn’t seem to be a modest man. He’s quick to sing his own praises and will raise hell if critics don’t give him the credit he feels he’s earned. For all of the arrogance he oozes, he has a solid record of backing up his claims. With Late Registration he sets out to change the face of hip-hop — and succeeds.
‘Ye roped in producer Jon Brion, who has long showed talent working with Fiona Apple. But hip-hop? Brion had never gone near it, let alone produced an album for one of the industry’s premiere emcees. As unsettling as the idea may seem initially, Kanye is right once again. The string arrangements and bizarre mixes of brass and hip-hop give the album a completely unique feel. Few artists dare to stray too far from rap standards, yet West constantly aspires to re-invent the genre.
If anything, the album almost feels like Kanye is trying to stretch his appeal to an absurd extent. If last year’s The College Dropout got listeners’ attentions, Registration makes sure West’s name will never be forgotten. He shows a tremendous range of musical capability, featuring soul, blues, pop and just enough street credibility to win over anyone who may have shrugged him off as too preppy to give a shot.
It’s amusing to think that the man who is often seen as Jay-Z’s sidekick could, but Kanye almost feels like a more chill version of Nas (who coincidently guests on “We Major”). Possibly stemming from the praise that “Jesus Walks” received, West takes a more socially conscious tone on the majority of the album. Tracks like “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” and “Crack Music” are hard-hitting and delve much deeper than most rappers would dare go.
On “Diamonds” West raps, “Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs/ over there, they die from what we buy from drugs/ the diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses/ I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless/ until I seen a picture of a shorty armless.” Some may be turned off by his somewhat preachy habits, but at least West is talking about more than hos, drugs and guns.
Creative samples are plentiful on this disc, with West throwing some Ray Charles vocals on “Gold Digger” and later, on “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” sampling an old James Bond film theme song excellently, mixing blaring horns with beats. Typically, any track which Jay-Z lends his talents tends to be solid, as is the case with “Diamonds.” And while Kanye’s drums have and always will be a subject of scrutiny for detractors, they manage to get the job done throughout the CD.
To put it frankly, there isn’t a bad track on Late Registration. The disc gets better as it progresses, with each track sounding better than the one before it. Everything culminates in “Gone,” the last and easily best song on Registration. West, along with Consequence and Cam’ Ron, samples a little Otis Redding, throws in some strings and somehow gets a mind-numbingly great track. Just as it seems the song is done, Kanye jumps back into the spotlight accompanied by a crescendo and boasts about (what else?) himself some more. He claims, “I’m ahead of my time, sometimes years out/ so the powers that be won’t let me get my ideas out” and mentions opening “a store for aspiring MC’s/ Won’t sell ’em no dream, but the inspiration is free.” Same Kanye, now with a touch more arrogance.
Late Registration easily trumps West’s previous efforts, validating all of the praise he’s received. And The College Dropout came out last year, for anyone who may have forgotten. For an artist to turn out two noteworthy albums in subsequent years is impressive, but for an artist’s first two major releases to be award-worthy material is unheard of. Kanye has stepped out of the shadow of Jay-Z and is a noteworthy rapper on his own terms and based on his own talent.
Perhaps West is his own biggest fan, but he sums Late Registration up best: “Damn ‘Ye it’d be stupid to ditch you/ even your superficial raps is super official.” Yep, basically.
Grade: A
