Review:

on 2012-03-09 CharlesMartel Said:

Kanye West has probably done more than anyone else in recent years to give hip-hop the place it has in the musical mainstream. Now, put aside your personal feelings about the guy (the embarrassing incident at the VMA awards with Taylor Swift shows what a self-important, arrogant arsehole the guy is), but you cannot ignore Kanye West. "Graduation" was hailed as one of, if not his finest album. And yet, listening to it I am left with a sense that somewhere something is not right.

In truth, there are far better MCs around than Kanye West. He may be a prolific producer, but he's not that great. Sure he has a talent for sampling the right segments of music to incorporate into his own material. But is that enough? The reality is that Kanye West has two talents which have made him successful and neither of these has anything to do with music. The first is that he has a supreme talent for self-promotion. Sean Combs and 50 Cent are mere amateurs beside him. And second, he has developed a knack for treading the border between conventional and controversial without ever straying over the line. Viewed in that context, the VMA incident becomes less of an embarrassing rant and more like a letting off of pent up steam.

"Graduation" is not a great album. It is not even a good one. There is nothing in here which pushes the musical frontiers. West plays it safe and sticks within his limits. He is clearly aiming for the pop market and while he may have achieved that, he did so in a manner which ended, perhaps for all time, the credibility of mainstream hip-hop as a musical force. Now, all that is left is a pissing contest between himself and 50 Cent. And it's not even interesting. Oh for the good old days when two thugs started a pseudo gang war which turned into the real thing.

I could describe the tracks one by one, but that would be a chore. I could try to pick out the highlights, but that would be difficult. OK, I'll have a go. "Homecoming" is just about tolerable but it is an old song so that may explain it. But then, in a sort of anything you can do I can do much much worse sort of game, West comes out with "Barry Bonds", which features Lil Wayne (OMFG) and sees the two of them going on about how they are in the top 5 MC's ever. At this point, I have to stop.

"Graduation" is frankly dreadful. It is one of those albums which gives hip-hop haters the justification for their hatred without anybody really being able to speak for the defence. I am no great fan of the genre, but there is far far better than this out there. It lacks everything - originality, style, quality, clever lyrics, good beats, masterful production. All lacking. If this were lacking from your music collection that would not be a bad thing.
Rating: 1/10

on 2011-09-04 Sinist3r Punk Said:

A classic? I beg to differ, but I didn't bother writing a review for it, so I must gracefully bite my tongue.
Not Rated

on 2008-04-11 kev_stev Said:

The first five songs are really, really great stuff, but the album loses steam after lackluster tracks like "Barry Bonds" and "Can't Tell Me Nothin'." Songs like "The Good Life" and "I Wonder" brilliantly shine, though, revealing why this was one of the most hyped rap albums of 2007, possibly of the entire decade. Worth checking out it's A-Side.
Rating: 7/10

on 2008-01-01 Symphony Said:

Great album.
Not Rated