The College Dropout

Kanye West’s introductory album and a piece of modern music history, The College Dropout remains among my favorite albums and has stuck with me throughout my life. This album came out at the beginning of my life, I first heard songs from it on YouTube as a single-digit-aged kid, and every year I have felt more close to it. With that said, it really sucks to have such a core sense of connection to an album like this; a work now forever tied to an increasingly petty man five decades into his life who never grew out of his worst impulses. At the same time, that tends to be the story with good art.

The worst part of the entire work is Common’s verse on “Get Em High” and even that is thankfully pretty short. Otherwise, every song on this album is fantastic in some way and communicates a kind of energy that I feel a deep kinship with. I have sung We Don’t Care, have belted out All Falls Down and Through the Wire, and whistled I’ll Fly Away. I have hummed Spaceship and School Spirit at jobs I didn’t like and didn’t pay me nearly enough. I have psyched myself up to Jesus Walks and Never Let Me Down. I have smiled giddy and dumb keeping up with The New Workout Plan. I have cried to Family Business. Not every song is “perfect” or one that I would never skip, but as a package this album surely is.

TL;DR: Fuck this guy for being who he is, but who he was made this too.