College Dropout Aces the Exam

Hitting the charts at #2, Kanye West’s debut album The College Dropout provides its audience with much appreciate. The unprecedented skits and interludes especially add a new dynamic to the album. While building the stories and themes throughout the album -- such as critique of the education system, importance of family, and materialism -- the skits and interludes serve as a thread tying each song to the next. From start to finish, it is clear that West succeeded in taking this album beyond the beat.
Again taking the album past the lyrics, the album booklet takes The College Dropout to a totally different level. Carefully designed, crafted, and published to resemble a yearbook, the album booklet features chalkboards, handwriting, and pages mimicking yearbook “spreads”. Additionally, West uses yearbook-style photos, ironically often called “mug-shots,” to identify his album staff. West’s photo is labeled “most unlikely to succeed.” The superlative beneath West’s photo further develops the album’s critique of the education system, poking fun at the practice of unwarranted labeling. West shows how foolish these labels, and the education system, can be because in absence of a college degree West himself has been highly successful.
Like any half-way decent album, The College Dropout has a theme. Themes are what set albums apart from singles, unifying the compilation of songs through a common factor. Unlike most albums, however, West somehow manages to successfully integrate the themes of family, self-consciousness, materialism, religion, and personal struggle into a single album. Each song comes off with a different feel while still coming together seamlessly as an entire album. The composition of the track list is a work of art in itself. The album kicks off with “We Don’t Care,” focusing mainly on self-consciousness, materialism, and personal struggle. The album progresses to “Jesus Walks,” which samples “Walk With Me” while centering on religion, then to “The New Workout Plan” and “Breathe In, Breathe Out” which further illuminates self-consciousness and materialism. The later half of the album develops West’s critique of the educational institution through a number of skits and songs including “School Spirit.” West adds an intimate personal level to the album in “Through the Wire” and “Family Business” which detail his own personal struggles and the importance of family. Many songs were hit singles on their own; it is their cohesiveness as an album that makes The College Dropout a landmark in HipHop history.
One of West’s unique abilities as an artist is his ability to let his listeners into his life through his music. The song “Through the Wire” which samples the 1984 song “Through the Fire” by Chaka Kahn, is based on a personal experience in which he was in a nearly fatal car accident that ended in his mouth being wired shut. Despite the personal struggle that West details, he persevered and continued to make music, thus literally delivering to his fans “Through the Wire.” This song, and the album in its entirety, serve as a musical autobiography. In my eyes West has created one of the most compelling musical collections that is both quality music and truthful about life experiences.
West’s honesty is part of what makes him such a relatable artist. Being straight up through his lyrics, and admitting his own short-fallings, is what has gained West the respect of fans and critics. Not only is his music credible and honest, but within this album there is something for everyone to relate to. Black or white, fat or thin, rich or poor, male or female, young or old, anybody who listens to this album will be able to personally identify with Kanye through his lyrics. The ability to appeal to such a wide audience is a true skill, one that West has no-doubt mastered. The album’s wide reach is part of what makes it so worth of all its acclaim.
As a debut album, The College Dropout served great importance in bringing Kanye to the stage as a reputable artist. While his artistic qualities are not necessarily unique to this album, as they are evident in West’s later works, this album set the stage for West’s further successes. Had West’s potential not been captured in his debut album, he may never have made it to where he is today. As a listener of this album, I can see every facet of what makes a good artist, jam-packed into what is rightfully considered the greatest debut album of all time.