Kanye West

Somewhere along the way, Kanye West convinced us that he was different from the rest of the over-sensationalized hip-hop elite. His first two albums filled with personal and social revelations were more akin to spoken word than the sexualized violence of his peers. Unfortunately, West’s Graduation marks a turning point away from relevant originality. Opening tracks like “Stronger” and “I Wonder” are solid, but not strong. From there overly repetitive sampling and dissolving lyrics that find West rapping about “dykes” and money turn the album into a mediocre submission that could have come from any of the generic performers stacked in the Top 40. When he was a College Dropout applying for Late Registration, West showed more smarts. Hopefully he can learn from his premature graduation and blow us away next semester.