This is a good article. Click here for more information.

The College Dropout

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the article on dropping out of college, see Dropping out.

The College Dropout
On digital version of the album, the background is white instead of black.
Studio album by
Kanye West
ReleasedFebruary 10, 2004 (2004-02-10)
Recorded1999–2003
Studio
Genre
Length76:13
Label
ProducerKanye West
Kanye West chronology
The College Dropout
(2004) 		Late Registration
(2005)
Singles from The College Dropout
  1. "Through the Wire"
    Released: September 30, 2003
  2. "Slow Jamz"
    Released: December 2, 2003
  3. "All Falls Down"
    Released: February 24, 2004
  4. "Jesus Walks"
    Released: May 25, 2004
  5. "The New Workout Plan"
    Released: August 31, 2004

The College Dropout is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.

The production of The College Dropout was primarily handled by West and showcased his "chipmunk soul" musical style, which made use of sped-up, pitch shifted vocal samples from soul and R&B records, in addition to West's own drum programming, string accompaniments, and gospel choirs; the album also features contributions from Jay-Z, Mos Def, Jamie Foxx, Syleena Johnson, and Ludacris, among others. Diverging from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop, West's lyrics concern themes of family, self-consciousness, materialism, religion, racism, and higher education.

The College Dropout debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, selling 441,000 copies in its first week of sales. It was a large-scale commercial success, becoming West's best-selling album in the United States, with domestic sales of over 3.4 million copies by 2014 and was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2020. The album was promoted with singles such as "Through the Wire", "Jesus Walks", "All Falls Down", and "Slow Jamz", the latter two of which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100.

A widespread critical success, The College Dropout was praised for West's production, humorous and emotional raps, and the music's balance of self-examination and mainstream sensibilities. The album earned the rapper several accolades, including nominations for Album of the Year and Best Rap Album at the 2005 Grammy Awards, winning for the latter. It has since been named by numerous publications as one of the greatest albums of all time, including Rolling Stone and NME, who ranked it at 74 and 273 respectively on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time lists, and is credited for popularizing the chipmunk soul and conscious rap subgenres in the 2000s.

Background[]

Kanye West began his early production career in the mid-1990s, making beats primarily for burgeoning local artists, eventually developing a style that involved speeding up vocal samples from classic soul records. For a time, he acted as a ghost producer for Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie. Due to his association with D-Dot, West wasn't able to release a solo album, so he formed and became a member and producer of the Go-Getters, a late-1990s Chicago rap group composed of him, GLC, Timmy G, Really Doe, and Arrowstar.[1][2] The group released their first and only studio album World Record Holders in 1999.[1] West came to achieve recognition with his contributions to Jay-Z's influential 2001 album The Blueprint.[3] The Blueprint has been named by Rolling Stone as the 252nd greatest album of all time and the critical and financial success of the album generated substantial interest in West as a producer.[4] Serving as an in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, West produced records for other artists from the label, including Beanie Sigel, Freeway, and Cam'ron. He also crafted hit songs for Ludacris, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson.[3][5][6][7]

Although he had attained success as a producer, Kanye West aspired to be a rapper, but had struggled to attain a record deal.[6] Record companies ignored him because he did not portray the gangsta image prominent in mainstream hip hop at the time.[8] After a series of meetings with Capitol Records, West was ultimately denied an artist deal.[9] According to Capitol Record's A&R, Joe Weinberger, he was approached by West and almost signed a deal with him, but another person in the company convinced Capitol's president not to.[9] Desperate to keep West from defecting to another label, then-label head Damon Dash reluctantly signed West to Roc-A-Fella Records. Jay-Z, West's colleague, later admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that many saw him as a producer first and foremost, and that his background contrasted with that of his labelmates.[8][10]

West's breakthrough came a year later on October 23, 2002, when, while driving home from a California recording studio after working late, he fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a near-fatal car crash.[11] The crash left him with a shattered jaw, which had to be wired shut in reconstructive surgery. The accident inspired West; two weeks after being admitted to a hospital, he recorded a song at the Record Plant with his jaw still wired shut.[11] The composition, "Through the Wire", expressed West's experience after the accident, and helped lay the foundation for his debut album, as according to West "all the better artists have expressed what they were going through".[12][13] West added that "the album was my medicine", as working on the record distracted him from the pain.[14] "Through the Wire" was first available on West's Get Well Soon... mixtape, released December 2002.[15] At the same time, West announced that he was working on an album called The College Dropout, whose overall theme was to "make your own decisions. Don't let society tell you, 'This is what you have to do.'"[16]

Recording[]

West began recording The College Dropout in 1999, taking four years to complete.[17] Recording sessions took place at Record Plant in Los Angeles, California, but the production featured on the record took place elsewhere over the course of several years. According to John Monopoly, West's friend, manager and business partner, the album "...[didn't have] a particular start date. He's been gathering beats for years. He was always producing with the intention of being a rapper. There's beats on the album he's been literally saving for himself for years". At one point, West hovered between making a portion of the production in the studio and the majority within his own apartment in Newark, New Jersey. Because it was a two-bedroom apartment, West was able to set up a home studio in one of the rooms and his bedroom in the other.[6]

Violinist Miri Ben-Ari contributed to seven tracks.

West brought with him to the studio a Louis Vuitton backpack filled with old disks and demos to the studio, producing tracks in less than fifteen minutes at a time. He recorded the remainder of the album in Los Angeles while recovering from the car accident. Once he had completed the album, it was leaked months before its release date.[6] However, West decided to use the opportunity to review the album, and The College Dropout was significantly remixed, remastered, and revised before being released. As a result, certain tracks originally destined for the album were subsequently retracted, among them "Keep the Receipt" with Ol' Dirty Bastard and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" with Consequence.[18] West meticulously refined the production, adding string arrangements, gospel choirs, improved drum programming and new verses.[6] On his personal blog in 2009, West stated he was most inspired by The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and listened to the album every day while working on The College Dropout.[19]

The song "School Spirit" was censored for the album because Aretha Franklin would not allow the rapper to sample her music without censorship being promised.[20] It was revealed by Plain Pat that there were around three other versions of the song, but West disliked them. Pat said in reference to the Franklin sample: "That song would have been so weak if we didn't get that sample cleared".[21] In 2011, an uncensored version of the track was distributed online.[22]

West finished recording around December 2003, according to his older cousin and singer Tony Williams, who was recruited by the rapper two weeks before the album's deadline to contribute vocals. Williams had impressed West by singing improvisations to "Spaceship" during one of their drives together. The singer later recounted recording with West for The College Dropout at the Record Plant: "I get in, go in the booth, start vibing out on 'Spaceship' and finished it up. At that point he was like, 'Ok, Well let me see what you do on this song.' I think that's when we did 'Last Call.' One song lead to another, and by the end of the weekend, I was on like five songs. Then we did the 'I'll Fly Away' join".[23] In a January 2020 interview with GQ, West revealed that around 30 to 40 percent of the album was recorded on a Roland VS-1680.[24]

Music and lyrics[]

The College Dropout diverged from the then-dominant gangster persona in hip hop in favor of more diverse, topical subjects for the lyrics.[13] Throughout the album, West touches on a number of different issues drawn from his own experiences and observations, including organized religion, family, sexuality, excessive materialism, self-consciousness, minimum wage labor, institutional prejudice, and personal struggles.[25][26][27] Music journalist Kelefa Sanneh wrote, "Throughout the album, Mr. West taunts everyone who didn't believe in him: teachers, record executives, police officers, even his former boss at the Gap".[28] West explained, "My persona is that I'm the regular person. Just think about whatever you've been through in the past week, and I have a song about that on my album".[29] The album was musically notable for West's unique development of his "chipmunk soul" production style,[30] in which R&B and soul music samples were sped up and pitch shifted.[31][32]

The album begins with a skit featuring a college professor asking West to deliver a graduation speech. The skit is followed by "We Don't Care" featuring West comically celebrating drug life with lines like "We wasn't supposed to make it past 25, joke's on you, we still alive" and then criticizing its influence amongst children.[28] The next track, "Graduation Day", features Miri Ben-Ari on violin,[33] and vocals by John Legend.[34]

On "All Falls Down", West wages an attack on consumerism.[5][35] The song features singer Syleena Johnson and contains an interpolation of Lauryn Hill's "Mystery of Iniquity".[34] West called upon Johnson to re-sing a vocal portion of "Mystery of Iniquity", which ended up in the final mix.[36] Gospel hymn with doo-wop elements "I'll Fly Away" precedes "Spaceship", a track with a relaxed beat containing a soulful Marvin Gaye sample. The lyrics are mostly critical of the working world, where West muses about flying away in a spaceship to leave his boring job, and guest rappers GLC and Consequence add comparisons to modern day retail environment with slavery.[35]

On "Jesus Walks", West professes his belief in Jesus, while also discussing how religion is used by various people and how the media seems to avoid songs that address matters of faith while embracing compositions on violence, sex, and drugs.[35][37] "Jesus Walks" is built around a sample of "Walk With Me" as performed by the ARC Choir.[34] Garry Mulholland of The Observer described it as a "towering inferno of martial beats, fathoms-deep chain gang backing chants, a defiant children's choir, gospel wails, and sizzling orchestral breaks".[38] The first verse of the song is told through the eyes of a drug dealer seeking help from God, and it reportedly took over six months for West to draw inspiration for the second verse.[39]

"Never Let Me Down" is influenced by West's near-death car crash. The song features Jay-Z, who rhymes about maintaining status and power given his chart success, while West comments on racism and poverty.[35][40] The song features verses by spoken word performer J. Ivy who offers comments of upliftment. "Never Let Me Down" reuses a Jay-Z verse first heard in the remix of his song "Hovi Baby".[35][41] "Get Em High" is a collaboration by West with two socially conscious rappers, Talib Kweli and Common.[42] "The New Workout Plan" is a call to fitness to improve one's love life.[35] "Slow Jamz" features Twista and Jamie Foxx and serves as a tribute to classic smooth soul artists and slow jam songs.[5] The song also appeared on Twista's album Kamikaze.[5] On the song "School Spirit", West relates the experience of dropping out of school and contains references to well-known fraternities, sororities, singer Norah Jones, and record label Roc-A-Fella Records. "Two Words" features commentary on social issues and features Mos Def, Freeway, and the Harlem Boys Choir.[43]

"Through the Wire" features a high-pitched vocal sample of Chaka Khan and relates West's real life experience with being in a car accident.[11] The song provides a mostly comedic account of his difficult recovery, and features West rapping with his jaw still wired shut from the accident.[11][34] The chorus and instrumentals sample a pitched up version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire".[5] "Family Business" is a soulful tribute to the godbrother of Tarrey Torae, one of the many collaborators in the album.[44] The song "Last Call" is about West's transition from being a producer to a rapper, and the album ends with a nearly nine-minute autobiographical monologue that follows the song "Last Call", however, is not a separate track.[45]

Title and packaging[]

Graffiti that depicts Dropout Bear, the anthropomorphic teddy bear mascot of Kanye West that is located in the Bronx, New York City.
Graffiti depicting the Dropout Bear.

The album's title is in part a reference to West's decision to drop out of college to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.[46] This action greatly displeased his mother, who was a professor at the university from which he withdrew. She later said, "It was drummed into my head that college is the ticket to a good life... but some career goals don't require college. For Kanye to make an album called [The] College Dropout it was more about having the guts to embrace who you are, rather than following the path society has carved out for you".[47]

The artwork for the album was developed by Eric Duvauchelle, who was then part of Roc-A-Fella's in-house brand design team. West had already taken pictures dressed as the Dropout Bear - which would reappear in his later work - and Duvauchelle picked the image of him sitting on a set of bleachers, as he was attracted to the loneliness of what was supposed to be "the most popular representation of a school". The image is framed inside gold ornaments, which Duvauchelle found in a book of illustrations from the 16th-century and West wanted to use to "bring a sense of elegance and style to what was typically a gangster-led image of rap artists". The inside cover follows a college yearbook, with photos of the featured artists from their youth.[48]

Marketing and sales[]

The College Dropout was originally scheduled for release in August 2003, but West's perfectionist habits producing the album led to it being postponed three times. It was first delayed to October 2003, then to January 2004, before finally being released to stores on February 10, 2004.[49][50]

In its first week of release, the album sold 441,000 copies and debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, being held off the top spot by Norah Jones' second studio album Feels Like Home.[51] The College Dropout remained at the second spot behind Feels Like Home for two consecutive weeks, with 196,000 units sold in the second week and 132,000 in the third week, respectively.[52][53] In 2004, The College Dropout ranked as the twelfth most popular of the year on the Billboard 200.[54] The album had sold 2.3 million units in the United States by November 2004.[55] By June 2014, the album had become West's best-selling album in the US, with domestic sales of 3,358,000 copies.[56][57] On November 23, 2020, The College Dropout was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[58] On the UK Albums Chart, the album peaked at number 12, and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) had certified it double platinum by November 25, 2004; this indicated shipments of 600,000 copies.[59][60] As of 2018, The College Dropout is the fourteenth highest selling rap album in the UK in the 21st-century.[61] The album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.[62]

Four of the singles released in promotion of the album became top-20 chart hits: "Through the Wire", "Slow Jamz", "All Falls Down" and "Jesus Walks".[63] "The New Workout Plan" was the fifth and last single.[64] "Spaceship" was planned to be the sixth single, but Def Jam decided to move on from The College Dropout's promotional campaign to begin marketing West's next album, Late Registration (2005).[65] At one point, "Two Words" was also intended to be released as a single, and a video for the song was filmed, and later uploaded by West online in 2009.[42]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[66]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[5]
Blender4/5 stars[67]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[68]
Los Angeles Times3/4 stars[69]
Mojo4/5 stars[70]
Pitchfork8.2/10[3]
Rolling Stone3.5/5 stars[71]
SpinB+[72]
USA Today3.5/4 stars[73]
The Village VoiceA[74]

The College Dropout was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 25 reviews.[66]

The record was hailed by Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times as "2004's first great hip-hop album".[28] Reviewing it for The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin observed in the music "substance, social commentary, righteous anger, ornery humanism, dark humor, and even Christianity", calling it "one of those wonderful crossover albums that appeal to a huge audience without sacrificing a shred of integrity".[75] The staff of Mojo said its exceptional hip hop production was miraculous during a time when hip hop's practice of sampling was becoming "increasingly litigious",[70] and those of Urb deemed it "both visceral and emotive, sprinkling the dancefloors with tears and sweat".[76] Dave Heaton from PopMatters found it "musically engaging" and "a genuine extension of Kanye's personality and experiences",[35] while Hua Hsu of The Village Voice felt that his sped-up samples "carry a humble, human air", allowing listeners to "hear tiny traces of actual people inside".[77] Fellow Village Voice critic Robert Christgau wrote that "not only does [West] create a unique role model, that role model is dangerous—his arguments against education are as market-targeted as other rappers' arguments for thug life".[74] In the opinion of Stylus Magazine's Josh Love, West "subverts cliches from both sides of the hip-hop divide" while "trying to reflect the entire spectrum of hip-hop and black experience, looking for solace and salvation in the traditional safehouses of church and family".[25] Entertainment Weekly's Michael Endelman elaborated on West's avoidance of the then-dominant "gangsta" persona of hip hop:

West delivers the goods with a disarming mix of confessional honesty and sarcastic humor, earnest idealism and big-pimping materialism. In a scene still dominated by authenticity battles and gangsta posturing, he's a middle-class, politically conscious, post-thug, bourgeois rapper – and that's nothing to be ashamed of.[68]

Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise. Rolling Stone's Jon Caramanica felt that "West isn't quite MC enough to hold down the entire disc", though claimed that West's "ace in the hole is his signature cozy sound",[71] while Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani observed "too many guest artists, too many interludes, and just too many songs period" on what he considered a "chest-beatingly self-congratulatory" yet humorous, deeply sincere, and affecting record.[26] It was regarded by Pitchfork critic Rob Mitchum as a "flawed, overlong, hypocritical, egotistical, and altogether terrific album".[3] The staff of Rolling Stone were more receptive in a retrospective review than Caramanica was previously for the publication, calling the album "a demonstration that hip-hop—real, banging, commercial hip-hop—could be a vehicle for nuanced self-examination and musical subtlety".[78]

Rankings[]

The College Dropout was voted as the best album of the year by The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics.[79] The album elsewhere topped year-end lists by Rolling Stone,[80] Spin,[81] Vibe,[82] and PopMatters.[83] Dutch magazine OOR named it the seventh best album of 2004.[84] Billboard named The College Dropout the second best album of 2004.[85] Rhapsody named it the seventh best album of the decade and the fourth best hip hop album of the decade.[86][87]

In 2005, Pitchfork named it No. 50 in their best albums of 2000–2004.[88] In 2006, the album was named by Time as one of the 100 best albums of all time.[89] In its retrospective 2007 issue, XXL named it one of the magazine's "XXL"-rated releases; this perfect rating had previously been given by the magazine to only sixteen other albums.[90] In 2012, Complex named the album one of the classic albums of the last decade,[91] and the 20th best hip hop debut album ever.[92] Dagsavisen listed the album eleventh in its list of the top forty albums of the 2000s decade.[93] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[94] NME placed the album at 273 on its 2013 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[95] while Rolling Stone ranked it at 74 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020.[96]

Accolades for The College Dropout
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club United States The 50 Best Albums of the 2000s 2009
2
[97]
BET The Best Albums of the 2000s 2009
3
[98]
Consequence The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 2009
16
[99]
The Top 100 Albums Ever 2010
100
[100]
The 25 Greatest Hip-Hop Debut Albums of All Time 2018
2
[101]
Entertainment Weekly The 100 Best Albums from 1983 to 2008 2008
4
[102]
The 10 Best Albums of the Decade 2009
1
[103]
Newsweek The 10 Best Albums of the Decade 2009
3
[104]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000–2009) 2009
17
[105]
Phoenix New Times The 10 Best Rap Albums of the 2000s 2009
2
[106]
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2004 2004
18
[107]
The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s 2009
28
[108]
PopMatters The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s 2014
29
[109]
Rolling Stone The 100 Albums of the 2000s 2009
10
[110]
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2012
298
[111]
The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time 2013
19
[112]
500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2020
74
[96]
The San Diego Union-Tribune The Best Albums of the Decade 2009
4
[113]
Spin The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014) 2015
59
[114]
The 50 Best Hip-Hop Debut Albums Since 'Reasonable Doubt' 2016
1
[115]
Spinner The Best Albums of the 2000s 2009
2
[116]
The Village Voice The 2004 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll 2004
1
[117]
Clash United Kingdom The Top 100 Albums of Clash's Lifetime (2004–2012) 2012
17
[118]
Fact The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s 2010
20
[119]
NME The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2013
273
[95]
The Sunday Times The 30 Best Albums of the 2000s 2009
14
[120]
The Times The 100 Best Pop Albums of the Noughties 2009
13
[121]

Industry awards[]

Awards and nominations for The College Dropout
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2004 American Music Awards Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album Nominated [122]
Billboard Music Awards R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year Nominated [123]
MOBO Awards Best Album Won [124]
The Source Awards Album of the Year Won [125]
Teen Choice Awards Album of the Year Won [125]
2005 Grammy Awards Album of the Year Nominated [126]
Best Rap Album Won
Groovevolt Music and Fashion Awards Album of the Year Won [127]
Best Hip-Hop Album Won
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Album Nominated [128]

Influence[]

As a young black kid, especially one who got to walk the line between some dangerous environments and some much better ones, Kanye was this beautiful means to be true to both sides of me. I remember listening to The College Dropout on the bus from a Leadership Broward event where I was selected as one of the leaders of tomorrow or whatever. I remember listening to it as I walked by two black mothers in bed slippers fighting in the street. I remember listening to it on my way to catch the bus to go to a school out of my zone, so that I could get a better education. … 'Spaceship,' 'All Falls Down,' 'Never Let Me Down,' 'Jesus Walks,' 'Family Business.' Those were anthems of mine that I kept in the back pocket of my heart as I walked the line between black people finding me too white or proper and white people clamoring for me to be their 'black friend.'

—Aundre Larrow, Chicago Reader (2014)[129]

The College Dropout sparked a resurgence of socially conscious rap in the mid 2000s,[130] arriving at a time when pop rap was saturated with songs featuring product placement and intensely violent lyrics, epitomized by rappers like 50 Cent, Nelly, Ja Rule, Ludacris, and P. Diddy.[129] West instead created a space in the mainstream for rappers to express themselves and black identity without resorting to hip hop's prevalent theme of gang culture.[131] Raul Verma of The Independent said "West is charged with proving mainstream hip hop has a conscience with his nourishing messages of substance flying in the face of the amoral majority perpetuating clichés of guns, girls and bling",[132] while Vibe senior editor Noah Callahan-Bever argued that West's infusion of "pop sensibility" into his otherwise progressive hip hop had "bridged the gap" and encouraged rappers to gravitate more towards the center between mainstream and alternative forms.[133] Today commented that "The College Dropout, stood out in the rap landscape because of its atypical prose. It avoided the usual plotlines about sex, money and violence and touched on everything from his faith to his fears of failure and other crises from his life."[134]

According to DJBooth journalist Brad Callas, the album also "helped solidify chipmunk soul as not only the defining sound of the Roc-A-Fella era but also the most popular sub-genre in hip-hop".[135] "It feels like that album birthed an entire sub-genre", Max Weinstein wrote in retrospect for Vibe, going on to say, "The palette of emotions was so broad, the depth of topics so searingly relevant, that it was bound to make an impression on any artist that heard it. RZA might have birthed chipmunk soul, and Black Star perfected smart lyricism for the JanSport bunch, but 'Ye brought all that to the masses in one single, digestible product, breaking down the divisions between mainstream rap and Rawkus-grade consciousness." Weinstein also credited The College Dropout with directly influencing 10 albums: Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor (2006) by Lupe Fiasco, School Was My Hustle (2006) by Kidz in the Hall, Don't Quit Your Day Job! (2007) by Consequence, A Kid Named Cudi (2008) by Kid Cudi, Asleep in the Bread Aisle (2009) by Asher Roth, Kendrick Lamar's self-titled first EP (2009), Camp (2011) by Childish Gambino, Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011) by J. Cole, When Fish Ride Bicycles (2011) by The Cool Kids, and Acid Rap (2013) by Chance the Rapper.[136]

With the album, West began to develop a following of listeners who could not relate to lyrics glorifying gangster lifestyle but still enjoyed rap music and connected more with his musings on family and love.[131] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock attested to listening to The College Dropout while writing his stand-up material.[137] Music journalists such as Meaghan Garvey, Andrew Barber, and Erika Ramirez also connected to the album during their formative years, with Barber saying in a roundtable discussion for Noisey, "I could identify with this project the most because I was in college at the time, and I felt like an underdog in my own life. I was uncertain of my future. [West's] words on 'Last Call' inspired me to follow my dreams, and motivated me to graduate despite the album title." In the same discussion, music journalist Eric Sundermann cited The College Dropout as the first in West's pop rap album trilogy that would be followed by Late Registration in 2005 and Graduation in 2007, while Craig Jenkins called it "a watershed moment in 2000s rap history where the nerds stormed the school to seize control from the jocks, a shift memorialized two albums later when Graduation trounced 50 Cent's Curtis album in their 2007 sales showdown."[138]

Track listing[]

All tracks are produced by Kanye West, except "Last Call" (co-produced by Evidence; additional production by Porse) and "Breathe in Breathe Out" (co-produced by Brian Miller).

The College Dropout track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro (Skit)"Kanye West0:19
2."We Don't Care"
3:59
3."Graduation Day"
  • West
  • John Stephens
  • Ben-Ari
1:22
4."All Falls Down" (featuring Syleena Johnson)
  • West
  • Lauryn Hill
3:43
5."I'll Fly Away"Albert E. Brumley1:09
6."Spaceship" (featuring GLC and Consequence)
5:24
7."Jesus Walks"
3:13
8."Never Let Me Down" (featuring Jay-Z and J. Ivy)
5:24
9."Get Em High" (featuring Talib Kweli and Common)
4:49
10."Workout Plan (Skit)"West0:46
11."The New Workout Plan"
  • West
  • Stephens
  • Bosco Kante
  • Sumeke Rainey
  • Ben-Ari
5:22
12."Slow Jamz" (featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx)
5:16
13."Breathe in Breathe Out" (featuring Ludacris)
  • West
  • Brian Miller
4:06
14."School Spirit (Skit 1)"West1:18
15."School Spirit"
  • West
  • Aretha Franklin
3:02
16."School Spirit (Skit 2)"West0:43
17."Lil Jimmy (Skit)"West0:53
18."Two Words" (featuring Mos Def, Freeway and The Boys Choir of Harlem)
4:26
19."Through the Wire"
  • David Foster
  • Tom Keane
  • Cynthia Weil
3:41
20."Family Business"West4:38
21."Last Call"
12:40
Total length:76:13

2005 Japanese special edition[]

Bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
22."Heavy Hitters" (featuring GLC)
  • West
  • Harris
3:01
Total length:80:08
Bonus CD
No.TitleLength
1."We Don't Care (Reprise)" (featuring Keyshia Cole)2:57
2."Jesus Walks (Remix)" (featuring Mase and Common)4:58
3."It's Alright" (featuring Mase and John Legend)3:51
4."The New Workout Plan (Remix)" (featuring Fonzworth Bentley, Luke and Twista; produced by Lil Jon)4:02
5."Two Words (Cinematic)" (featuring The Harlem Boys Choir)4:06
6."Never Let Me Down (Cinematic)"5:16
Total length:25:07

Sample credits[]

  • "We Don't Care" contains samples of "I Just Wanna Stop", written by Ross Vannelli and performed by The Jimmy Castor Bunch.
  • "All Falls Down" contains interpolations of "Mystery of Iniquity", written and performed by Lauryn Hill.
  • "Spaceship" contains samples of "Distant Lover", written by Marvin Gaye, Gwen Gordy Fuqua and Sandra Greene, and performed by Marvin Gaye.
  • "Jesus Walks" contains samples of "Walk with Me", performed by The ARC Choir and "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go", written and performed by Curtis Mayfield.
  • "Never Let Me Down" contains samples of "Maybe It's the Power of Love", written by Michael Bolton and Bruce Kulick, and performed by Blackjack.
  • "Slow Jamz" contains samples of "A House Is Not a Home", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and performed by Luther Vandross.
  • "School Spirit" contains samples of "Spirit in the Dark", written and performed by Aretha Franklin.
  • "Two Words" contains samples of "Peace & Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) – Movement IV (Encounter)", written by Lou Wilson, Ric Wilson and Carlos Wilson, and performed by Mandrill.
  • "Through the Wire" contains samples of "Through the Fire", written by David Foster, Tom Keane and Cynthia Weil, and performed by Chaka Khan.
  • "Family Business" contains samples of "Fonky Thang", written by Terry Callier and Charles Stepney, and performed by The Dells.
  • "Last Call" contains samples of "Mr. Rockefeller", written by Jerry Blatt and Bette Midler, and performed by Bette Midler.

Personnel[]

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[34][139]

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Certifications and sales for The College Dropout
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[160] Platinum 100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[161] Platinum 20,000double-dagger
New Zealand (RMNZ)[162] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[163] 2× Platinum 600,000^
United States (RIAA)[58] 4× Platinum 3,358,000[56]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Barber, Andrew (July 23, 2012). "93. Go-Getters "Let Em In" (2000)". Complex. Archived from the original on July 27, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  2. ^ Reid, Shaheem (September 30, 2005). "Music Geek Kanye's Kast of Thousands". MTV. Archived from the original on April 15, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d Mitchum, Rob (February 20, 2004). "Kanye West: The College Dropout". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 31, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  4. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: #464 (The Blueprint)". Rolling Stone. November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Kellman, Andy. "The College Dropout – Kanye West". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 3, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e Reid, Shaheem (February 9, 2005). "Road to the Grammys: The Making Of Kanye West's College Dropout". MTV. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  7. ^ Serpick, Evan. Kanye West Archived December 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  8. ^ a b Hess, p. 556
  9. ^ a b Calloway, Sway; Reid, Shaheem (February 20, 2004). "Kanye West: Kanplicated". MTV. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  10. ^ Williams, Jean A (October 1, 2007). "Kanye West: The Man, the Music, and the Message.(Biography)". The Black Collegian. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
  11. ^ a b c d Kearney, Kevin (September 30, 2005). Rapper Kanye West on the cover of Time: Will rap music shed its "gangster" disguise? Archived February 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved September 23, 2007.
  12. ^ Birchmeier, Jason (2007). "Kanye West – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
  13. ^ a b Davis, Kimberly. "The Many Faces of Kanye West" Archived January 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (June 2004) Ebony.
  14. ^ Davis, Kimberly. "Kanye West: Hip Hop's New Big Shot" Archived January 6, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (April 2005) Ebony.
  15. ^ Kamer, Foster (March 11, 2013). "9. Kanye West, Get Well Soon... (2003) – The 50 Best Rapper Mixtapes". Complex. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  16. ^ Reid, Shaheem (December 10, 2002). "Kanye West Raps Through His Broken Jaw, Lays Beats For Scarface, Ludacris Archived December 28, 2013, at the Wayback Machine". MTV. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  17. ^ Sarad (February 10, 2015). "Today in Hip Hop History: Kanye West Drops His 'College Dropout' LP 11 Years Ago". The Source. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  18. ^ Patel, Joseph (June 5, 2003). "Producer Kanye West's Debut LP Features Jay-Z, ODB, Mos Def". MTV. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  19. ^ "The College Dropout is EW's Top Album of the Decade". KanyeUniverseCity. December 7, 2009. Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  20. ^ "When Rap Lyrics Get Censored, Even on the Explicit Version". Complex. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  21. ^ "The Making of Kanye West's "The College Dropout"". Complex. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  22. ^ "Kanye West – School Spirit (Uncensored Version)". Fake Shore Drive®. Archived from the original on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  23. ^ Martins, Jordan (April 19, 2010). "Tony Williams of G.O.O.D. Music Talks Most Memorable Studio Sessions With Kanye". Complex. Archived from the original on July 28, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  24. ^ Welch, Will (April 15, 2020). "Kanye West on His Next Album, Designing Yeezy, and Kobe Bryant". GQ. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  25. ^ a b Love, Josh. Review: The College Dropout Archived September 15, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  26. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (March 14, 2004). "Kanye West: The College Dropout". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  27. ^ James, Jim (December 27, 2009). "Music of the decade". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2011. Alt URL Archived November 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ a b c Sanneh, Kelefa (February 9, 2004). "No Reading And Writing, But Rapping Instead". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  29. ^ "Kanye West Biography". Artistdirect. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  30. ^ "Unrecorded". Archived from the original on February 1, 2014.
  31. ^ "Sabotage Times". Archived from the original on February 24, 2016.
  32. ^ Burrell, Ian (September 22, 2007). "Kanye West: King of rap". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  33. ^ 'Hip-Hop Violinist' Preps Solo Debut Archived June 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Billboard.
  34. ^ a b c d e The College Dropout (Media notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2004.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  35. ^ a b c d e f g Heaton, Dave (March 5, 2004). Kanye West: The College Dropout Archived August 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. PopMatters. Retrieved August 25, 2011
  36. ^ Hall, Rashaun (January 21, 2005). "Kanye West Collaborating With Lauryn Hill on New LP". MTV. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
  37. ^ Jones, Steve (February 10, 2005). "Kanye West runs away with 'Jesus Walks'". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  38. ^ Mulholland, Garry (August 15, 2004). "'Jesus Walks' by Kanye West". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  39. ^ Calloway, Sway; Reid, Shaheem (February 20, 2004). "Kanye West: Kanplicated". MTV. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  40. ^ "'Watch The Throne': Jay-Z and Kanye West's 10 Best Collaborations". Billboard. August 6, 2011. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  41. ^ Batey, Angus (February 20, 2004). Kanye West – The College Dropout. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved August 25, 2011
  42. ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (January 21, 2004). "Common, John Mayer Drop in to Preview Kanye West's Dropout". MTV. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  43. ^ Ryan, Chris. Review: The College Dropout Archived January 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. Spin. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  44. ^ Ahmed, Isanul. "15 Things You Didn't Know About Kanye West's "The College Dropout"". Complex. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  45. ^ Barber, Andrew. "The 100 Best Kanye West Songs: 24. Kanye West "Last Call" (2004)". Complex. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  46. ^ West, Donda, p. 106
  47. ^ Hess, p. 558
  48. ^ Pasori, Cedar; McDonald, Leighton (June 17, 2013). "The Design Evolution of Kanye West's Album Artwork: The College Dropout". Complex. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  49. ^ Goldstein, Hartley (December 5, 2003). "Kanye West: Get Well Soon / I'm Good". PopMatters. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  50. ^ Ahmed, Insanul (September 21, 2011). "Kanye West × The Heavy Hitters, Get Well Soon (2003) – Clinton Sparks' 30 Favorite Mixtapes". Complex. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
  51. ^ Martens, Todd (February 18, 2004). "More Than A Million Take Norah 'Home'". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  52. ^ Martens, Todd (February 25, 2004). "Jones Remains At 'Home' At No. 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  53. ^ Martens, Todd (March 3, 2004). "Norah Makes Comfy 'Home' At No. 1". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  54. ^ a b "Kanye West – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 9, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  55. ^ "Kanye Inks Deal For Sony Label". Billboard. October 20, 2004. Archived from the original on October 3, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  56. ^ a b Grein, Paul (June 24, 2014). "USA: Top 20 New Acts Since 2000". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  57. ^ Cibola, Marco (June 14, 2013). "Kanye West: How the Rapper Grew From 'Dropout' to 'Yeezus'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  58. ^ a b "American album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  59. ^ "Kanye West is 'humbled' by fans as his debut turns ten". BBC. February 11, 2014. Archived from the original on June 7, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  60. ^ Verma, Rahul (November 25, 2004). "Kanye West, Brixton Academy, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  61. ^ "The UK's Official Top 40 biggest rap albums of the Millennium revealed". Official Charts Company. May 4, 2018. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  62. ^ Columnist. Mr Confidence puts it all on the line Archived October 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. The Sun-Herald (August 1, 2005). Retrieved August 27, 2007.
  63. ^ "Does Kanye West's 'The College Dropout' Stand the Test of Time?". The Boombox. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  64. ^ "Kanye West's "The New Workout Plan": Revisit His Hilariously Brilliant 'College Dropout' Single". Idolator. February 10, 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  65. ^ Kanye West's Lost "Spaceship" Video | Kanye West Archived June 11, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Rap Basement Retrieved July 1, 2012
  66. ^ a b "Reviews for College Dropout by Kanye West". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  67. ^ Pareles, Jon (April 2004). "Kanye West: The College Dropout". Blender. New York (25): 124. Archived from the original on April 9, 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  68. ^ a b Endelman, Michael (February 13, 2004). "The College Dropout". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  69. ^ Baker, Soren (February 12, 2004). "You'll know his name". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  70. ^ a b "Kanye West: The College Dropout". Mojo. London (126): 102. May 2004.
  71. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (March 14, 2004). "The College Dropout". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  72. ^ Ryan, Chris (November 2003). "Kanye West: The College Dropout". Spin. New York. 19 (11): 111–12. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  73. ^ Jones, Steve (February 9, 2004). "'Dropout': Well schooled". USA Today. McLean. Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  74. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (March 9, 2004). "Edges of the Groove". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  75. ^ Rabin, Nathan (February 17, 2004). "Kanye West: The College Dropout". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on January 26, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  76. ^ "Kanye West, 'The College Dropout' (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)". Urb. Los Angeles (114): 111. March 12, 2004.
  77. ^ Hsu, Hua (February 10, 2004). "The Benz or the Backpack?". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on July 7, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
  78. ^ "Kanye West: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on December 5, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  79. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2004". The Village Voice. October 18, 2005. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
  80. ^ White, Julian. "Rolling Stone 2004 Critics". RocklistMusic.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
  81. ^ Staff (January 2005). "40 Best Albums of the Year: 1) The College Dropout". Spin. p. 68. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2005.
  82. ^ "Vibe Magazine – January 2005". Vibe. 13 (1): 50. January 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  83. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 2004". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 12, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  84. ^ "Jaarlijst Oor 2004" (in Dutch). Muzieklijstjes. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  85. ^ "Billboard 2004 – The Year in Music". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 3, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  86. ^ Rhapsody Editorial (December 4, 2009). "Rhapsody's 100 Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
  87. ^ Chennault, Sam (October 31, 2009). "Hip-Hop's Best Albums of the Decade". Rhapsody. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  88. ^ "The Top 100 Albums of 2000–04". Pitchfork. February 7, 2005. Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
  89. ^ "Time 100 Best Albums of All Time". Time. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on October 21, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  90. ^ XXL (December 2007). "Retrospective: XXL Albums". XXL.
  91. ^ Drake, David. "25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status: Kanye West, The College Dropout (2004)". Complex. Archived from the original on December 9, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  92. ^ "The 50 Greatest Debut Albums in Hip-Hop History: 20. Kanye West, The College Dropout". Complex. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  93. ^ "Top 40 Albums of the 2000s". Dagsavisen (in Danish). November 24, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  94. ^ Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (February 7, 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  95. ^ a b "NME: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time : October 2013". Rocklist. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  96. ^ a b "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  97. ^ "Top 50 Albums of the 2000s". The A.V. Club. November 19, 2009. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  98. ^ "Best Albums of 2000s". BET. Archived from the original on December 29, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  99. ^ "CoS Top of the Decade: The Albums". Consequence. November 17, 2018. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  100. ^ "Consequence of Sound's Top 100 Albums Ever". Consequence. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  101. ^ "The 25 Greatest Hip-Hop Debut Albums of All Time". Consequence. March 14, 2018. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  102. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (June 20, 2008). "EW's 100 Best Albums From 1983 To 2008". Stereogum. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  103. ^ "10 Best Albums of Decade". Entertainment Weekly. December 3, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  104. ^ Colter Walls, Seth. "Best Albums – The College Dropout Kanye West (2004)". Newsweek. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2011.
  105. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)". Paste. November 2, 2009. Archived from the original on March 2, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  106. ^ Chelsler, Josh (August 10, 2015). "10 Best Rap Albums of the 2000s". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  107. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2004". Pitchfork. December 31, 2004. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  108. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. October 2, 2009. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  109. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s". PopMatters. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  110. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. July 18, 2011. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  111. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2015. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  112. ^ "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. March 22, 2013. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  113. ^ Nekesa Mumbi Moody (December 10, 2009). "Amy, Beyonce, Kanye, made decade's best albums". Sand Dego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 15, 2020.
  114. ^ "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)". Spin. May 11, 2015. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  115. ^ "The 50 Best Hip-Hop Debut Albums Since 'Reasonable Doubt'". Spin. July 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  116. ^ "Best Albums of the 2000s – Part Two". Spinner. December 13, 2009. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  117. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2004". The Village Voice. October 18, 2005. Archived from the original on July 31, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  118. ^ Diver, Mike (January 7, 2015). "The Top 100 Albums of Clash's Lifetime". Clash. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  119. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s". Fact. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  120. ^ "The Times – Best Album of the Decade 2000 – 2009". Rocklistmusic. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  121. ^ "The 100 best pop albums of the Noughties". The Times. November 21, 2009. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  122. ^ "32nd American Music Awards Nominees". Billboard. September 14, 2004. Archived from the original on March 3, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  123. ^ "2004 Billboard Music Awards Finalists". Billboard. November 30, 2004. Archived from the original on November 12, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  124. ^ "MOBO Awards 2004 Winners". MOBO. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  125. ^ a b "Kanye triumphs at Source awards". BBC. October 11, 2004. Archived from the original on December 18, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  126. ^ "Grammy Awards 2005: Key winners". BBC. February 14, 2005. Archived from the original on January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  127. ^ "2005 GV Music & Fashion Awards Winners". Billboard. 117 (10): 17. March 5, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  128. ^ Rashbaum, Alyssa (January 20, 2005). "Usher Scores Five Nominations For NAACP Image Awards". MTV. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  129. ^ a b Larrow, Aundre (February 12, 2014). "Thoughts on the tenth birthday of Kanye West's The College Dropout". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  130. ^ Edlund, Martin (June 21, 2005). "The Return of Socially Conscious Rap". The New York Sun. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  131. ^ a b Okwerekwu, Ike (May 13, 2019). "Where's the Old Kanye". Medium. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  132. ^ Verma, Rahul (November 25, 2004). "Kanye West, Brixton Academy, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020.
  133. ^ Darling, Cary (July 24, 2005). "Stylish hip-hop thrives". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  134. ^ "Kanye West nets 10 Grammy nominations". Today. December 7, 2004. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  135. ^ Callas, Brad (February 4, 2019). "25 Greatest Chipmunk Soul Beats from the Roc-A-Fella Dynasty". DJBooth. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  136. ^ Weinstein, Max (February 10, 2014). "Kanye's Blueprint: 10 Albums Directly Influenced By 'College Dropout'". Vibe. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  137. ^ "Why You Can't Ignore Kanye". Time. August 21, 2005. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  138. ^ "The Definitive Kanye West Album Rankings: A Roundtable". Noisey. December 4, 2015. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  139. ^ "Credits: The College Dropout". AllMusic. April 2, 2004. Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2012. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  140. ^ "Lescharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  141. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kanye West – The College Dropout" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  142. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  143. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kanye West – The College Dropout" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  144. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Kanye West". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  145. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  146. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kanye West – The College Dropout". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  147. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  148. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  149. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  150. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  151. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  152. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  153. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2004". Official Charts Company. January 8, 2005. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  154. ^ "2004 Year-End Charts – Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  155. ^ "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2004" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original on April 10, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  156. ^ "2005 Year End Charts – The Billboard 200 Titles". Billboard. November 26, 2005. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  157. ^ "2005 Year-End Charts - Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  158. ^ "Top 100 Urban Albums 2016". ARIA Charts. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  159. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Decade-end Chart". Billboard. 2009. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  160. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout". Music Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  161. ^ "Danish album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  162. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". Radioscope. July 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
  163. ^ "British album certifications – Kanye West – The College Dropout". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 22, 2019.

Bibliography[]

External links[]

Retrieved from ""