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During a 2013 interview with the New York Times, Kanye West discussed his discography in a way he hadn't done before. It wasn't quite as pat as Jay Z photographing all of his albums in an ordered stack, but it did shed light on how Kanye thinks of his output. He said that 808s & Heartbreak "redefined the sound of radio," while admitting that "the fact that I can't sing that well is what makes 808s so special." Meanwhile, he called My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy a "backhanded apology."
Almost immediately his comments were absorbed into the ever-evolving conversation that overtakes the timeline with regularity, about how one ranks Kanye's discography. Which is his weakest album? Which is his best? He has one of the most impressive rap catalogs ever, spanning seven solo records and two collaborative efforts, and of course there's no denying his place at the bow of American culture.
With the one-year anniversary of The Life of Pablo approaching, we're revisiting the topic to offer our ranking of Kanye West's albums, from worst to best.
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9. 'Cruel Summer' (2012)
cruel-summer
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Che Pope, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Anthony Kilhoffer, Boogz & Tapez, Dan Black, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Illmind, Jeff Bhasker, Ken Lewis, Lifted, Mano, Mannie Fresh, Mike Dean, Mike Will, The Twilite Tone, Tommy Brown, Travi$ Scott, Young Chop
Features: R. Kelly, Teyana Taylor, Jay Z, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, D'banj, DJ Khaled, The-Dream, Mase, Cocaine 80s, John Legend, Travis Scott, Malik Yusef, Marsha Ambrosius, Chief Keef, Jadakiss
The best teams are said to be greater than the sum of their parts. Cruel Summer actually feels lesser than the sum of its parts. Released on September 14, just six days before the end of Summer 2012, the G.O.O.D. Music collective album is widely considered a failure, despite the fact that it boasts two smash hit singles in "Mercy" and "Clique," two legitimate bangers in "Cold" and "New God Flow," as well as an all-star remix of Chief Keef's massive "I Don't Like."
Cruel Summer's undoing is its unchecked, aimless grandiosity, from the R. Kelly album opener to that unbearable "Sin City" spoken word interlude. It suffers from lack of focus. Who exactly was part of the G.O.O.D. Music crew at this point? One of the most prominently featured artists on the album, 2 Chainz, is not. Nor are Mase, Ghostface, Raekwon, Marsha Ambrosius. You know who is a part of the crew? Kanye West. Guess who we wish was on the album more. —Rob Kenner
8. 'Late Registration' (2005)
Late Registration
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Jon Brion, Devo Springsteen, Just Blaze, Warryn Campbell
Features: Adam Levine, Lupe Fiasco, Jamie Foxx, Paul Wall, GLC, Common, the Game, Brandy, Jay Z, Nas, Really Doe, Cam'ron, Consequence, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Rhymefest
Generally, people who love Late Registration most rank Graduation at the opposite end of Kanye's discography. People who consider Graduation to be peak-Kanye often think of Late Registration as the weakest of the solo releases. But the first time I heard Late Registration, I heard the Kanye West album I'd wanted to hear since before College Dropout arrived: A lush, beautiful hip-hop chamber pop album, full of brilliant hooks and train-stopping lines that could vacillate from hilarious ("Gold Digger") to serious ("Diamonds") to poignant ("Heard 'Em Say") and double-back again, into expertly distilled Kanye braggadocio.
The best part about revisiting Late Registration—an album that has aged beautifully, and doesn't date itself at every possible juncture (hello, Graduation, with its Daft Punk and its Chris Martin and its painful Weezy verse)—being reminded of all the album's contributors that everyone often forgets. Sure, you've got Adam Levine doing the opening hook, Jay Z throwing up the Roc, and Jamie Foxx doing his Ray Charles schtick on "Gold Digger," but what about Nas, on "We Major," on the same album as Jay, at the height of their feud?! Or Killa Cam's knock-knock verse on "Gone"? Brandy? Lupe Fiasco's career-launching verse on "Touch the Sky"? And, most notably, the presence of producer Jon Brion across the album, lending Kanye a level of technical expertise and pop mastery that he had yet to achieve on his own. Clearly, this album was crucial in terms of Kanye's career development. Is it perfect, though?
No. Hell no. The Paul Wall/Common/Game midsection suite is a trifecta of clunker beats and clunker guest verses. [Ed. Note—This is insane. "Drive Slow," "My Way Home," and "Crack Music" are as strong a string of songs as Kanye has ever recorded. But I'll let Foster finish.] And do us Late Registration fans really think that any of these songs match up to the sheer genius of "Can't Tell Me Nothing" or "Champion," or that "Heard 'Em Say" compares to "Good Morning"? Of course not. But that's also why we love Late Registration: It's imperfect. It's flawed. In a lot of ways, it's quaint.
It's the last Kanye album to follow any kind of conventions, like album-spanning skits. It's too long by at least five songs. But it's also the last time we heard the mortal rapper Kanye on the mic, as opposed to stadium-status Kanye, broken-hearted-robot Kanye, outcast-monster Kanye, or demon-deity Kanye. And the socially consciousness Kanye raps—from the "Allahu Akbar and throw 'em some hot cars" bars that start the album to the first verse of "Roses" to "Diamonds," and so on—are as contradictory and nuanced as they'd ever be, at least until the extremist reckoning that is Yeezus. But the reason fans really love this album is best summed up by the album's closer, "Gone." It's odd. Why put Cam'ron on a closing track? Or let Consequence deliver a filler verse? Especially on this, the original Kanye-Otis Redding sample song, that already has so much going on?
Kanye's resounding response is Why not? In many ways, it's just another solid rap song, and yet, it transcends another-solid-rap-song norms, with Kanye slapping together bars too clever for their own good, and overindulging his guests. But at the end of the track, he runs through a theoretical scenario in which he abandons rap and imagines what that would be like for us, the listeners. Given the drastic tidal shift Graduation represents, the foreshadowing couldn't have been more prescient. Because that Kanye, the mortal rapper Kanye, did basically disappear after that. Years later, it still stands out as one his best verses. And it's been forgotten by many, too. "Gone" in its own way. But it's representative of the smallest (but a key) reason why we love Late Registration: Because you don't know how to. And that's fine by us. —Foster Kamer
7. '808s & Heartbreak' (200
808s-and-heartbreak
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Jeff Bhasker, Mr. Hudson, No I.D., Plain Pat, Kanye West
Features: Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr. Hudson, Lil Wayne
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who will make the case that 808s & Heartbreak is Kanye’s best album. His most influential? Perhaps. The one that changed the trajectory of his career? Definitely. But the best? That’s a tough argument to make. It might be correct, though.
Lost in the discussion of whether Drake bit the 808s sound and sensibility to start a new age in hip-hop, and the question of what Kanye was even doing here, singing stream-of-conscious, despair-filled pop songs over spare electronic beats, is that this is a focused thesis statement of an album. For three albums, Kanye had won us over. He was hip-hop’s everyman, an artist that put seemingly every thought in his head on record, and we loved him for it. More than that, it brought him increasing levels of success at every turn. By Graduation he was, against all odds, our biggest star. 808s was supposed to be his missive from the top. The message it brought: None of this was worth it.
We all know the story of this album; Kanye’s mourning album that’s really a breakup album, following the sudden losses of the two most important women in his life. And it is a raw outpouring of loss and bitterness, but it’s also something more than that. 808s is a reflection on a Faustian bargain gone wrong, a message from a man who achieved everything he wanted—fame, fortune, critical adoration, and a place in canon—but realized too late that it was at too high a cost and, to his horror, there was no going back. 808s is the sound of living with decisions you regret.
Much ink has been spilled on the sound of this album; it either pioneered or helped define a new epoch in hip-hop, spawned the genre’s next ascendant star and eventual usurper of Kanye’s throne, and it still serves as the linchpin needed to understand Ye’s career. The weirdness of this album—and the fact that it seeped into the mainstream—is the best case for following Kanye wherever his mind takes us, even when (like right now) he’s giving you exactly what you don’t want. It’s telling that, after calling MBDTF his “best” album, he returned with Yeezus, an album that follows the template he set out with 808s to the letter.
It’s even more telling that, in 2015, Kanye took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl to perform the album for two nights in its entirety. It’s the only album he’s ever done that for, and it’s hard to imagine it happening for another. —Brendan Klinkenberg
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6. 'The Life of Pablo' (2016)
life-of-pablo
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Noah Goldstein, Rick Rubin, Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer, Allen Ritter, Benji B, Boi-1da, Cashmere Cat, Chance the Rapper, Charlie Handsome, Charlie Heat, Caroline Shaw, DJ Dodger Stadium (DJDS), Darren King, Derek Watkins, Frank Dukes, Havoc, Hudson Mohawke, Karriem Riggins, Mike Dean, Madlib, Menace, Metro Boomin, Mitus, Plain Pat, Sinjin Hawke, Southside, Swizz Beatz, Sevn Thomas, Trevor Gureckis, Velous
Features: Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, The-Dream, Desiigner, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Young Thug, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Frank Ocean, Caroline Shaw, André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone
While the earliest single to emerge from the obscure papal sessions for Pablo portended a trap bender in the spirit of Yeezus, this album is actually a gospel album. At least for the album's first third, where Kanye West taps Kirk Franklin, Kelly Price, Chance the Rapper, and Kid Cudi to sing lofty contrast with the maestro's condo-weary cynicism. Here Mr. West inhabits TriBeCa, rapping about bleached anuses and outlining best practices for paparazzi.
The Life of Pablo is defined by such acute moments; unfortunately, the distance between those moments can feel too hollow to bear. It so happens that Pablo is West's messiest album since Late Registration, with a middle act that badly mismanages the album's pace, tone, and intent; a micro-discography stuck on shuffle. At his worst—which is to say, his laziest—West gasses himself into fits of first-draft songwriting, as when Kanye West mumbles the last scraps of "30 Hours," or when he lashes at Taylor Swift and Ray J with punchlines that don't logically follow. At its very best, however, Pablo is a testament to teamwork and intervention; downright magical when West leaves the outbursts to Chance, Price, Desiigner, The-Dream, the Weeknd, or, in conclusion, Post Malone. So Kanye dwarfs Kanye, to sporadic success. —Justin Charity
5. 'The College Dropout' (2004)
college-dropout
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West,Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay Z, Damon "Dame" Dash, Evidence, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua
Features: Syleena Johnson, GLC, Consequence, Jay Z, J. Ivy, Talib Kweli, Common, Twista, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, Mos Def, Freeway, the Boys Choir of Harlem
Say what you will about the skits, about Kanye's drums, about the "New Workout Plan." The College Dropout was a great album. It wasn't just that Kanye West proved himself as a solo artist with the vision to become a major star. It was the moment of impact that would create a sea change in hip-hop and open the floodgates for entirely new approaches to what rappers rapped about.
He'd already shifted the sound of hip-hop on The Blueprint, blending soul music history with contemporary pop instincts; now it was time to rewrite the rules of lyrical content, reaching the intersection of the streets and the classrooms, the backpackers and the ballers, the underground and the pop charts. As he said on "Family Business," "A creative way to rhyme without using nines and guns."
Many of his followers focus on the latter part, but the first part—creativity—was key, too. In retrospect, it's harder to see how radical his first record really was; The College Dropout opened up a number of lanes that artists rushed to fill, and as a result, its thematic novelty is harder to see through the thicket of history. But it remains a startlingly unique, diverse record, and one of the most relatable records ever made. Funny, flawed, and emphatically human, The College Dropout may not have fully expressed what made Kanye who he was. But it created the space for him to do it. —David Drake
4. 'Yeezus' (2013)
yeezus
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Ackeejuice Rockers, Arca, Daft Punk, Mike Dean, Gesaffelstein, The Heatmakerz, Hudson Mohawke, No I.D., Rick Rubin, RZA, Travis Scott, Symbolyc One, TNGHT, Kanye West, Young Chop
Features: Chief Keef, Justin Vernon, Kid Cudi, King L
Yeezus won't go down as Kanye West's most popular album—if anything, it seems explicitly designed to alienate all kinds of fans, some of whom have run to J. Cole's more traditional (read: inspired by The College Dropout) approach to hip-hop. (Cole released Born Sinner the same week as Yeezus.) Rap has changed a lot since Kanye first broke out of the gate as a solo artist in 2004; back then, no major hip-hop artist would make an album about the humble beginnings of a college dropout, and make his struggle to break into the music industry the central drama of the narrative. Today, those everyman stories are commonplace, so of course Kanye's taking a different tack. Where he began his career desperate for approval, he's now seemingly looking to piss fans off. No one at his level of success would think of releasing a record as confrontational and divisive as Yeezus. These days, the rappers we celebrate are successful by consensus. Kanye breaks the mold of what rap today sounds like, intending to provoke rather than soothe. The album also shows just how much he's mastered the art of bridging—or in this case, aggravating—the underlying seams of conflict between his audiences.
As time passes, this record will be accepted as one of his best; despite its flawed, grotesque structure, its abrasive, brusque mood, and its unrepentant anger, there is something substantial here. It is a wholly unique album that seems to take up physical space. His lyrics will sustain, even the corny ones. Sure to be a favorite of critics ("abrasive" is critical manna, word to Death Grips), in the real world, Yeezus will divide his audience. But everyone will remember it. —David Drake
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3. 'Watch the Throne' (2011)
watch-the-throne
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam
Producers: 88-Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean, Hit-Boy, Jay Z (exec.), Don Jazzy, Kyambo Joshua (exec.), Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ken Lewis, The Neptunes, Q-Tip, Lex Luger, Gee Roberson (exec.), RZA, Swizz Beatz, S1, Kanye West (also exec.)
Features: Jay Z, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Mr. Hudson
It didn't live up. It's only alright. It's a Kanye album featuring Jay Z. These are the false narratives surrounding Watch the Throne, the collab album between twin titans of the present-day rap Mt. Rushmore. Kanye rejuvenated, fresh off the denouement of an unmitigated comeback story, was, as they say now, charged up. He had somehow managed to give his fans, especially the 808s detractors, exactly what they wanted, while still feeding his own desire to take hip-hop, pop—****, music, to new levels. How do you double down on that? Well, you promise hip-hop a pipe dream. A marquee, blockbuster event between two A-listers. Collabs happen every day, b. But a joint project of this caliber, with rappers of this pedigree and reputation? Fat chance. And even if it does happen, it will inevitably fall short.
Yeezy and J**** were well aware of the tall order. It's why they dropped a banger like "HAM" and yet still almost fell back because for some reason, a sizable group of fans were turned off hearing them ride rap's current sonic wave. They regrouped. And returned with an album that, nearly five full years later, still holds up as well as the solo Ye classic that preceded it. We have here the culmination of a big-brother relationship from mentor-mentee to competitive peers. Jay, pushing Ye to go harder, Ye pushing Jay to take off the blazer, loosen up the tie and return to the imperial phase he was in when the two first met. The brash genius with the Mary-Kate and Ashley references tempered by the older, colder lyricist who commands a stage unto himself at least three different times on the album.
The album is everything you wanted, stop fronting. Current ("Who Gon Stop Me") next-level ("****** in Paris") nostalgic ("Otis," "The Joy") and reflective ("New Day"). We thought this album would be an ego slug-fest, instead it's a reconciliation. Does it sound rich? Sure, Otis Redding samples ain't cheap. It's also the most potent reflection on what it means to be black and ultra-rich in America (from the head-on "Murder to Excellence" to "Put some colored girls in the MoMA" on the ridiculously underrated "That's My *****"), a vantage point few other rappers can commiserate on. And confirmation that these two still make magic together. Pull out your hardest speakers and revisit this. And pray these two come together again. Rap's current shooters will tell you they abdicated the throne. But what's a king to a god? —Frazier Tharpe
2. 'Graduation' (2007)
graduation
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West,Jon Brion, Warryn Campbell, Mike Dean, DJ Toomp, Eric Hudson, Brian Miller, Nottz, Patrick Reynolds, Gee Robertson, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua
Features: T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mos Def, Dwele, DJ Premier, Al Be Back, A-Trak, John Mayer
The best word to describe Ye's third album would be "aspirational." What makes it so special is that here was an artist who was on top of his game and on top of the game, an artist who, by any measure, was peaking, yet he dreamed of more. It wasn't "Look at me, I've got my money right." It was, "Wait till I get my money right." The common person dreamed of being like Kanye, yet Kanye treated himself like a common person striving for perfection.
"Stronger" gave him another Billboard smash, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was a sorely needed street anthem, and the release-day showdown with 50 Cent was the promotional spotlight to highlight his achievement. Kanye's career is often described as inspirational, but Graduation's hugeness stand as a lesson in never settling at good—because it's simply not good enough. The album's sound was inspired by Kanye touring with stadium-rock acts like U2, which helped him realize that intricate lyrics don't translate well to crowds of ten thousand, so he adjusted his lyrical style and added synthesizers to the production fill up any empty space.
The album's effect is best exemplified on the album closer and ode to Jay Z, "Big Brother." But at that point Kanye wasn't Jay's underachieving underling anymore. He was his peer, accomplishing in three albums what it took Jay six to do. But placing Jay on a mantle made perfect sense for Kanye; he's always needed something to strive for. The day Graduation was released was the day Kanye had been waiting on his whole life: It was the day he became legendary. But it wasn't a victory lap, it was the dawn of a new day where Kanye would shine on a whole new level. "Good Morning." —Insanul Ahmed
1. 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' (2010)
my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Bink, DJ Frank E, Emile, Jay Z, Kyambo Joshua, L.A. Reid, Lex Luger, Mike Caren, Mike Dean, No I.D., Gee Roberson, RZA, S1
Features: Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Swizz Beatz, Jay Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, RZA, John Legend, Big Sean, Beyonce, Charlie Wilson
When Kanye West delivered Graduation, it felt as though we were witnessing an artist at his zenith. His musicianship was polished, his rapping vastly improved, his vision clear and (relatively) concise, his aesthetic dialed and sharp. But the reality is, Graduation was his Rubber Soul. And as all true Beatles fans know, that album is simply where things started to get interesting; that’s where things started to get weird.
The turmoil and pain that Kanye would endure in the following year, with the death of his mother and the end of an engagement, would fuel 18 months of touring and the production of 808s & Heartbreak, an album of singing that alienated his rap base, but still scored massive radio hits like “Heartless,” and a tumultuous relationship with Amber Rose.
However, neither the masochistic schedule nor the gut wrenching album nor charged romance salved his wounds. And his unwinding came to its head in a drunken, if totally awesome, interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Awards. Perhaps by accident, or perhaps as an unconscious machination, Kanye had created a situation where for the first time he was embattled by both the mainstream, livid over Swift-gate, and his core hip-hop fans who felt abandoned by 808s Auto-Tuned stylings. And so he absconded.
Holed up in a Hawaii recording studio—surrounded by the hip-hop legends who had inspired him, like RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and his most compelling contemporaries, like Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and even Jay Z—Kanye poured himself, with complete abandon, into the music. His aim: An undeniable piece of art, so compelling it would eclipse all his perceived missteps and reassert his prominence in, his absolute necessity to, the culture. And he was successful. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy articulates his gnarled narrative, lining up and addressing all his detractors and distractors in short form. The album’s overtly triumphant lead single “Power” lets it be known in no uncertain terms that his is a talent that must be dealt with, a talent we must cherish and be grateful for. He delves deeper into his feelings of abandonment and alienation from America on “Gorgeous” and “Lost in the World" (and its outro) reflecting further, and less specifically, on the social climate that cast him out, before careening back to the self; to his personal life. Songs like “Runaway” and “Blame Game” walk thin lines between the raw and the refined, the candid and the grotesque, humanizing Kanye’s most inhumane impulses as he works out his love with Rose.
By the album’s conclusion it’s quite clear that while Graduation was certainly an exquisitely-cut jewel—so precious in its tidy perfection—it only scratched the surface of what Kanye West can create. Off-kilter and uncomfortable, and created under a unique duress, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a messy masterpiece, far more interesting and involved than anything Kanye had done prior. And it set the tone for everything that would follow. —Noah Callahan-Bever
Almost immediately his comments were absorbed into the ever-evolving conversation that overtakes the timeline with regularity, about how one ranks Kanye's discography. Which is his weakest album? Which is his best? He has one of the most impressive rap catalogs ever, spanning seven solo records and two collaborative efforts, and of course there's no denying his place at the bow of American culture.
With the one-year anniversary of The Life of Pablo approaching, we're revisiting the topic to offer our ranking of Kanye West's albums, from worst to best.
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9. 'Cruel Summer' (2012)
cruel-summer
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Che Pope, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Anthony Kilhoffer, Boogz & Tapez, Dan Black, Hit-Boy, Hudson Mohawke, Illmind, Jeff Bhasker, Ken Lewis, Lifted, Mano, Mannie Fresh, Mike Dean, Mike Will, The Twilite Tone, Tommy Brown, Travi$ Scott, Young Chop
Features: R. Kelly, Teyana Taylor, Jay Z, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi, D'banj, DJ Khaled, The-Dream, Mase, Cocaine 80s, John Legend, Travis Scott, Malik Yusef, Marsha Ambrosius, Chief Keef, Jadakiss
The best teams are said to be greater than the sum of their parts. Cruel Summer actually feels lesser than the sum of its parts. Released on September 14, just six days before the end of Summer 2012, the G.O.O.D. Music collective album is widely considered a failure, despite the fact that it boasts two smash hit singles in "Mercy" and "Clique," two legitimate bangers in "Cold" and "New God Flow," as well as an all-star remix of Chief Keef's massive "I Don't Like."
Cruel Summer's undoing is its unchecked, aimless grandiosity, from the R. Kelly album opener to that unbearable "Sin City" spoken word interlude. It suffers from lack of focus. Who exactly was part of the G.O.O.D. Music crew at this point? One of the most prominently featured artists on the album, 2 Chainz, is not. Nor are Mase, Ghostface, Raekwon, Marsha Ambrosius. You know who is a part of the crew? Kanye West. Guess who we wish was on the album more. —Rob Kenner
8. 'Late Registration' (2005)
Late Registration
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Jon Brion, Devo Springsteen, Just Blaze, Warryn Campbell
Features: Adam Levine, Lupe Fiasco, Jamie Foxx, Paul Wall, GLC, Common, the Game, Brandy, Jay Z, Nas, Really Doe, Cam'ron, Consequence, Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Rhymefest
Generally, people who love Late Registration most rank Graduation at the opposite end of Kanye's discography. People who consider Graduation to be peak-Kanye often think of Late Registration as the weakest of the solo releases. But the first time I heard Late Registration, I heard the Kanye West album I'd wanted to hear since before College Dropout arrived: A lush, beautiful hip-hop chamber pop album, full of brilliant hooks and train-stopping lines that could vacillate from hilarious ("Gold Digger") to serious ("Diamonds") to poignant ("Heard 'Em Say") and double-back again, into expertly distilled Kanye braggadocio.
The best part about revisiting Late Registration—an album that has aged beautifully, and doesn't date itself at every possible juncture (hello, Graduation, with its Daft Punk and its Chris Martin and its painful Weezy verse)—being reminded of all the album's contributors that everyone often forgets. Sure, you've got Adam Levine doing the opening hook, Jay Z throwing up the Roc, and Jamie Foxx doing his Ray Charles schtick on "Gold Digger," but what about Nas, on "We Major," on the same album as Jay, at the height of their feud?! Or Killa Cam's knock-knock verse on "Gone"? Brandy? Lupe Fiasco's career-launching verse on "Touch the Sky"? And, most notably, the presence of producer Jon Brion across the album, lending Kanye a level of technical expertise and pop mastery that he had yet to achieve on his own. Clearly, this album was crucial in terms of Kanye's career development. Is it perfect, though?
No. Hell no. The Paul Wall/Common/Game midsection suite is a trifecta of clunker beats and clunker guest verses. [Ed. Note—This is insane. "Drive Slow," "My Way Home," and "Crack Music" are as strong a string of songs as Kanye has ever recorded. But I'll let Foster finish.] And do us Late Registration fans really think that any of these songs match up to the sheer genius of "Can't Tell Me Nothing" or "Champion," or that "Heard 'Em Say" compares to "Good Morning"? Of course not. But that's also why we love Late Registration: It's imperfect. It's flawed. In a lot of ways, it's quaint.
It's the last Kanye album to follow any kind of conventions, like album-spanning skits. It's too long by at least five songs. But it's also the last time we heard the mortal rapper Kanye on the mic, as opposed to stadium-status Kanye, broken-hearted-robot Kanye, outcast-monster Kanye, or demon-deity Kanye. And the socially consciousness Kanye raps—from the "Allahu Akbar and throw 'em some hot cars" bars that start the album to the first verse of "Roses" to "Diamonds," and so on—are as contradictory and nuanced as they'd ever be, at least until the extremist reckoning that is Yeezus. But the reason fans really love this album is best summed up by the album's closer, "Gone." It's odd. Why put Cam'ron on a closing track? Or let Consequence deliver a filler verse? Especially on this, the original Kanye-Otis Redding sample song, that already has so much going on?
Kanye's resounding response is Why not? In many ways, it's just another solid rap song, and yet, it transcends another-solid-rap-song norms, with Kanye slapping together bars too clever for their own good, and overindulging his guests. But at the end of the track, he runs through a theoretical scenario in which he abandons rap and imagines what that would be like for us, the listeners. Given the drastic tidal shift Graduation represents, the foreshadowing couldn't have been more prescient. Because that Kanye, the mortal rapper Kanye, did basically disappear after that. Years later, it still stands out as one his best verses. And it's been forgotten by many, too. "Gone" in its own way. But it's representative of the smallest (but a key) reason why we love Late Registration: Because you don't know how to. And that's fine by us. —Foster Kamer
7. '808s & Heartbreak' (200
808s-and-heartbreak
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Jeff Bhasker, Mr. Hudson, No I.D., Plain Pat, Kanye West
Features: Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr. Hudson, Lil Wayne
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who will make the case that 808s & Heartbreak is Kanye’s best album. His most influential? Perhaps. The one that changed the trajectory of his career? Definitely. But the best? That’s a tough argument to make. It might be correct, though.
Lost in the discussion of whether Drake bit the 808s sound and sensibility to start a new age in hip-hop, and the question of what Kanye was even doing here, singing stream-of-conscious, despair-filled pop songs over spare electronic beats, is that this is a focused thesis statement of an album. For three albums, Kanye had won us over. He was hip-hop’s everyman, an artist that put seemingly every thought in his head on record, and we loved him for it. More than that, it brought him increasing levels of success at every turn. By Graduation he was, against all odds, our biggest star. 808s was supposed to be his missive from the top. The message it brought: None of this was worth it.
We all know the story of this album; Kanye’s mourning album that’s really a breakup album, following the sudden losses of the two most important women in his life. And it is a raw outpouring of loss and bitterness, but it’s also something more than that. 808s is a reflection on a Faustian bargain gone wrong, a message from a man who achieved everything he wanted—fame, fortune, critical adoration, and a place in canon—but realized too late that it was at too high a cost and, to his horror, there was no going back. 808s is the sound of living with decisions you regret.
Much ink has been spilled on the sound of this album; it either pioneered or helped define a new epoch in hip-hop, spawned the genre’s next ascendant star and eventual usurper of Kanye’s throne, and it still serves as the linchpin needed to understand Ye’s career. The weirdness of this album—and the fact that it seeped into the mainstream—is the best case for following Kanye wherever his mind takes us, even when (like right now) he’s giving you exactly what you don’t want. It’s telling that, after calling MBDTF his “best” album, he returned with Yeezus, an album that follows the template he set out with 808s to the letter.
It’s even more telling that, in 2015, Kanye took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl to perform the album for two nights in its entirety. It’s the only album he’s ever done that for, and it’s hard to imagine it happening for another. —Brendan Klinkenberg
POST CONTINUES BELOW
6. 'The Life of Pablo' (2016)
life-of-pablo
Label: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Noah Goldstein, Rick Rubin, Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer, Allen Ritter, Benji B, Boi-1da, Cashmere Cat, Chance the Rapper, Charlie Handsome, Charlie Heat, Caroline Shaw, DJ Dodger Stadium (DJDS), Darren King, Derek Watkins, Frank Dukes, Havoc, Hudson Mohawke, Karriem Riggins, Mike Dean, Madlib, Menace, Metro Boomin, Mitus, Plain Pat, Sinjin Hawke, Southside, Swizz Beatz, Sevn Thomas, Trevor Gureckis, Velous
Features: Chance the Rapper, Kirk Franklin, The-Dream, Desiigner, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Young Thug, Chris Brown, Ty Dolla Sign, Frank Ocean, Caroline Shaw, André 3000, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone
While the earliest single to emerge from the obscure papal sessions for Pablo portended a trap bender in the spirit of Yeezus, this album is actually a gospel album. At least for the album's first third, where Kanye West taps Kirk Franklin, Kelly Price, Chance the Rapper, and Kid Cudi to sing lofty contrast with the maestro's condo-weary cynicism. Here Mr. West inhabits TriBeCa, rapping about bleached anuses and outlining best practices for paparazzi.
The Life of Pablo is defined by such acute moments; unfortunately, the distance between those moments can feel too hollow to bear. It so happens that Pablo is West's messiest album since Late Registration, with a middle act that badly mismanages the album's pace, tone, and intent; a micro-discography stuck on shuffle. At his worst—which is to say, his laziest—West gasses himself into fits of first-draft songwriting, as when Kanye West mumbles the last scraps of "30 Hours," or when he lashes at Taylor Swift and Ray J with punchlines that don't logically follow. At its very best, however, Pablo is a testament to teamwork and intervention; downright magical when West leaves the outbursts to Chance, Price, Desiigner, The-Dream, the Weeknd, or, in conclusion, Post Malone. So Kanye dwarfs Kanye, to sporadic success. —Justin Charity
5. 'The College Dropout' (2004)
college-dropout
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West,Kareem "Biggs" Burke, Jay Z, Damon "Dame" Dash, Evidence, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua
Features: Syleena Johnson, GLC, Consequence, Jay Z, J. Ivy, Talib Kweli, Common, Twista, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, Mos Def, Freeway, the Boys Choir of Harlem
Say what you will about the skits, about Kanye's drums, about the "New Workout Plan." The College Dropout was a great album. It wasn't just that Kanye West proved himself as a solo artist with the vision to become a major star. It was the moment of impact that would create a sea change in hip-hop and open the floodgates for entirely new approaches to what rappers rapped about.
He'd already shifted the sound of hip-hop on The Blueprint, blending soul music history with contemporary pop instincts; now it was time to rewrite the rules of lyrical content, reaching the intersection of the streets and the classrooms, the backpackers and the ballers, the underground and the pop charts. As he said on "Family Business," "A creative way to rhyme without using nines and guns."
Many of his followers focus on the latter part, but the first part—creativity—was key, too. In retrospect, it's harder to see how radical his first record really was; The College Dropout opened up a number of lanes that artists rushed to fill, and as a result, its thematic novelty is harder to see through the thicket of history. But it remains a startlingly unique, diverse record, and one of the most relatable records ever made. Funny, flawed, and emphatically human, The College Dropout may not have fully expressed what made Kanye who he was. But it created the space for him to do it. —David Drake
4. 'Yeezus' (2013)
yeezus
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Ackeejuice Rockers, Arca, Daft Punk, Mike Dean, Gesaffelstein, The Heatmakerz, Hudson Mohawke, No I.D., Rick Rubin, RZA, Travis Scott, Symbolyc One, TNGHT, Kanye West, Young Chop
Features: Chief Keef, Justin Vernon, Kid Cudi, King L
Yeezus won't go down as Kanye West's most popular album—if anything, it seems explicitly designed to alienate all kinds of fans, some of whom have run to J. Cole's more traditional (read: inspired by The College Dropout) approach to hip-hop. (Cole released Born Sinner the same week as Yeezus.) Rap has changed a lot since Kanye first broke out of the gate as a solo artist in 2004; back then, no major hip-hop artist would make an album about the humble beginnings of a college dropout, and make his struggle to break into the music industry the central drama of the narrative. Today, those everyman stories are commonplace, so of course Kanye's taking a different tack. Where he began his career desperate for approval, he's now seemingly looking to piss fans off. No one at his level of success would think of releasing a record as confrontational and divisive as Yeezus. These days, the rappers we celebrate are successful by consensus. Kanye breaks the mold of what rap today sounds like, intending to provoke rather than soothe. The album also shows just how much he's mastered the art of bridging—or in this case, aggravating—the underlying seams of conflict between his audiences.
As time passes, this record will be accepted as one of his best; despite its flawed, grotesque structure, its abrasive, brusque mood, and its unrepentant anger, there is something substantial here. It is a wholly unique album that seems to take up physical space. His lyrics will sustain, even the corny ones. Sure to be a favorite of critics ("abrasive" is critical manna, word to Death Grips), in the real world, Yeezus will divide his audience. But everyone will remember it. —David Drake
POST CONTINUES BELOW
3. 'Watch the Throne' (2011)
watch-the-throne
Label: Roc-A-Fella, Roc Nation, Def Jam
Producers: 88-Keys, Jeff Bhasker, Mike Dean, Hit-Boy, Jay Z (exec.), Don Jazzy, Kyambo Joshua (exec.), Sham "Sak Pase" Joseph, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ken Lewis, The Neptunes, Q-Tip, Lex Luger, Gee Roberson (exec.), RZA, Swizz Beatz, S1, Kanye West (also exec.)
Features: Jay Z, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Mr. Hudson
It didn't live up. It's only alright. It's a Kanye album featuring Jay Z. These are the false narratives surrounding Watch the Throne, the collab album between twin titans of the present-day rap Mt. Rushmore. Kanye rejuvenated, fresh off the denouement of an unmitigated comeback story, was, as they say now, charged up. He had somehow managed to give his fans, especially the 808s detractors, exactly what they wanted, while still feeding his own desire to take hip-hop, pop—****, music, to new levels. How do you double down on that? Well, you promise hip-hop a pipe dream. A marquee, blockbuster event between two A-listers. Collabs happen every day, b. But a joint project of this caliber, with rappers of this pedigree and reputation? Fat chance. And even if it does happen, it will inevitably fall short.
Yeezy and J**** were well aware of the tall order. It's why they dropped a banger like "HAM" and yet still almost fell back because for some reason, a sizable group of fans were turned off hearing them ride rap's current sonic wave. They regrouped. And returned with an album that, nearly five full years later, still holds up as well as the solo Ye classic that preceded it. We have here the culmination of a big-brother relationship from mentor-mentee to competitive peers. Jay, pushing Ye to go harder, Ye pushing Jay to take off the blazer, loosen up the tie and return to the imperial phase he was in when the two first met. The brash genius with the Mary-Kate and Ashley references tempered by the older, colder lyricist who commands a stage unto himself at least three different times on the album.
The album is everything you wanted, stop fronting. Current ("Who Gon Stop Me") next-level ("****** in Paris") nostalgic ("Otis," "The Joy") and reflective ("New Day"). We thought this album would be an ego slug-fest, instead it's a reconciliation. Does it sound rich? Sure, Otis Redding samples ain't cheap. It's also the most potent reflection on what it means to be black and ultra-rich in America (from the head-on "Murder to Excellence" to "Put some colored girls in the MoMA" on the ridiculously underrated "That's My *****"), a vantage point few other rappers can commiserate on. And confirmation that these two still make magic together. Pull out your hardest speakers and revisit this. And pray these two come together again. Rap's current shooters will tell you they abdicated the throne. But what's a king to a god? —Frazier Tharpe
2. 'Graduation' (2007)
graduation
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West,Jon Brion, Warryn Campbell, Mike Dean, DJ Toomp, Eric Hudson, Brian Miller, Nottz, Patrick Reynolds, Gee Robertson, Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua
Features: T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mos Def, Dwele, DJ Premier, Al Be Back, A-Trak, John Mayer
The best word to describe Ye's third album would be "aspirational." What makes it so special is that here was an artist who was on top of his game and on top of the game, an artist who, by any measure, was peaking, yet he dreamed of more. It wasn't "Look at me, I've got my money right." It was, "Wait till I get my money right." The common person dreamed of being like Kanye, yet Kanye treated himself like a common person striving for perfection.
"Stronger" gave him another Billboard smash, "Can't Tell Me Nothing" was a sorely needed street anthem, and the release-day showdown with 50 Cent was the promotional spotlight to highlight his achievement. Kanye's career is often described as inspirational, but Graduation's hugeness stand as a lesson in never settling at good—because it's simply not good enough. The album's sound was inspired by Kanye touring with stadium-rock acts like U2, which helped him realize that intricate lyrics don't translate well to crowds of ten thousand, so he adjusted his lyrical style and added synthesizers to the production fill up any empty space.
The album's effect is best exemplified on the album closer and ode to Jay Z, "Big Brother." But at that point Kanye wasn't Jay's underachieving underling anymore. He was his peer, accomplishing in three albums what it took Jay six to do. But placing Jay on a mantle made perfect sense for Kanye; he's always needed something to strive for. The day Graduation was released was the day Kanye had been waiting on his whole life: It was the day he became legendary. But it wasn't a victory lap, it was the dawn of a new day where Kanye would shine on a whole new level. "Good Morning." —Insanul Ahmed
1. 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' (2010)
my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam
Producers: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Bink, DJ Frank E, Emile, Jay Z, Kyambo Joshua, L.A. Reid, Lex Luger, Mike Caren, Mike Dean, No I.D., Gee Roberson, RZA, S1
Features: Kid Cudi, Raekwon, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Bon Iver, Swizz Beatz, Jay Z, Pusha T, Prynce Cy Hi, RZA, John Legend, Big Sean, Beyonce, Charlie Wilson
When Kanye West delivered Graduation, it felt as though we were witnessing an artist at his zenith. His musicianship was polished, his rapping vastly improved, his vision clear and (relatively) concise, his aesthetic dialed and sharp. But the reality is, Graduation was his Rubber Soul. And as all true Beatles fans know, that album is simply where things started to get interesting; that’s where things started to get weird.
The turmoil and pain that Kanye would endure in the following year, with the death of his mother and the end of an engagement, would fuel 18 months of touring and the production of 808s & Heartbreak, an album of singing that alienated his rap base, but still scored massive radio hits like “Heartless,” and a tumultuous relationship with Amber Rose.
However, neither the masochistic schedule nor the gut wrenching album nor charged romance salved his wounds. And his unwinding came to its head in a drunken, if totally awesome, interruption of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Awards. Perhaps by accident, or perhaps as an unconscious machination, Kanye had created a situation where for the first time he was embattled by both the mainstream, livid over Swift-gate, and his core hip-hop fans who felt abandoned by 808s Auto-Tuned stylings. And so he absconded.
Holed up in a Hawaii recording studio—surrounded by the hip-hop legends who had inspired him, like RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and his most compelling contemporaries, like Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and even Jay Z—Kanye poured himself, with complete abandon, into the music. His aim: An undeniable piece of art, so compelling it would eclipse all his perceived missteps and reassert his prominence in, his absolute necessity to, the culture. And he was successful. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy articulates his gnarled narrative, lining up and addressing all his detractors and distractors in short form. The album’s overtly triumphant lead single “Power” lets it be known in no uncertain terms that his is a talent that must be dealt with, a talent we must cherish and be grateful for. He delves deeper into his feelings of abandonment and alienation from America on “Gorgeous” and “Lost in the World" (and its outro) reflecting further, and less specifically, on the social climate that cast him out, before careening back to the self; to his personal life. Songs like “Runaway” and “Blame Game” walk thin lines between the raw and the refined, the candid and the grotesque, humanizing Kanye’s most inhumane impulses as he works out his love with Rose.
By the album’s conclusion it’s quite clear that while Graduation was certainly an exquisitely-cut jewel—so precious in its tidy perfection—it only scratched the surface of what Kanye West can create. Off-kilter and uncomfortable, and created under a unique duress, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is a messy masterpiece, far more interesting and involved than anything Kanye had done prior. And it set the tone for everything that would follow. —Noah Callahan-Bever
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G.O.O.D. Music to Headline Fyre Festival
G.O.O.D. Music will be in the house at the Fyre Festival, a new music event set to take place over two weekends on a private island in the Bahamas this year.
Kanye West’s sister-in-law Kendall Jenner announced the big news on social media earlier today (Jan. 4).
“So hyped to announce MY
G.O.O.D. Music Family as the first headliners for @fyrefestival,” wrote the model.
So hyped to announce my G.O.O.D. Music Family as the first headliners for @fyrefestival. Get tix now at fyrefestival.com. VIP access for my followers… use my promo code KJONFYRE for the next 24 hours to get on the list for the artists and talent afterparty on Fyre Cay. #fyrefestival
A video posted by Kendall (@kendalljenner) on Jan 4, 2017 at 2:11pm PST
The festival is set to go down on the private island of Fyre Cay in the Exumas of the Bahamas. The first weekend will take place April 28-30 with its second weekend slated for May 5-7.
“Fyre Festival will bring together the greatest minds in music, art and cuisine in order to provide guests with two unforgettable, fun-filled weekends,” event organizers said in a statement. “With the most beautiful water in the world, festival-goers will also be able to enjoy activities like jet skiing, snorkeling, and more.”
It is unclear whether G.O.O.D. Music’s entire roster will be in attendance or if it will only feature a few of the label’s artists. The imprint currently consists of Big Sean, Q-Tip, Desiigner, Teyana Taylor, John Legend, Pusha T, Tyga, Kacy Hill, and Yeezy.
In September, Kanye also claimed that Migos had joined the crew. In the past, the label has also affiliated itself with other artists, including 2 Chainz, Consequence, and Travis Scott, who revealed that he will be executive producing the label’s forthcoming compilation Cruel Winter.
The rest of the lineup for Fyre has yet to be announced.
G.O.O.D. Music will be in the house at the Fyre Festival, a new music event set to take place over two weekends on a private island in the Bahamas this year.
Kanye West’s sister-in-law Kendall Jenner announced the big news on social media earlier today (Jan. 4).
“So hyped to announce MY
G.O.O.D. Music Family as the first headliners for @fyrefestival,” wrote the model.So hyped to announce my G.O.O.D. Music Family as the first headliners for @fyrefestival. Get tix now at fyrefestival.com. VIP access for my followers… use my promo code KJONFYRE for the next 24 hours to get on the list for the artists and talent afterparty on Fyre Cay. #fyrefestival
A video posted by Kendall (@kendalljenner) on Jan 4, 2017 at 2:11pm PST
The festival is set to go down on the private island of Fyre Cay in the Exumas of the Bahamas. The first weekend will take place April 28-30 with its second weekend slated for May 5-7.
“Fyre Festival will bring together the greatest minds in music, art and cuisine in order to provide guests with two unforgettable, fun-filled weekends,” event organizers said in a statement. “With the most beautiful water in the world, festival-goers will also be able to enjoy activities like jet skiing, snorkeling, and more.”
It is unclear whether G.O.O.D. Music’s entire roster will be in attendance or if it will only feature a few of the label’s artists. The imprint currently consists of Big Sean, Q-Tip, Desiigner, Teyana Taylor, John Legend, Pusha T, Tyga, Kacy Hill, and Yeezy.
In September, Kanye also claimed that Migos had joined the crew. In the past, the label has also affiliated itself with other artists, including 2 Chainz, Consequence, and Travis Scott, who revealed that he will be executive producing the label’s forthcoming compilation Cruel Winter.
The rest of the lineup for Fyre has yet to be announced.
- 22,843
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Never really "ranked" my favorite Kanye albums but I saw Chance's list and felt like Alonzo.
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- Mar 1, 2011
wait. Kanye signed Tyga to GOOD?? must be nice to date a Kardashian man.
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- Sep 24, 2008
I never listened to Tyga but am I wrong to think that since hes been dating the other one he hasnt been putting out music?
Is he even good?
Is he even good?
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- Dec 4, 2012
I think he still gotta work out label stuff wit Cash Money
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welp, Kanye deemed not "traditionally American" enough to perform at inauguration
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- Mar 29, 2008
what happened to 2020?
JPS
formerly instagram
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- May 4, 2015
He prob think Trump finna have two terms
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Sheeesh
"Traditionally American" has to be one of the most codes phrases I've ever heard.
Like wtf does that even mean? There is no "traditionally American" music
"Traditionally American" has to be one of the most codes phrases I've ever heard.
Like wtf does that even mean? There is no "traditionally American" music
JPS
formerly instagram
- 30,506
- 35,449
- Joined
- May 4, 2015
Sheeesh
"Traditionally American" has to be one of the most codes phrases I've ever heard.
Like wtf does that even mean? There is no "traditionally American" music
Inb4 Country lmao
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Sheeesh
"Traditionally American" has to be one of the most codes phrases I've ever heard.
Like wtf does that even mean? There is no "traditionally American" music
Inb4 Country lmao
Chrisette Michele more country than Kanye ?
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Bro that made CNN? Jeez talk about a slow news day
D
Deleted member 107398
Guest
Ye back on for 2020 it seems
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cnn stay posting celebrity news all the time.
JJ Goon
formerly prettyboy ry7
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Kanye already took the L for meeting and supporting him. I actually think his popularity is on the way down.
JPS
formerly instagram
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- May 4, 2015
His popularity appears to be at a high.
D
Deleted member 107398
Guest
Definitely not for music
He's one Superbowl performance away from being relevant again IMO
He'd put on a hell of a show too
Flashing Lights
All of The Lights
Highlights
Etc
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JPS
formerly instagram
- 30,506
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- May 4, 2015
Man y'all dreaming if you think they'd let Kanye near that kind of a stage.
Out of curiousity, how are you measuring his popularity in music? Statistically?
Out of curiousity, how are you measuring his popularity in music? Statistically?
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I'm waiting for a single on Yeezy Season 5. Need Cruel Winter.
