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'Graduation' is something. When listening at first you won't be able to ingested the album correctly. At first listen the album doesn't wow your ears. Over the course of the next few listens the album grows into something more. Although it would seem that I love 'Graduation,' I don't. I like 'Graduation,' but something is a bit off too me.
Kanye is all over the place in thought, and sometimes as a emcee loses focus of what he's saying. As an emcee Kanye hasn't matured as much as he believes. He has quick witted one liners like on the intro, "Good Morning," where he spits his best verse on 'Graduation.' "Good morninging, look at the valedictorians/Scared of the future while I hop in the Delorian/ Scared to face the world complacent career student/Some people graduate but be still stupid." Then Ye does songs that rely heavily on his flow and swag which doesn't work out for him. "Barry Bonds" is all swag with no substance to back it up. The beat saves him a bit, but his entire second verse is skipable. Lil Wayne, the only featured emcee on 'Graduation' with a verse, doesn't impress. Wayne tries to play words off words through the whole verse and is hit and miss like his last mixtape. He's just too inconsistent to be #1 (read MTV's list). The track is a complete hit or miss, kind of like Barry's season, every other month.
Kanye did pick the best two songs to feature as singles. "Stronger" without verses is some of Ye's best work as a producer. Although he did sample Daft Punk's, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," Ye still instilled that this is a Hip-Hop track. He reworked the sample and really outdid himself. "Can't Tell Me Nothing" ft Young Jeezy's ad-libs, what he's most famous for in Rap, is also a stellar standout track. "I ain't one of the Cosby's, I didn't go to Hellman," or "How do stay faithful in a room full of hoes," and "what's ur pleasure, life is a... depending how you dress her." CTMN's hook in in itself gives the track that instant attitude. Makes you get amped to what else you'll be listening. It's too bad no other track on 'Graduation has the energy next to these two. "Flashing Lights" which closely resembles "Stronger" in that futuristic dance sound comes close, but is still has more of a laid back feel. "Good Life" featuring T-Pain also attempts at gaining energy with a bottom fueled synth sound. A interesting note on "Good Life" is Kanye spits to 50 Cent about something 50 Cent rapped. "50 told me, go ahead switch ur style up/And if they hate, and then let 'em hate/And watch the money pile up."
The biggest hang up that 'Graduation' gives me is that a few tracks feel as if Kanye isn't growing as an artist or producer. Kanye attempts different flow on "I Wonder" but comes off rather boring and not interesting. "The Glory" has that one liner, "With my ego I could stand there in a Speedo and be looked like a fucking Hero" and "I look better in person." It's just too bad we have to listen to Ye's rumblings on the first verse and the majority of the track. "Everything I Am" has a real smooth piano but his flow is definitely suspect in a few spots. This is Ye's third album, he no longer gets a pass as emcee. His producing credentials will always stand among the best, but he claims to be more than that now as an emcee.
My biggest disappointment of 'Graduation' comes on "Homecoming." The original version featuring John Legend called just "Home" is a lot better. You can tell on "Homecoming" Ye re-spit his verses to match up better with the Chris Martin played piano. The original "Home" sounded real raw and maybe as if Ye recorded around the time his jaw was wired shut. Also problems with Ye's flow comes up again here. When finishing verses Kanye tries to get into just too many words. "Big Brother" really finishes 'Graduation' off well though. Ye spitting about Jay-Z being like a big brother comes off well like Nas' rap about Rakim and not weird and childish like Game's song about Dr. Dre.
While 'Graduation' definitely is better than a lot of albums coming out in Hip-Hop/Rap currently (previous reviews). Kanye goes a lot less serious with absolutely zero mentions of anything political (the FEMA line don't count) which might get him some new fans, but also alienate others. At times Kanye comes off great (listening to the "Good Morning" again), others so-so (stopping "Drunk and Hot Girls"), and completely skipable ("Barry Bonds"). "Graduation' will satisfy a few, disappoint a couple, and make the rest wanting for the Kanye previous heard on 'College Dropout' and 'Late Registration.'
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