It's a bit late (no pun intended), but I know there are some people still undecided about this CD. Here's a review I wrote, feedback on both the review and the CD would be appreciated 
To say Kanye West has a lot to live up to is an understatement. After a stellar debut, West received critical acclaim, legions of fans, and 10 Grammy nominations. With his sophomore effort, West has not only lived up to the hype, but also surpassed it with an album that is overall better than his first.
Second albums are difficult for any artist to create. West had to somehow stay true to his own sound, but experiment enough so that Late Registration wasn’t seen as a simple rehash of his debut. To help him, West enlisted the services of Jon Brion – a multi talented musician who can play anything with strings. While at first hearing about this seemed strange, it was an excellent move by West, and many of the better songs on Late Registration are co-produced by Brion.
The album starts off with a skit, then grooves into the soulful “Heard ‘Em Say”, featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5. The soft piano and soothing “oohs and ahhs” of the Maroon 5 man, along with Kanye West’s calm, slow flow make for great music. The song then bounces into “Touch The Sky” the only track on the album not produced by West (produced by Just Blaze). West obviously has great trust in Blaze’s abilities, and hearing this, it’s easy to see why. It’s up-tempo, it’s lifting and it’s catchy – I challenge anybody not to sing along with West’s “la la’s” after his first verse. Lupe Fiasco drops in a guest verse, and the song really comes together.
From here, the crooning of Jamie Foxx is heard as West cleverly uses a Ray Charles sample and gives Foxx the vocals. The result is “Gold Digger” the second single off the album. Catchy and fun, this carries much of the same bouncy vibe as parts of The College Dropout. West holds his own on the rap, and the sample, whilst at first annoying grows on you to the point of driving you insane as you sing along to Foxx’s vocals in the background. The album progresses into another skit which should be quickly skipped to reach one of the albums true gems – “Drive Slow” featuring Paul Wall and GLC. The track is mellow, and sums up the vibe for the next few cuts on the CD. The sample is well used, and is the same as the old 2Pac classic “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug”, though it is altered. Great guest appearances and beat, the track is a highlight.
The mellow mood continues with the short “On My Way Home”, featuring Common. Common, as usual, is great on the track and the sample is well picked as Kanye shows his knack for choosing suitable samples. This had the potential to be a classic, but at not even two minutes and lacking a Kanye verse, it falls short. Still, a great track for what it is. The song fades into “Crack Music” featuring The Game. It is rumored that The Game had a verse on the song, removed before release. I am not sure of the validity of these reports, but if true, I don’t think The Game’s gangsta raps would have fit in with the overall mood of the CD anyway. Regardless, this track is hot – a simple but powerful beat, as Kanye spits about how Blacks have risen from the introduction of slavery, government oppression and crack to sell their “Crack Music”, as the “former slaves trade their hooks for Grammy’s”. Definitely a hard track.
Kanye switches the mood again back to mellow with “Roses” as he explains the different emotions he and his family went through with their Grandma in hospital. The sample is once again a highlight, as the chorus is heartfelt, the beat is dramatic and the track really hits home. Once again it’s difficult not to sing along to the chorus’s cry of “I….smile…when roses come to see me…and I….”. The dramatic mood is maintained as Brandy makes an appearance on “Bring Me Down”. Kanye’s verse is recycled from an earlier mixtape song, but it doesn’t stop it from being a hot track. Kanye has some great lines, “There’ll always be haters, that’s the way it is, hater niggas marry hater bitches and have hater kids”, and “Your girl don’t like me how long has she been gay?”. Brandy does her usual thing, a heartfelt chorus and short verse. A very good track, even though it is a little overproduced, it still hits home.
Next is probably one of the best tracks on the CD, “Addiction”. The beat is deceptively simple, and is, well, addictive to listen to. It’s an incredible song, showing Kanye’s amazing creativity. Changing a song “My Sweet Valentine” into a depressing song about human addiction, as West asks, “Why is every that’s supposed to be bad, make me feel so good?”. Skipping (another) worthless skit, leads to one of the most creative songs I have heard in rap, “Diamonds from Sierra Leone [Remix]”. West takes a sample from a James Bond theme, and turns it into a song about his record company, bling, and slavery/child labour in Africa. He spits some quality lines, such as “Over here, it’s a drug trade, we die from drugs, over there they die from what we buy from drugs”. Jay Z, as usual, comes out with a strong verse when appearing on a Kanye produced track. One of the albums highlights.
One of the more anticipated tracks on the album would be the Nas/Kanye collaboration on “We Major”. The beat is a jazzy, almost 70’s beat – overwhelming at first, but after a few listens it takes a backseat to some great lyrics. While most of the time, admittedly, the beats take priority over lyrics on Kanye’s songs, here it’s the lyrics that really take the fore: “Feeling better then some head on a Sunday afternoon, better than a chick that say yes too soon, until you have a daughter, that’s what I call karma, and you pray to God she don’t grow breasts too soon”. Nas spits a heartfelt verse, while Really Doe also holds his own. Good track, could have been classic if the beat was as strong as the lyrics. Skipping (yes another worthless) skit, leads you to the feel good “Hey Mama”. Over a happy, catchy, beat, Kanye does the obligatory rapper song to his mama. As stereotypical as it is, still, the track is enjoyable, cheery and catchy. Another highlight of the album, and sure to be played on Mother’s day by people all over.
“Celebration” comes next, and is another good track, albeit not up to the quality of the earlier offerings in the album. Still, the beat, an almost 70s jazzy love groove forms an interesting juxtaposition with Kanye’s “It’s a celebration bitches!” and “After that I’ll grab your ass”. Skipping another worthless skit leads you to what I believe is the crowning achievement of the CD – “Gone”. The beat is dynamic and changing – pianos, violins, amazing string arrangements, it’s all here. Lyrically, the song is one of Kanye’s best – after a long intermission, where the beat climaxes, Kanye returns for his last (non-bonus) verse, where he spits, “I’ve romanced and though of leaving it all behind, Kanye step away from the lime-light-like when I was on the grind in the 1-9-9-9”. Cam’ron is also on fire in this track, and Consequence holds his own too. Probably the perfect end for the CD, but there are two “bonus tracks”, namely “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” and “Late”. Both are worthy additions, and both have some witty lines and good beats (though, disappointingly, the two “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” beats are identical).
Overall, just reading what I have written hear, I saw how many times I wrote “highlight” or “best track on here” or something to that effect, and I realized that nearly every track on West’s masterpiece is gold. So why not 5 stars? Well, the skits are pointless and just add nothing to the album. Also, there are a few mishits, namely “We Major” with its slightly overbearing beat, and “Celebration” – while both fairly good tracks, they are in a CD with other tracks with so much polish that these two just seem a little out of place. “Late Registration” is an album that surpasses “The College Dropout” – and is one that has cemented Kanye West’s position amongst hip hop’s elite.
4.5/5.
To say Kanye West has a lot to live up to is an understatement. After a stellar debut, West received critical acclaim, legions of fans, and 10 Grammy nominations. With his sophomore effort, West has not only lived up to the hype, but also surpassed it with an album that is overall better than his first.
Second albums are difficult for any artist to create. West had to somehow stay true to his own sound, but experiment enough so that Late Registration wasn’t seen as a simple rehash of his debut. To help him, West enlisted the services of Jon Brion – a multi talented musician who can play anything with strings. While at first hearing about this seemed strange, it was an excellent move by West, and many of the better songs on Late Registration are co-produced by Brion.
The album starts off with a skit, then grooves into the soulful “Heard ‘Em Say”, featuring Adam Levine of Maroon 5. The soft piano and soothing “oohs and ahhs” of the Maroon 5 man, along with Kanye West’s calm, slow flow make for great music. The song then bounces into “Touch The Sky” the only track on the album not produced by West (produced by Just Blaze). West obviously has great trust in Blaze’s abilities, and hearing this, it’s easy to see why. It’s up-tempo, it’s lifting and it’s catchy – I challenge anybody not to sing along with West’s “la la’s” after his first verse. Lupe Fiasco drops in a guest verse, and the song really comes together.
From here, the crooning of Jamie Foxx is heard as West cleverly uses a Ray Charles sample and gives Foxx the vocals. The result is “Gold Digger” the second single off the album. Catchy and fun, this carries much of the same bouncy vibe as parts of The College Dropout. West holds his own on the rap, and the sample, whilst at first annoying grows on you to the point of driving you insane as you sing along to Foxx’s vocals in the background. The album progresses into another skit which should be quickly skipped to reach one of the albums true gems – “Drive Slow” featuring Paul Wall and GLC. The track is mellow, and sums up the vibe for the next few cuts on the CD. The sample is well used, and is the same as the old 2Pac classic “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug”, though it is altered. Great guest appearances and beat, the track is a highlight.
The mellow mood continues with the short “On My Way Home”, featuring Common. Common, as usual, is great on the track and the sample is well picked as Kanye shows his knack for choosing suitable samples. This had the potential to be a classic, but at not even two minutes and lacking a Kanye verse, it falls short. Still, a great track for what it is. The song fades into “Crack Music” featuring The Game. It is rumored that The Game had a verse on the song, removed before release. I am not sure of the validity of these reports, but if true, I don’t think The Game’s gangsta raps would have fit in with the overall mood of the CD anyway. Regardless, this track is hot – a simple but powerful beat, as Kanye spits about how Blacks have risen from the introduction of slavery, government oppression and crack to sell their “Crack Music”, as the “former slaves trade their hooks for Grammy’s”. Definitely a hard track.
Kanye switches the mood again back to mellow with “Roses” as he explains the different emotions he and his family went through with their Grandma in hospital. The sample is once again a highlight, as the chorus is heartfelt, the beat is dramatic and the track really hits home. Once again it’s difficult not to sing along to the chorus’s cry of “I….smile…when roses come to see me…and I….”. The dramatic mood is maintained as Brandy makes an appearance on “Bring Me Down”. Kanye’s verse is recycled from an earlier mixtape song, but it doesn’t stop it from being a hot track. Kanye has some great lines, “There’ll always be haters, that’s the way it is, hater niggas marry hater bitches and have hater kids”, and “Your girl don’t like me how long has she been gay?”. Brandy does her usual thing, a heartfelt chorus and short verse. A very good track, even though it is a little overproduced, it still hits home.
Next is probably one of the best tracks on the CD, “Addiction”. The beat is deceptively simple, and is, well, addictive to listen to. It’s an incredible song, showing Kanye’s amazing creativity. Changing a song “My Sweet Valentine” into a depressing song about human addiction, as West asks, “Why is every that’s supposed to be bad, make me feel so good?”. Skipping (another) worthless skit, leads to one of the most creative songs I have heard in rap, “Diamonds from Sierra Leone [Remix]”. West takes a sample from a James Bond theme, and turns it into a song about his record company, bling, and slavery/child labour in Africa. He spits some quality lines, such as “Over here, it’s a drug trade, we die from drugs, over there they die from what we buy from drugs”. Jay Z, as usual, comes out with a strong verse when appearing on a Kanye produced track. One of the albums highlights.
One of the more anticipated tracks on the album would be the Nas/Kanye collaboration on “We Major”. The beat is a jazzy, almost 70’s beat – overwhelming at first, but after a few listens it takes a backseat to some great lyrics. While most of the time, admittedly, the beats take priority over lyrics on Kanye’s songs, here it’s the lyrics that really take the fore: “Feeling better then some head on a Sunday afternoon, better than a chick that say yes too soon, until you have a daughter, that’s what I call karma, and you pray to God she don’t grow breasts too soon”. Nas spits a heartfelt verse, while Really Doe also holds his own. Good track, could have been classic if the beat was as strong as the lyrics. Skipping (yes another worthless) skit, leads you to the feel good “Hey Mama”. Over a happy, catchy, beat, Kanye does the obligatory rapper song to his mama. As stereotypical as it is, still, the track is enjoyable, cheery and catchy. Another highlight of the album, and sure to be played on Mother’s day by people all over.
“Celebration” comes next, and is another good track, albeit not up to the quality of the earlier offerings in the album. Still, the beat, an almost 70s jazzy love groove forms an interesting juxtaposition with Kanye’s “It’s a celebration bitches!” and “After that I’ll grab your ass”. Skipping another worthless skit leads you to what I believe is the crowning achievement of the CD – “Gone”. The beat is dynamic and changing – pianos, violins, amazing string arrangements, it’s all here. Lyrically, the song is one of Kanye’s best – after a long intermission, where the beat climaxes, Kanye returns for his last (non-bonus) verse, where he spits, “I’ve romanced and though of leaving it all behind, Kanye step away from the lime-light-like when I was on the grind in the 1-9-9-9”. Cam’ron is also on fire in this track, and Consequence holds his own too. Probably the perfect end for the CD, but there are two “bonus tracks”, namely “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” and “Late”. Both are worthy additions, and both have some witty lines and good beats (though, disappointingly, the two “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” beats are identical).
Overall, just reading what I have written hear, I saw how many times I wrote “highlight” or “best track on here” or something to that effect, and I realized that nearly every track on West’s masterpiece is gold. So why not 5 stars? Well, the skits are pointless and just add nothing to the album. Also, there are a few mishits, namely “We Major” with its slightly overbearing beat, and “Celebration” – while both fairly good tracks, they are in a CD with other tracks with so much polish that these two just seem a little out of place. “Late Registration” is an album that surpasses “The College Dropout” – and is one that has cemented Kanye West’s position amongst hip hop’s elite.
4.5/5.
