Wake up and smell the roses (Late Registration - Kanye West)

Member Name: l-m-n-o-p

Product:	Late Registration - Kanye West
Date:	18/04/06 (309 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Funny, clever, catchy songs

Disadvantages: Same old problems with hip - hop

Kanye West seems to be an artist you either love or hate.

Some reasons for liking him are: he's quite simply the only good mainstream hip-hop artist around at the moment; he's creative, original, funny and not scared of tackling big issues, for example when he made that famous quote, "George Bush doesn't care about black people". Plus his symbol is a cute little bear!

Some reasons for not liking him are: his ego is enormous! Mr West has his own little private joke of being ridiculously arrogant, and although this isn't rare in the world of hip-hop music, he goes further than most. Also, his rapping isn't particularly special, and at the end of the day, he still makes hip-hop, which is hardly the most fantastic genre around! (no offence to anyone)

Anyway, you'll probably already know whether you like him or not, but if you're still undecided, I hope this review persuades you to give him a try, because I think he's pretty good. Late Registration is the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut, The College Dropout. The media have completely praised this album, with The Independent calling it "magnificent" and Q magazine proclaiming it "another masterpiece". And just to remind us how good he is, Mr West puts this on the front of the album. But is Late Registration really as good as it's been touted?

If there's one word to accurately describe this album, I'd say it's ambitious. At 22 tracks, it's a bit of a whopper, and therefore I won't bore you with a review of each track. Instead I'll focus on the singles he's released and my favourite few songs.

Track 13: Diamonds From Sierra Leone
This was the first single to be released, and at first, it actually received quite a lot of bad reviews. I find this surprising, because although the vocals aren't that strong, I think this is the sort of music that is sadly lacking in hip-hop. He makes the link between rappers' obsession with bling culture, and the effects this has on developing countries, including Sierra Leone, in which there is a civil war based around the diamond trade. This features a guest appearance from Jay-Z, and it revolves around a sample of Shirley Bassey's Bond tune Diamonds Are Forever. I really like this song, and incidentally there's another version on the album with different lyrics, which is interesting.

Track 4: Gold Digger
This is probably his biggest hit so far, and although it includes a lot of swearing (as does the whole album; it's not Parental Advisory for nothing you know), it's easy to see why. Featuring samples of Ray Charles, and Jamie Foxx doing an impression of Ray Charles, it's got a great tune and beat. It also has some very funny lyrics, showing off West's brilliant writing skills.

Track 2: Heard 'Em Say
This features Adam Levine from Maroon 5, who is just one of a number of famous-ish collaborators on the album (Jay-Z, The Game, Brandy, Cam'ron, and apparently Bernie Mac, although he's not credited), not to mention the countless samples used (including Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Etta James and Otis Redding). It's a nice song with a delicate piano tune in the background; certainly not what you'd expect from your average rapper.

Track 3: Touch The Sky
This is the latest single to be released, and it's a real feel-good tune, with a catchy sample from Move On Up forming the main hook.

On the rest of the album, West continually demonstrates his knack for humour, a vital ingredient in any rap music. Late Registration incorporates a series of really funny short sketches, or "skits", which are based around a college fraternity of "broke n**gers", who keep going on about how poor they are. In case you're wondering, Kanye West was brought up in affluent, middle class Chicago, and he's satirising the common belief that all rappers have to come from poverty. He also holds a grudge against American colleges (hence the titles of the two albums), and there are loads of references to that.

I think my favourite track on the album is We Major, although there are so many great songs that it's hard to decide. It has a great beat; kind of uplifting and epic-scale, with lots of brass and chimes. You may have noticed I don't really have the knack of describing music, but trust me, it's really good, especially the chorus.

Hey Mama is also fantastic, it's a tribute to his mum, but he somehow manages to keep the lyrics un-saccharine and quite likeable. It features his trademark technique of speeding up vocals to high-pitched "chipmunk" voices, which has since been hijacked by Akon and Simon Webbe, and the tune is really catchy.

But although the so-far-mentioned tracks have been light-hearted and feel-good, the album doesn't shy away from dark sounds and important themes. Roses is a scathing attack on the US health system masquerading as a beautiful song about a dying relative, and Drive Slow begins pleasantly, before deliberately descending into a dirge about prostitutes.

However, the song that will catch your attention, for better or worse, is definitely Crack Music. At surface level it seems like a really crude celebration of hip-hop, including the lyrics "it's that crack music, n**ger, that real black music, n**ger". It also epitomises everything that rock fans hate about hip-hop. But it has different meanings. He's criticising drugs, and I reckon he's also having a dig at modern hip-hop and secretly taking the mickey out of it. Knowing my non-existent ability to pick up hidden messages in art, this is probably really obvious to everyone else, but I find it quite clever.

I like most of the songs on Late Registration, and when it's good, it's at the forefront of the genre. However, I still feel that I can't give it any more than 4 stars. It would seem that not even Kanye West can avoid the pitfall of rap: misogyny. Just when you think he's avoided talking about the usual subjects (glorifying drugs, guns and bling), along comes Celebration, with lyrics about ass-grabbing. I was so gutted, and it just goes to show that you can elevate Kanye West above the rest, but there's still an element of typical rap in him. Besides, the album has a load of unnecessary swearing, and there a few ordinary tracks.

Despite its faults, Late Registration is, on the whole, a fantastic album: musically inventive, refreshing and fun. From what I hear, it's not as good as The College Dropout, but I think it's still probably the best hip-hop album of 2005.

It's available to buy online for £6.99 from www.play.com

Track listing:
1 Wake Up Mr West
2 Heard 'Em Say
3 Touch The Sky
4 Gold Digger
5 Skit #1
6 Drive Slow
7 My Way Home
8 Crack Music
9 Roses
10 Bring Me Down
11 Addiction
12 Skit #2
13 Diamonds From Sierra Leone
14 We Major
15 Skit #3
16 Hey Mama
17 Celebration
18 Skit #4
19 Gone
20 Diamonds From Sierra Leone (alternative version)
21 We Can Make It Better
22 (A hidden untitled track)

Summary: The best hip-hop album of 2005