Wake Up Mr. West! (Late Registration - Kanye West)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Late Registration - Kanye West
Date:	07/08/08 (97 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: As refreshing as the first album

Disadvantages: Unmemorable in comparison to debut

The 2005 release "Late Registration" is the second album from the producer and rapper from Chicago, Kanye West. It follows on from the massively successful "College Dropout" which was an unexpected success from a newcomer, only famous on the Hip Hop circuit as a producer at the time. Here Kanye had to come with something huge in order to top to popularity of his debut album, which was able to cross genre boundaries as a refreshing sound in Hip Hop, taking you away from the Gangsta Rap which dominated the style.

1. "Wake Up Mr. West" (Intro)

2. "Heard 'Em Say"

Maroon 5's Adam Levine provides his soft vocals to this track in the way which only he can here, offering something quite unexpected of Ye at the time. Many don't acknowledge the depth of his lyrics here, and I haven't a clue why because they are powerful in how he addresses discrimination as a result of racism in modern society.

**Four Stars**

3. "Touch the Sky"

Everyone always says that they recognize the sample from this, but I'm yet to hear anyone specifically name Cutris Mayfield's "Move On Up" as wherthis track around, and this is a very imporant aspect to it when you consider the lyrics o this and of the original (displaying that Ye didn't just use it because of the melodies). It is also the introduction to Lupe Fiasco, who took a lot of influence from Kanye, and it all come out in his delivery here.

**Three Stars**

4. "Gold Digger"

This was for me the best follw-up track by Kanye and Jamie Foxx together in a collaboration after "Slow Jamz", and I expect that many feel the same as it went on to become one of his more well-known tracks. After being over-played onsiderably when it was released, it's quite nice to listen to again, as it does get rather annoying with the repitive looping sinign from Jamie Foxx, but aside from this, it is a top-notch tune.

Kanye's humour is able to shine here as he drops in lots of subtle lines on a misleadingly fun track as he directs it towards females who are only in relationships for the money of the partner. You can't deny that its one of the best tracks Kanye has made in his time, both in terms of the lyrcism and production.

**Five Stars**

5. "Skit #1"

6. "Drive Slow"

This one is quite haunting as it has a blusey feel to it by utilizing Hank Crawford's "Wildflower", I believe that this meant it lended itslef well to a tune which had little in the way of production, other than to provide a steady rhythm. This is what focuses you upon the lyrics, as there is no way of escaping them once the beats are only put in minimally. It seems as though Paul Wall misse dout on the purpose of this one as Kanye's lyrics are a lot more conscious and guiding, whereas he just read the words and sees it as another opportunaity to rap about his car collection (which is annoying because I usually like him), but he doens't fit in here at all.

**Four Stars**

7. "My Way Home" (Skit)

8. "Crack Music"

I was surpised that Kanye, being so opposde to the sounds of the West Coast, would go for a Gangsta rapper liek The Game to feature on his album, and initally I had doubts as to whether this combination would work, howeer I think that it was a success. I believe that the influence of The Game allows Kanye's street cred to be raied as he directs his words to black people and attempts to sway them away from a life which they are thought to be forced into. The marching beat which leads it puts you in a position where you feel rather militant and radical, which is what the track is about.

**Four Stars**

9. "Roses"

I especially enjoy listing to the opening accapela by kanye as you are forced into listenign to the lyrics as he speaks on the trouble which he went throuhg to get medical attention for his grandmother due to the financial difficulties which they faced at the time, but once you have pased this section, it falls apart with the chorus. It goes back into another section for the verse which follow it, but the chorus isn't a nice to listen to.

**Three Stars**

10. "Bring Me Down"

After working so well together in "What About Us", Knye comes together with the R&B singer Brandy for another collab between the pair, and with such high expectations (after hearing the firs tthing they did togther) I thought tht I would receive something a lot better than this. I sounded like an attempt at something very emotional-powerful, but it just didn't have the right production for it to have enough of an impact upon me.

**Three Stars**

11. "Addiction"

Jon Brion, who worked an a lot of the production along with Kanye for this album returns again, and you can tell that he had a lot of say in how this one went, with just a few snippets to show that Kanye had a part in it, and Ye's Etta James samples are a big part in making it work as you of his pieces as he is always able to express an emotion hough a song which he will have liked back in the day.

Here you have a mix genre with an up-beat tempo, and some bongo percussion to give it a nice , yet stearn flow. From here it's very fun as you here Kanye rap unlike what he's done beofre in a speedy way to keep up with the high tmepo of it all, and he raps about having all the bad things in life appeal to him more than the good.

**Four Stars**

12. "Skit #2"

13. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)"

Thsi is the remix to Kanye's most conscious Hip Hoptune off this album, the only differnce here (in comparison tpo the original) is that it features additional lines from Jay-Z, insead of just jhimself from start to finish. With a hook which samples Shirley Bassey's James bond theme "Diamonds Are Forever", Kanye is able to rasise the issues of where people get their jewellery from and the processes which go into doing so, such as the hardship of the miners in places like Sierra Leone. Overall it's very thought-provoking.

**Four Stars**

14. "We Major"

Kanye raps on a remade version of Stevei Wonder's "Superwoman", and this makes it sound like it is built upon them music for a heroic figure, so this then spills donw to the rappin, which features Really Doe and Nas, who MCs a train of thought opn hearing the beat (kills it as usual). Kanye has been criticised for bad lyriciam, but here even with big compeption from Nas, he manages to soun as professional as Queensbridges's finest.

**Four Stars**

15. "Skit #3"

16. "Hey Mama"

Over time the significance of this track has increased, as he now performs it as a dedication to his recelty passed mother, and prior to this, it was just a thank you for all the support which she has shown to him from the early years up to today. When you listen to it now, it seems to have a new meaning than before, and certainly hits you more than when she was still alive.

**Four Stars**

17. "Celebration"

Although I am aware that Kanye and Jon Brion produced this, apart from the use of the sample of "Heavenly Dream" as performed by The KayGees, this sounds like the type of spacey beat which The Neptunes would come up with. It isn't much of a rap, and has him just flowing in a laid-back manner as if he's not concerned with what comes out, he's just chilled after finishing the majority of the album (it shuould be placed at the end really).

**Two Stars**

18. "Skit #4"

19. "Gone"

Dipset's Cam'ron performs alongside Kanye here, but as I don't rate the group as a whole, (evermind Cam on his own) I wasn't impressed by having him on here at all, and I didn't think that he did much to show anything new from him. Having it as the final track on the album was even more annoying than this collab because "Celebration" is a outro kind of tune, and this messes up the cool-down which he was going through.

**One Stars**

I have to say that this isn't as strong as the first album, but as "Graduation" was so strong, he could come up with something as big in the future, but it is still around about what you want to hear from him. Due to this, you can't argue wth it being as popular than it was in its time. However I thought that it differed from "College Dropout" as quite a few tracks were forgettable here, whereas material from his debut release will never lose its novelty when you hear it.

Summary: Kanye West's second album