![]() ![]() Simplifying his lyrical content wasn’t a ‘dumbing down’ as much as a stylistic pivot, an attempt at turning hip hop into an arena-based spectacle. Those fans wanted something they could sing along to something they could be involved in. Whilst his more verbose hits were undeniably catchy - think “Gold Digger” and “Slow Jamz” - they weren’t exactly primed for the call-and-response environment of a U2 show. Whilst on tour with U2 in 2005 and the Rolling Stones in 2006, Kanye discovered that lyrical complexity didn’t lend itself to stadium shows. Though the album was the third in a planned tetralogy of education-based records, it bears little resemblance to those that came before it - it samples heavily from house music and indie rock and does away with skits, which were something of an early-2000s rap mainstay. In releasing Graduation, Kanye took on gangsta rap’s cultural dominance, sowing the seeds of contemporary hip-hop and charting a path for the mainstream of today.įor his third LP, Kanye departed from the soul samples and orchestral swells of his previous two records. Though the influence of his fourth record, 808s and Heartbreak, is widely discussed, the effects of Graduation’s unique sound and significant release are largely maligned. Having released two acclaimed albums, The College Dropout and Late Registration, Kanye found himself working on his most ambitious project yet: Graduation. The pioneer and poster-child of the movement, it was a field in which he found himself unparalleled. Pink polos and backpacks were his fashion staples, and chipmunk soul was his genre. Given his larger-than-life status of late, one could call 2007 Kanye a pretty normal guy - comparably. Imagine a Kanye with no Kim, no fashion line and no Presidential aspirations. His debut album had only released three years prior, making the rapper something of an up-and-coming prodigy. In 2007, Kanye had been in the production game for over ten years. In the midst of emo’s renaissance, spearheaded by Fall Out Boy and Paramore, one man was shaking up the hip hop landscape. It was a year of that brought us classics - Daft Punk released Live 2007, Radiohead revolutionised the industry with In Rainbows, and Maroon 5 released their magnum opus, It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. MJ was still the king, Avril Lavigne was still a chart topper and Justin Beiber was still uncool. ![]()
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