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[thekad]

CD = LR > WTT > MBDTF > Graduation.








808s.

 

[PBY]

MBDTF > CD = LR > Graduation > WTT > 808s

I had trouble placing Graduation and WTT; they both have some tracks that I like and some that I hate. MBDTF, CD and LR are all great. 808s is not good at all.
I think I already ranked them in this thread once, but whatever.

prettty much my ranking, except I put LR above 808s and behind WTT

 

[Swag]

Lmao, this has already been at the ranking phase about 5 times.

Most interesting is to compare answers from different threads.

 

[blame space]

The Bends > OK Computer > Kid A > In Rainbows > Amnesiac > Hail to the Thief

that new one.

 

[Ken Masters]

Track review time

1) No Church in the Wild 9/10
2) Lift Off 8/10
3) Ni**as in Paris 10/10
4) Otis 9/10
5) Gotta Have It 10/10
6) New Day 10/10
7) That's My B**tch 8/10
8) Who Gon Stop Me 9/10
9) Murder to Excellence 10/10
10) Welcome to the Jungle 9/10
11) Made in America 5/10
12) Why I Love You 9/10
13) Illest Motherf*ker Alive 7/10
14) H-A-M 8/10
15) Primetime 9/10
16) The Joy 10/10

 

[Recon]

I honestly cant comprehend how anyone could place MBDTF above CD or LR. They are far and away his better works in terms of rapping and production.

 

[computers putin']

Late registration>College Dropout> Graduation>>> 808 and heartbreaks>>>> WTT >>>MBTDF

IN terms of production I prefer Late Registration and Graduation to College Dropout. I don't think the sped up soul samples have aged well and I've bumped the album down from classic status.Kanye's albums after 808's haven't grown on me at all, really I think WTT is mediocre and MBTDF to be a disaster.

 

[The M.O.B]

Track review time

1) No Church in the Wild 9/10
2) Lift Off 8/10
3) Ni**as in Paris 10/10
4) Otis 9/10
5) Gotta Have It 10/10
6) New Day 10/10
7) That's My B**tch 8/10
8) Who Gon Stop Me 9/10
9) Murder to Excellence 10/10
10) Welcome to the Jungle 9/10
11) Made in America 5/10
12) Why I Love You 9/10
13) Illest Motherf*ker Alive 7/10
14) H-A-M 8/10
15) Primetime 9/10
16) The Joy 10/10

O_O

:O

These are some gracious scores.

 

[Acid08]

Track review time

1) No Church in the Wild 9/10
2) Lift Off 8/10
3) Ni**as in Paris 10/10
4) Otis 9/10
5) Gotta Have It 10/10
6) New Day 10/10
7) That's My B**tch 8/10
8) Who Gon Stop Me 9/10
9) Murder to Excellence 10/10
10) Welcome to the Jungle 9/10
11) Made in America 5/10
12) Why I Love You 9/10
13) Illest Motherf*ker Alive 7/10
14) H-A-M 8/10
15) Primetime 9/10
16) The Joy 10/10

Damn, I don't think I agree with these. 8/10 for Lift Off huh....

 

[Ken Masters]

Damn, I don't think I agree with these. 8/10 for Lift Off huh....

Scores seems high because I've been playing the album straight for a month and it hasn't got old...... Yet. A couple months from now it's a very real possibility I'll only be listening to a few tracks from this album


The jay verse on lift off is absolute trash but at least it's not too long. I just like the vibe of the track and the beat switch at the end is :0


But I do think Made in America is terrible, the track is so forced at trying to be emotional the entire track just comes off as corny

 

[kodecraft]

I honestly cant comprehend how anyone could place MBDTF above CD or LR. They are far and away his better works in terms of rapping and production.

I agree, but i wouldn't use the words far and way better

MBDTF is up there with them, if anything listening to the Good Friday tracks he was releasing had us feeling like it was a return to the sound and fell of CD and LR. It was close very close...better than that lazy Graduation album.

my ranking goes

CD > MBDTF > LR > Grad > 808's

 

[MorisUkunRasik]

Track review time

1) No Church in the Wild 9/10
2) Lift Off 8/10
3) Ni**as in Paris 10/10
4) Otis 9/10
5) Gotta Have It 10/10
6) New Day 10/10
7) That's My B**tch 8/10
8) Who Gon Stop Me 9/10
9) Murder to Excellence 10/10
10) Welcome to the Jungle 9/10
11) Made in America 5/10
12) Why I Love You 9/10

13) Illest Motherf*ker Alive 7/10
14) H-A-M 8/10

15) Primetime 9/10
16) The Joy 10/10

HAM > IMA??!?!?!?

 

[Ken Masters]

MBDTF>CD>LR/Grad>808

Edit: HAM>illest because I prefer the HAM beat and jay just destroys that track. Jay was just as lazy on illest as kanye was on HAM

 

[billy beane]

The College Dropout=Late Registration=My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy>Graduation=808s and Heartbreak

Kinda a cop out, but my favorite between the top three changes a good amount.

 

[jtb]

Ranking them for the hell of it:

CD >>>> Graduation > LR/MBDTF/808s > WTT.

The Late Registration/MBDTF/808s are just way too loose of records for me... can't listen to any of them all the way through, and for me, the album (as an artform) is all about being a cohesive whole. Watch the Throne is just inconsistent as fuck.

Nearly every single one of my god-tier Kanye songs is off of College Dropout. Jesus Walks. Never Let Me Down. All Falls Down. Not to mention, the last four songs on the album are perfect. Last Call and Family Business are fucking powerful. They resonate and you can hear that passion back when Kanye still rapped about (in my opinion) things that were interesting, rather than wealth and generic self-loathing (mixed in with his trademark arrogance).

I wish Kanye made more straight up radio hits, because Kanye is one of the few artists these days whose radio hits are actually a good contrast to the rest of the album cuts... Gold Digger, Stronger, and Heartless may be overplayed as fuck, but they're still great songs. Even his failed radio hits are great (like Diamonds from Sierra Leone and Touch the Sky). So there's no excuse for Lift Off, which is just shit. It's shit as a song, and, even worse, it's shit as a radio hit - it's not even catchy, it doesn't go anywhere, and it has unbelievably awful verses.

Anyways, you can see it in the decline of his album sales. LR and Graduation did a million-ish each. MBDTF and WTT did 500k. (Excluding 808s since it's a bit of an outlier, given it's stark stylistic departure) Maybe I'm the only one who's asking for this. But if Kanye's going to put an obligatory "radio hit" on the album, he may as well make it good. It's like in All of the Lights, where he seemingly decided that the way to make it a radio hit was to get Fergie to drop a shittacular verse right when the song's gaining some momentum. Fucking idiotic. Bring back the Kanye hitmaker of old!

 

[PhoenixDark]

1) No Church in the Wild 8/10
2) Lift Off 2/10
3) Ni**as in Paris 6/10
4) Otis 6/10
5) Gotta Have It 7/10
6) New Day 8/10
7) That's My B**tch 9/10
8) Who Gon Stop Me 7/10
9) Murder to Excellence 8/10
10) Welcome to the Jungle 6/10
11) Made in America 7/10
12) Why I Love You 9/10
14) H-A-M 3/10
15) Primetime 9/10
16) The Joy 10/10

 

[kodecraft]

Ranking them for the hell of it:

CD >>>> Graduation > LR/MBDTF/808s > WTT.

The Late Registration/MBDTF/808s are just way too loose of records for me... can't listen to any of them all the way through, and for me, the album (as an artform) is all about being a cohesive whole. Watch the Throne is just inconsistent as fuck.

Nearly every single one of my god-tier Kanye songs is off of College Dropout. Jesus Walks. Never Let Me Down. All Falls Down. Not to mention, the last four songs on the album are perfect. Last Call and Family Business are fucking powerful. They resonate and you can hear that passion back when Kanye still rapped about (in my opinion) things that were interesting, rather than wealth and generic self-loathing (mixed in with his trademark arrogance).

I wish Kanye made more straight up radio hits, because Kanye is one of the few artists these days whose radio hits are actually a good contrast to the rest of the album cuts... Gold Digger, Stronger, and Heartless may be overplayed as fuck, but they're still great songs. Even his failed radio hits are great (like Diamonds from Sierra Leone and Touch the Sky). So there's no excuse for Lift Off, which is just shit. It's shit as a song, and, even worse, it's shit as a radio hit - it's not even catchy, it doesn't go anywhere, and it has unbelievably awful verses.

Anyways, you can see it in the decline of his album sales. LR and Graduation did a million-ish each. MBDTF and WTT did 500k. (Excluding 808s since it's a bit of an outlier, given it's stark stylistic departure) Maybe I'm the only one who's asking for this. But if Kanye's going to put an obligatory "radio hit" on the album, he may as well make it good. It's like in All of the Lights, where he seemingly decided that the way to make it a radio hit was to get Fergie to drop a shittacular verse right when the song's gaining some momentum. Fucking idiotic. Bring back the Kanye hitmaker of old!

I thought about this also. I don't think kanye cares of following the "radio-pop" format, he actually is a real hip-hop head and i am thankful for this.

 

[cacophony]

CD > MBDTF > LR = Grad > 808s


I seriously will never be able to rank Grad and LR. It changes daily.

 

[jtb]

I thought about this also. I don't think kanye cares of following the "radio-pop" format, he actually is a real hip-hop head and i am thankful for this.

That's what I'm saying though - he was more successful when he didn't try to follow this formula. When he does try to make "radio-pop" (Lift Off, All of the Lights), it tends to fail. And now he's going to be working with the producer of How to Love? When will he realize that he makes better hits (comercially and musically speaking) without this shit?

 

[kodecraft]

CD > MBDTF > LR = Grad > 808s

These are my ranks as well.

 

[DominoKid]

Track review time

1) No Church in the Wild 10/10
2) Lift Off 9.5/10
3) Ni**as in Paris 10/10
4) Otis 10/10
5) Gotta Have It 11/10
6) New Day 10/10
7) That's My B**tch 10/10
8) Who Gon Stop Me 11/10
9) Murder to Excellence 10/10
10) Welcome to the Jungle 9.5/10
11) Made in America 1/10
12) Why I Love You 10/10
13) Illest Motherf*ker Alive 11/10
14) H-A-M 10/10
15) Primetime 11/10
16) The Joy 10/10

fixed

 

[nib95]

I'm actually a little disappointed the more I listen. The only track I really want to have on repeat is Murder to Excellence. I find that MBDTF was more creative and better produced overall, though lyrically WTT is stronger.

 

[Angry Fork]

I gotta say you guys have some shitty taste in hip hop imo or haven't listened to enough of it. 808s is Kanye's best album by far. It's the only album where he doesn't abuse samples and does something that feels orchestrated and is actual music. Dude just went off and the instrumentals are incredible. I'm not big on the auto tune but it fit that album. Almost all of MBDTF was collabs with bullshit people, there were like 2 decent tracks that weren't sample abusing. Graduation was pretty terrible as well.

808s is Kanye's best because he doesn't try to rap on it. He's a terrible rapper and shouldn't be on the mic, ever. But on here he just sings whatever he's feeling at that moment and doesn't try hard with his horrible corny metaphors/similes that he thinks are witty.

808s > Late Registration > College Dropout >>>>>>> Graduation = MBDTF = WTT (these all are thrown into the sludge bucket of terrible rapping + ego centric i'm the shit i'm the bad guy + on and off production. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's inconsistent drivel)

 

[Tokubetsu]

I don't agree with your reasoning AT ALL, but 808s is still my favorite Ye album so we cool.

 

[nns3d]

I gotta say you guys have some shitty taste in hip hop imo or haven't listened to enough of it. 808s is Kanye's best album by far. It's the only album where he doesn't abuse samples and does something that feels orchestrated and is actual music. Dude just went off and the instrumentals are incredible. I'm not big on the auto tune but it fit that album. Almost all of MBDTF was collabs with bullshit people, there were like 2 decent tracks that weren't sample abusing. Graduation was pretty terrible as well.

808s is Kanye's best because he doesn't try to rap on it. He's a terrible rapper and shouldn't be on the mic, ever. But on here he just sings whatever he's feeling at that moment and doesn't try hard with his horrible corny metaphors/similes that he thinks are witty.

808s > Late Registration > College Dropout >>>>>>> Graduation = MBDTF = WTT (these all are thrown into the sludge bucket of terrible rapping + ego centric i'm the shit i'm the bad guy + on and off production. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's inconsistent drivel)

Some of the most famous hip-hop songs were built upon multiple samples...

I'm not gonna hate if you liked 808s, you brought up alot of good points that I never really thought about, but personally it didn't resonate well with me.

 

[PBY]

I gotta say you guys have some shitty taste in hip hop imo or haven't listened to enough of it. 808s is Kanye's best album by far. It's the only album where he doesn't abuse samples and does something that feels orchestrated and is actual music. Dude just went off and the instrumentals are incredible. I'm not big on the auto tune but it fit that album. Almost all of MBDTF was collabs with bullshit people, there were like 2 decent tracks that weren't sample abusing. Graduation was pretty terrible as well.

808s is Kanye's best because he doesn't try to rap on it. He's a terrible rapper and shouldn't be on the mic, ever. But on here he just sings whatever he's feeling at that moment and doesn't try hard with his horrible corny metaphors/similes that he thinks are witty.

808s > Late Registration > College Dropout >>>>>>> Graduation = MBDTF = WTT (these all are thrown into the sludge bucket of terrible rapping + ego centric i'm the shit i'm the bad guy + on and off production. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's inconsistent drivel)

I've never disagreed with a post more in my life.

 

[nib95]

Kanye's rapping at times can be very good, others poor. But to say he's a shite rapper is disingenuous imo. Also, the bad singing coupled with the incredible over use of autotune just shat 808s up for me.

 

[Angry Fork]

Kanye's rapping at times can be very good, others poor. But to say he's a shite rapper is disingenuous imo. Also, the bad singing coupled with the incredible over use of autotune just shat 808s up for me.

He's had good/decent verses purely in terms of subject matter, but he's no emcee. He's a terrible lyricist and I just have high standards I guess when it comes to rappers. Rhyme schemes, structure, multi's, flow, vocab, etc. it's a mix of the best.

Canibus, 2002 Eminem, Rakim, Royce Da 5'9", Crooked I, Brother Ali, etc. these guys are lyricists, Kanye is (at the moment) incredibly annoying on the mic, he's an amazing producer though when he's creating something out of heart and not to appease yes men and the idiot demographic.

Some of the most famous hip-hop songs were built upon multiple samples...

I'm not gonna hate if you liked 808s, you brought up alot of good points that I never really thought about, but personally it didn't resonate well with me.

I don't have anything against samples until it reaches this level of stupidity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5ItJhPbsOU

So so bad. I just can't listen to this instrumental without wanting to stick a knife in my ears. Everything with Kanye to me is about his beats, I don't care about his verses because they're almost always bad, especially now where he constantly acts like he's a future visionary of the generation and is cast out of society for his superior musical prowess and won't be recognized until death like he's some kind of rap mozart martyr. It's sooo fucking boring.

I wouldn't mind that shtick if he was an actual great emcee but he's not at all. I just don't care for people talking about how great they are, if they're not actually that great. If he released an instrumental album only I wouldn't complain but he insists on spewing corny lines because he thinks he's good.

As for the collabs, that shit needs to go. If Kanye is going to release an album make it a Kanye album not Kanye & Friends™. I had a huge problem with Dark Fantasy because of this. 70% of the tracks had collabs and then Kanye's verses end up being some swag measuring contest between him and whoever else is on the track. Just shit the fuck up and rap about interesting subject matter like in his earlier days and 808s. There's enough brain dead music out there for car bumping Kanye is more capable than that, both him and Jay piss me off when they create weak shit for idiots.

Anyway to add about 808s. I truly feel like the majority of beats on there are masterpieces. There is SO much atmosphere and raw intensity on them. I just really love them partly because they're not conventional hip hop beats, it's a shame I can't find the instrumentals for a few since they're better off without the auto tune. They don't have the typical high tempo drum shit so that they can be played on the radio/in clubs. The songs I don't like on 808s are Amazing, Love Lockdown, and See you in my nightmare (beats are great though).

 

[Epcott]

I gotta say you guys have some shitty taste in hip hop imo or haven't listened to enough of it. 808s is Kanye's best album by far. It's the only album where he doesn't abuse samples and does something that feels orchestrated and is actual music. Dude just went off and the instrumentals are incredible. I'm not big on the auto tune but it fit that album. Almost all of MBDTF was collabs with bullshit people, there were like 2 decent tracks that weren't sample abusing. Graduation was pretty terrible as well.

808s is Kanye's best because he doesn't try to rap on it. He's a terrible rapper and shouldn't be on the mic, ever. But on here he just sings whatever he's feeling at that moment and doesn't try hard with his horrible corny metaphors/similes that he thinks are witty.

808s > Late Registration > College Dropout >>>>>>> Graduation = MBDTF = WTT (these all are thrown into the sludge bucket of terrible rapping + ego centric i'm the shit i'm the bad guy + on and off production. Sometimes it's good sometimes it's inconsistent drivel)

Oh, I don't know about that... he was pretty competent on Don't Stop (after the beat changes, he just goes insane).

The Bends > OK Computer > Kid A > In Rainbows > Amnesiac > Hail to the Thief

that new one.

What? In Rainbows belongs at the same level as OK Computer or at least right after it. Scoff Scoff

 

[Tokubetsu]

I feel ya and hail to the theif is a lot better than last place.

 

[enzo_gt]

Illest Motherfucker Alive is so fucking dope, it's the best song on the album and deserves nothing less than an 11/10. If you disagree, you are wrong.

How can you hate on this flow son?

Damn baby pussy can't be your only hustle
Unless you bad as Naomi Russell
I mean a lot of niggas got money
So basically, Russell ain't the only Russell
Russell Brand, Russell Crowe
Zero Zero Zero Zero, a whole lot of 0's
What you after, actor money?
You in line behind currency, yeah you after money
Bullet proof condom when I'm in these hoes
Got staples on my dick (why) fuckin' centerfolds
And I swear to God they so cold
Got a nigga in Miami wearing winter clothes
I got my fur on feelin' like Jerome
She got her fur too, we got our his and her on
Don't look at the jewelry, or get your blurr on
Too close, you comatose so dope you overdose
Get back, you overclose
Oh no, the hood was strugglin'
But then I blessed them with that Polo
Niggas was making music and then my first solo...
Collo Drolo tho, sponsored by Manolo
She got Zeppi Notos ready for some photos
Yeah and I'm cold bitch, please try to keep the door closed
Lanvin thousand dollar tee with no logos
Let me show you what I see when my eyes closed

RUSSEL BRAND/RUSSEL CROWE

 

[Ashhong]

You in line behind currency, yeah you after money

oooooh snap

 

[zychi]

This is weird conversation but this has been driving me nuts since the VMAs.

Is Kanye fat under the loose shirts he wears?
Skinny Fat?
Or is it just his chubby face that makes him look fat?

Because when he was making 808s he put on some weight(obviously for depression reasons)
but when he made MBDTF it seems like his face is still as huge, but his body shrunk.

Thoughts?

 

[ProtoCents]

Bullet proof caaahndom

 

[Tokubetsu]

His jaw has always been a little fat post car crash. Isn't it still held in place with bolts and shit? It's the same thing with Vinnie Paz from JMT.

 

[Tim the Wiz]

Someone needs to GIF that moment in the documentary where he's rapping about Russel Crowe to Russel Crowe. When the title fits, man.

 

[Miggytronz]

Yeah hes got a plate in his jaw i think.

 

[DangerStepp]

This is weird conversation but this has been driving me nuts since the VMAs.

Is Kanye fat under the loose shirts he wears?
Skinny Fat?
Or is it just his chubby face that makes him look fat?

Because when he was making 808s he put on some weight(obviously for depression reasons)
but when he made MBDTF it seems like his face is still as huge, but his body shrunk.

Thoughts?

Yeah, his jaw had to be reconstructed. It's not necessarily fat, his jaw juts a little more than normal because of the scar tissue, plates, etc.

 

[mckmas8808]

Yeah, his jaw had to be reconstructed. It's not necessarily fat, his jaw juts a little more than normal because of the scar tissue, plates, etc.

Damn!

 

[enzo_gt]

This is weird conversation but this has been driving me nuts since the VMAs.

Is Kanye fat under the loose shirts he wears?
Skinny Fat?
Or is it just his chubby face that makes him look fat?

Because when he was making 808s he put on some weight(obviously for depression reasons)
but when he made MBDTF it seems like his face is still as huge, but his body shrunk.

Thoughts?

He used to be chubbier in TCD era, dressed a bit thinner during LR/Graduation, built up a tiny bit of weight during 808s, and post 808s and for MBDTF, since they had daily ball sessions and workout sessions while making it, he got built a bit.

About a year and a half ago:

He's probably not as built now considering touring and shit. I feel weird for being able to chronicle this. *pause*

oooooh snap

Yeah that's the closest weve got to a shot at Wiz I think.

 

[YoungHav]

I love Pac and Biggie but they're only regarded as such because their lives were tragically ended. The same for almost anyone who dies in that manner. When killed at the height of ur career, ur frozen right there and can't decline.

Had Pac and Biggie been given the chance to put out some crappy albums and fade into obscurity, they wouldn't be so highly regarded. That's just the truth of the matter.

Pac made 6 studio albums when alive. He had plenty of chances to drop a crappy album and fade into obscurity.

 

[Miggytronz]

Through the wire song explains well what he had done to his jaw line. One of his best songs, so raw.

 

[Zozz]

That shit cray

 

[BradleyUK]

The album is very boring.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

The album is very boring.

you mean guys rapping about how much fun they're having spending their money over and over again isn't spinning your wheels?

 

[mckmas8808]

you mean guys rapping about how much fun they're having spending their money over and over again isn't spinning your wheels?

You know they actually do rap about other things right?

 

[DangerStepp]

He used to be chubbier in TCD era, dressed a bit thinner during LR/Graduation, built up a tiny bit of weight during 808s, and post 808s and for MBDTF, since they had daily ball sessions and workout sessions while making it, he got built a bit.

About a year and a half ago:

He's probably not as built now considering touring and shit. I feel weird for being able to chronicle this. *pause*


Yeah that's the closest weve got to a shot at Wiz I think.

I'm actually glad you did because I noticed the same thing. I was wondering whether or not he was ripped.


Dat picture answers my question... man.

 

[BradleyUK]

you mean guys rapping about how much fun they're having spending their money over and over again isn't spinning your wheels?

Nope.

I don't want to feel bad for myself for being poor thank you. They can put their engineered success where the sun doesn't shine.

I like rappers who rap about real issues

 

[Miggytronz]

Nope.

I don't want to feel bad for myself for being poor thank you. They can put their engineered success where the sun doesn't shine.

I like rappers who rap about real issues

so you didnt listen to Murder to Excellence? So your a LUPE fan?

 

[BradleyUK]

so you didnt listen to Murder to Excellence? So your a LUPE fan?

I don't mind a bit of Lupe music.

I listened to that track and thats the only good song on the album.

I prefer this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjvUMr1-AAU