Coming off of College Dropout, Mr. West was faced with the task of defying the typical sophomore slump. However the back packer known for religiously rockin’ Louis Vuitton changed up his sound. Of course, the soul that his... well… soul beats made famous was still intact but he enlisted aid from Jon Brion. Prior to this album, I personally didn’t know much about the instrumentalist and producer. However listening to his work, I am amazed almost anytime Brion is attached to a project, whether its his work with Fiona Apple to the music featured in movies such as I Heart Huckabees and Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind.
Jon Brion showing his musical genius
Jay Electronica spitting over Brion’s soundtrack of Eternal Sunshine of A Spotless Mind (minus speech in front)
I contend that if the formation of the two into a musical Voltron isn’t already considered legendary, it should be. Stories of the two listening and deconstructing old Jackson 5 records to the early morning are things that music lovers dream of. From a production standpoint, every dollar of the alleged 2 million that was spent can be accounted for in the final sound. Samples range from legendary artists like Etta James and Ray Charles to musicians I’d never heard of such as the Whatnauts. One aspect of following a producer like Kanye’s discography that has always kept me interested is the eclectic music taste he has. Without Kanye’s production, I would have never listened to songs like Max Romeo’s I Chase the Devil, which was featured on Lucifer from Jay-Z Black Album In many cases, a Kanye album is lesson plan.
Amazing compilation of Kanye Samples
From the dreary flow and beat of Drive Slow to the haunting production of Diamonds from Sierra Leone, the album is technically less soulful but definitely more impactful. I literally get goose bumps listening to Roses, a narrative of how his grandmother gets sick and the family comes to the hospital in support.
The album actually has my favorite track… ever, Gone featuring Consequence and Cam’ron. From the keys to the drums and to the string, everything in the production is perfect. What people often criticize rap for is its unoriginality. I’ve heard many say that all producers do is loop a top 40 hit and put rhymes over it. When I first heard N.Y. State of Mind from Nas’ legendary Illmatic, I was amazed a how the verses were laid out on top of the beat relentlessly creating a feeling of thicknesses, dessness, even massiveness. It made me rethink rap. This song made me rethink rap songs in that way through the production. The keys and strings are constantly progressing through the song and they completely take over after Consequence and Cam’ron’s verses. By the time Kanye puts down his final verse the strings are battling for attention creating what Kanye is has always strived for, drama.
Gone featuring Consequence and Cam’ron
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