Jimmy Cohen ‘28
Kanye West's 2004 debut album, The College Dropout, was a defining album for the 2000s. In the deeply introspective College Dropout, Kanye West takes listeners on a raw, humorous, and masterful journey exploring themes of family, materialism, racism, and personal struggles, critiquing the traditional path in life and social problems.
The Collage Dropout is defined by its soul sound: speeding up soul samples so much that they sound high-pitched; they’re mixed with choir vocals, acoustic instruments, which contrast with the hard gangster rap of the early 2000s. On top of the anthemic soul beats is a story of self-empowerment and self-reflection. On the album, West discusses a lot of topics artists wouldn’t address, like working for minimum wage at the Gap, education, and religion. West embraces these controversial or different topics and turns them into songs.
The reason most people can relate to this album is because of Kanye West's hypocrisy. In the song “All Falls Down” on the album, West discusses the pressures put on women in America. Further down the album, in the song “Breath In Breath Out,” he talks about his lustful thoughts about women. This is what makes the college dropout so unique. One song can be saying how bad materialism is in the world, and the next song says how he wants a flashy new car to brag about. West is so honest about the positive and negative sides of himself, there’s something here that anybody can relate to. We all have idiosyncrasies in our character, and we aren’t just one thing in life. Ultimately, another big theme is that you can achieve anything you want in life. While making this album, most people in the music industry said West couldn’t rap. But he would still drop the album and still have people like Jay Z and Mos Def.
In conclusion, The College Dropout by Kanye West goes beyond what you hear in your headphones, but is a mentality of life and a way to live by. You should never compromise what you want to do in life and do what you want to do.