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Wild Card Feb 20, 2007
Kanye West proves one thing if nothing else: Not all rap is created equal. Like many other achievements in popular music, West takes elements from soul, jazz, and pop, to mix with his bright, witty lyrics. Fun but also formidable, Kanye takes on the trappings of American material culture and understandably finds much to mock. With different meters and measures, Kanye West makes all other efforts seem stale. Giving snatches of wit, his rapping inspires some real laughs. While inserting the soundtrack of a seductive siren voice singing "Diamonds Are Forever," he tears off about the divide between American dreams and their (too often) unattainment. On 'Late Registration' the joker's wild--and often wise.
3 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 The Truth must be told. Jan 01, 2006
When this album first came out, I almost felt obligated to rant and rave about how good it was because of all the hype. There was, and still is, so much hype about it and to be completely honest, it's not what they say it to be.
His debut album, College Dropout was excellent, and he deserved all of the acclaim for it, but this here is something different. This is so lackluster and boring. Seems like he gave his best beats away, because Late Registration's production is very lazy. Jon Brion might have done miracles for Fiona Apple, but Kanye, no.
To all reading this, I'm not even trying to hate. I was a big Kanye fan, but this album is definitely his worst material and a sophmore slump. So as you see it on the "Top Albums of 2005" and the fact that it's two times platinum, just know that this, in my opinion, is not worth any of the hype. Get a better album, of his first one, as an alternative gift to Late Registration this season.
-Nathaniel
11 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Just average (3 Stars) Nov 12, 2005
Before you click that "not helpful" button, you should know that I own Late Registration. I've given the album dozens of repeat listens. I'm here to review the album; don't let the "oh my goodness, only three stars?!?!" factor convince you that I'm here to call Kanye names and question comments of his about a certain president. This page is meant for reviews of the album. This is not a message board, people.
With all that said, on to the review. After Kanye's near-classic College Dropout album, and with all the media buzz he`s generated, obviously the expectations for Late Registration were sky high. Kanye is, by all means, a great producer. Tracks such as Scarface's "Guess Who's Back," Jay-Z's "Encore," and more recently The Game's "Dreams" all show Kanye's prowess behind the boards. He showed people on College Dropout that he wasn't half-bad on the mic either. Pretty excited, I hit up a local record store the day this came out, dishing out fifteen bucks for Kanye's sophomore release.
After sitting through the seventy-minute duration of the album, I sat dumbfounded. Maybe I was expecting College Dropout part two, because I was shocked to hear minimal usage of Kanye's tried-tested-and-true sped-up soul samples. Instead, the majority of the album is filled with bland, overproduced, and orchestral music that can hardly be labelled as "rap beats." I don't know if Kanye's arrogance has finally caught up with his ability to produce music, but the "beats" on Late Registration scream sheer arrogance. The entire album sounds like Kanye amusing himself with myriads of unnecessary instrumental arrangements, and most of the time, it's just not very listenable. While this method of overproduction succeeds to certain degrees on tracks like the lead single "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" (remix included), over-the-top tracks like "Roses," "Hey Mama," and "Celebration" suffer. But the worst offender is easily the horrid Brandy-K. West duet "Bring Me Down," a track that sounds like it was left in the recording studio washroom circa Brandy's last album. While I applaud Kanye for being somewhat experimental, some of these tracks are simply not very enjoyable to listen to. It also hurts when one of the best beats on the album, "Touch The Sky," isn't even produced by Kanye West - it's produced by Just Blaze.
The best musical moments on this album happen when the production is a little more straightforward, as displayed on tracks like "Drive Slow," "Crack Music," and "Gone." On the feel-good single "Gold Digger," Kanye strips down the beat. The result? A number one pop chart single and one of the better rap songs of 2005. Another problem on Late Registration has to do with wasted time. College Dropout suffered from back-to-back skits, but Late Registration suffers from songs that unnecessarily drag ON and ON and ON. "We Major" could've been a great song, with a nice beat and an excellent guest verse from Nas, but the song is about three minutes too long. There is absolutely no reason not to skip to the next track after Nas finishes his verse. "Hey Mama" is about two minutes too long as well. Take away two minutes of "Mamama-ma-mama-ma, mama-mama-ma" and the song might've been decent. Maybe. Wasted time HURTS this album. The skits littered across the CD are slightly amusing at best, but they interrupt the flow of the album, unlike the skits on College Dropout that were incorporated into the album nicely.
The only real reason to purchase Late Registration is that the CD contains guest appearances from some of the best in the business. In fact, the strongest tracks on the album all contain guests. Cam'ron makes a welcome appearance on "Gone," Paul Wall on "Drive Slow," and Common shines on his brief solo, "My Way Home." The Game makes an appearance on "Crack Music," but a verse from him would've been a lot better than just hearing him on half of the hook. Also, this album would be the first time anyone could've witnessed Jay-Z and Nas appearing on back-to-back tracks, but it's only a matter of time before they actually collaborate now, considering their beef was officially squashed just last month. The potent guest appearances are the only thing that saves Late Registration from sheer mediocrity.
After a stellar CD like College Dropout, Late Registration comes as a great disappointment to me. And believe me, I was VERY excited about this album coming out. The strongest point of College Dropout - the beats - happens to be the weakest point of Late Registration, and that hinders this album a ton, considering Kanye's still somewhat-questionable mic skills. If you do buy this, make sure that the fast-forward button on your CD player is in perfect working condition. One last note - expect this album to win 56 Grammy Awards next year.
Best Moments: Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix) feat. Jay-Z (my favourite), Touch The Sky, Gold Digger feat. Jamie Foxx, Drive Slow feat. Paul Wall & GLC, Crack Music feat. The Game, Gone feat. Cam'ron & Consequence, and Diamonds From Sierra Leone.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Rap's Mainstream Maverick Sep 28, 2005
After hearing excerpts from this album on NPR, I was itching to pick it up. Being a man of class, I opted for the clean version instead of the explicit version, but that's a whole other story entirely. Kanye West is no stranger to music fans, or even current events buffs for that matter. He's wowed the music fans, and is scoffed by the current events buffs for his dubious political accusations and his annoying diva tantrums he's been employing since the success of his first album "The College Dropout". You're probably asking why I even picked up this album. Well, the answer is quite simple: as long as the music is great, that's all that matters.
I haven't heard "The College Dropout" in its entirety, but I have heard Kanye (or Ye as he's called) beats and production stylings for Alicia Keys, Common, and John Legend. AK's sophomore album is a winner, and from what I've heard of "Be" (Common's album) and "Get Lifted" (Legend's), they seem like winners, too. Well, for my first taste of Ye, I have to say that it's a keeper.
Kanye West is daring, for lack of a better word. His fashion (I gotta get Pastel when it's out), his wordplay, and his music may be mainstream rap's anti-bacterial soap for a disgusting cesspool of similarity. His sense of humor is charming and chuckle-worthy on the opening skit featuring Bernie Mac, "Wake Up Mr. West". That transitions intriguingly into the beautiful "Heard 'Em Say", featuring the fascinating Adam Levine of Pop-&-B band Maroon 5. Levine adds a welcoming diverse touch to West's music, his Stevie Wonder-ish vocals proving that some white people do have a lot of soul. It's refreshing to hear Ye rap about middle-class angst, but the sex aspect of that angst gets in the way too much, like on the hit single "Gold Digger" and on the exquisitely melodic but profanely satirical "Celebration".
However, these good-but-could-be-better tracks and filler tracks like "Drive Slow" come far and few between. The brilliance of "Late Registration" lies in Ye's love for old-school soul music, and his samples add a sublime touch to both his rhymes and producer Jon Brion's alternative touch, particularly on "Touch the Sky" feat. Lupe Fiasco". When Ye is rapping about something other than how great he is, we realize that he's great, especially with the "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix) feat. Jay-Z", which absolutely roadkills the original version, an exercise in trite, ego-driven rap.
Love him or hate him (I have mixed feelings myself), Kanye West has released a near-masterpiece that has completed his transformation into a pop superstar. At its best, it's one of the most contradicting, interesting, fresh, and entertaining rap albums I've heard in recent years, and let's hope that Ye can churn out more great music, and keep his diva tantrums in check. Oh, BTW, the skits are pretty good. You'll get a kick out of them. If you don't, you don't care about black people.
n3ur010g1c gives Kanye West's "Late Registration (Clean)" a 10....out of 12.
5 of 8 found the following review helpful:
 Better late then never....1st week....860,000 sold!...nuff said Sep 09, 2005
To be honest I wasn't the biggest Kanye West fan. His last album spawned a few hits that caught my attention but I never was feelin' him enough to go out and buy the cd. Well I been hearing alot of hype about this album all over the internet....so I was like let me just give it a try, check it out, and see what I think........
As I began to listen to the album I was blown away, The whole style and vibe of the album is unlike anything you really hear, it's crazy. To me it's kind of like hip-hopera, you got the hip-hop with an opera like melody arrangements. It truly does something to the music that many artist lack...it creates an atmosphere. It's not just music but an experience. The lyrics are on point covering topics from addicitons to money, women, weed...to the aids epidemic and many other things. My favorite tracks are addiction, crack music, touch the sky, and hey mama (to anyone who has a mom that had to struggle you'll love this one). If you are the type of person that likes music with a meaning, message, and purpose then you'll like this album.
I must say I am a true Kanye fan now, this album has totally changed my mind about him, and it definitely lives up to the hype it is creating. This is one for the history books, and I predict great things for this album. If you get nothing else out of this review, just remember to get this cd, it is well worth the money and then some.
This is for all the Kanye haters out there who constantly try to downgrade him by saying he is not a good rapper, but yet you turn around and talk about people like young jeezy and boyz-n-da hood....come on now! Are you serious! I must come to the conclusion that you are deaf because you lack any taste or integrity when it comes to music. Ok, if your a wanna-b thug like most people try to be these days, then I can see why you would think these sorry excuses for music artist (who lack all criteria for artistry) are the least bit good at what they do. If you want to understand what real music is supposed to be like, you need to pop in that Miss Education of Lauryn Hill and listen to "Superstar". A prime example of this album in which music should be used as a tool to elevate the people which listen to it.
For the other haters who are now focusing on the whole Bush comment ordeal...lol...like Kanye said "you may not be feelin' him but atleast you feel something about him" which is a good point since he doesn't even know who you are or could probably careless, yet your focusing your free time on him. It takes much more of an effort to hate on someone then to simply let it go. Back to the subject though. So what he bashed Bush! We as African-Americans should feel and most do feel the same way. We have been saying it for years, and we know Bush does not care about us, because if he truly did, there is no possible way people in America would have suffered like that. We have too many resources to go help others, but neglect to help our own. It's a shame. If he used that opportunity to be a voice for a community that so often gets shunned away, then more power to you man.
And last but not least just the plain ol' haters, "First week 860,000 sold" speaks for itself. The album is HOT...by far the best of the year, no he may not be the best rapper but he's better than 90% of the other c-rappers out there...and this album is so far advanced musically 10 years from now people will still be trying to immulate it. Thanks Kanye for blessing us with real music. If you haven't already, get this album, it is a classic!
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