Common makes an appearance on "My Way Home," which dips more into traditional West terrain, utilizing a vocal sample for the hook that re-emphasizes the title of the song. It's a strange shift, because just as it eschews the fuzzy warmth of his rhyme style earlier in the album it also embraces it, just in a different way.West adopts a pseudo De La Soul motif, at least vocally and musically, on "Drive Slow." Former Swisha House guru Paul Wall and GLC slip into the cut for added vocal bling, meshing well with the sedate, late night jazz vibe of the backing track. While the presence of Jaimie Foxx on "Gold Digger" seems like a rehash of his appearance on the last album, West does a blatantly ironic flip switch by pairing the track with samples of Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman." The loping blues inflected groove is complimented by West's sing-song talk delivery that is bouncy and fluid. West delivers languid imagery in a soothingly mellifluous drawl that fits the music perfectly.The groove gets a slight bump, thanks to horns and a more energetic stance from West on "Touch The Sky." The track features yet another guest in the form of Lupe Fiasco, who offers up call-and-response chanting in an echo chamber manner before he drops a buttery verse toward the end of the track. The track features Adam Levine from Maroon 5, which on paper might seem like West is grappling for further Alt Rock love, but in reality you don't need to know who Levine is or where he's from, 'cause his warm "oooh-ooohs" and lilting falsetto on the chorus is sweet, sweet, sweet music. Thankfully the skit fades quickly from memory as the insanely cool bass wurgle and piano tinkle of the inescapably hypnotic "Heard 'Em Say" worms its way into your soul. Strange choice of title aside, the album begins with a d¿j¿ vu hiccup as the cantankerous neighbor character from Dropout rears his ugly head in one of (too) many skits that adorn the proceedings. Listening to the "hidden" track tacked on at the end of the album does offer some insight, but in typically abstract West stylee. Then again it could also signal that he's ready to continue his academic education and this is merely the first step. The title seems as if it would have been more apropos for his debut, not his second outing.
KANYE WEST LATE REGISTRATION ALBUM REGISTRATION
Late registration is usually for those scrambling to get into college classes after the fact, not for dropouts. From a purely semantic standpoint, the title of West's sophomore effort seems a bit strange. West deserves kudos for including him in the process, that's for sure. While his presence probably won't mean much to hardcore rap heads, it's safe to say that his eclectic ear adds extra depth and nuance to many of the more stellar tracks included here. Of note to musicologists, multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion is on board for much of the album. West never left us, since his sped up soul chunks have been favoring the high profile rhymes of folks like Common and his mug has been slapped on a variety of magazine covers and flashed across the cathode ray containers scattered throughout the living rooms of the world. Roughly a year-and-a-half has passed since Kanye West burst into the mainstream's conscience with his first "official" release, The College Dropout, the quiet kid from Chicago returns with his legitimate follow-up.
0 kommentar(er)
