FriYe – The College Dropout

I am revisiting the 4 Kanye albums that I recognize and love.  The internet will tell you that Kanye has released 7.  Don’t listen to the internet.

The first album and dearest to my heart, is The College Dropout.  It was 2004. I too was a college dropout.  I was old enough to go to college parties but also worked a full time job and could buy drinks and stay out late and still get up and go to work and go home to take a nap to go out again and actually go out again.  It was an amazing time. A trip to Austin was NOTHING.  And Kanye provided the soundtrack.

1. Intro (skit)- featuring DeRay Davis
   So very Chicago. DeRay does his best Bernie Mac impersonation.
2. We Don’t Care
   The jist: It’s hard being black and growing up black because people expect you to not really be shit.
   Best lyrics, the chorus:  Drug dealin’ just to get by / Stack ya’ money ’til it get sky high /(Kids, sing! Kids, sing!)/ We wasn’t s’posed to make it past 25 /Joke’s on you, we still alive/Throw your hands up in the sky and say:”We don’t care what people say”
3. Graduation Day (skit) – featuring DeRay
   Best lyrics: You a n*gga, and I don’t mean that in no nice way.
4. All Falls Down – featuring Syleenah Johnson
   The jist: Consummerism at it’s finest.  We love to buy things.
   Best lyrics: Even if you in a Benz/you still a n*gga/ in a coupe.
5. I’ll Fly Away
   Yes the Gospel song. Sang over a rap beat. It’s great.
6. Spaceship – featuring GLC, Consequence, and Tony Williams
   The jist: OMG I hate going to work but I have to because see: Consumerism. I just want to work on my craft.
   Best lyrics: But let some black people walk in/I bet you they show off their token blackie/
   Oh now they love Kanye/let’s put him all in the front of the store
7. Jesus Walks
   The most popular song on this album.  So I know you know it.
   The jist: Jesus walks with you.  Even when you fn up.
   Best lyrics: They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, videotape/But if I talk about God my record won’t get played, huh?
   Ahhh. Earnest Kanye
8. Never Let Me Down – featuring Jay-Z and J-Ivy.
   This song has a whole spoken word piece in the middle then Jay-Z comes back and in the background you hear “oh you thought we was finished” and he just keeps on rapping.  I do love this song and I think in 2004 me and Jay’s relationship was back on the mend after we didn’t have much to do with each other after Vol 3., and then again after Blueprint.
   Best lyrics: (Jay-Z) Hov’s a living legend and I’ll tell you why/Everybody wanna be Hov and Hov’s still alive
9. Get Em High – featuring Talib Kweli and Common
   Club song. They need no jist.
   Best lyrics: (Talib) Or chicks with birth control stuck to they arm like Nicorette/You really fuckin’ that much or trying to get off cigarettes?
10. Workout Plan (skit)
    “Free.99” is still just a great thing to say
11. The New Workout Plan
    Ok so mostly this song is fun and the video was great because Anna Nicole Smith AND Tracee Ellis Ross were in it because 2004 was just a fun time. And then when you think the song is over, it ain’t and Kanye gives you a soul clap and some autotune. Work it! Bounce!
    Best lyrics: Ooh girl your breath is harsh!/Cover your mouth up like you got SARS
    Ha! SARS is so 2004.
    Here’s the long version because I’m sure you have a spare 8 minutes. RIP Anna Nicole.
    
12. Slow Jamz – featuring Jamie Foxx and Twista
    This song was pretty popular too.  And Aisha Tyler was in the video.  Basically girls like when you woo them with R&B. Obviously.
    Best lyrics: She got a light-skinned friend/look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark-skinned friend/ look like Michael Jackson
    Fun Fact: Kanye’s love for MJ comes around in another favorite lyric of mine on another song on a different album
13. Breathe In, Breathe Out – featuring Ludacris
    If Luda’s on it then it’s a silly ass song and it’s a jamma. That’s just how things go.
    Best lyrics: Pullin’ up in the Lexuses/one on both hand/So I guess them GSes/was ambidextrous
    Fun fact: Another appearance of the Free.99 phrase
14. School Spirit skit 1 – DeRay Davis
    It’s called College Dropout, so there had to be some college talk.
    Best lyrics: No, I’ve never had sex. But you know what? My degree keeps me satisfied. When a lady walks up to me and says “Hey, you know what’s sexy?” No, I don’t know what it is
    But I bet I can add up all the change in your purse very fast
15. School Spirit
    The jist: You wasted your money on a degree
    Best lyrics: This n*gga graduated at the top of our class/I went to Cheesecake, he was a motherf*cking waiter there
    Fun fact: This song is pre-bleeped, but I never remember hearing it on the radio. Ha! The radio. Also so 2004.
16. School Spirit skit 2 – DeRay Davis
17. Lil Jimmy skit – DeRay Davis
    Ok this was just redundant
18. Two Words – featuring Mos Def and Freeway
    This is the best song on this album.  It’s just good. All the lyrics are the best.
19. Through The Wire – featuring Chaka Khan
    So this is the first song I ever heard of Kanye’s.  Well, that Kanye raps on. It was a big deal on MTV back when MTV played videos and did music news because he had just had his car accident and had his jaw wired shut and actually recorded the song that way.
    Best lyrics: (adlibs)  (When the doctor told me I had, um, that I was gonna have to have a plate in my chin, I said) I’d gladly risk it all (“Dawg, don’t you realize I’ll never make it on a plane now?”) Through the fire (“It’s bad enough I got all this jewelry on!”)
20. Family Business
21. Last Call

Right, so honestly I never listen to Family Business or Last Call because by then I’ve had enough and me and Jay were cool but not THAT cool plus Last Call is 12 minutes for some unknown reason.

Fun fact: There are no skits on the vinyl.  I learned that when I got the vinyl while Christmas shopping for other people lol.

Did I know what Kanye was going to become? No. Who could know that in 2004.  But I was happy to have rap that I could relate to even if I did not have a Louis Vuitton backpack.  This album was great.

What’s your favorite song on The College Dropout?

Note: While I know the lyrics, I copied and pasted these from genius.com because it’s easier. Also Genius is pretty amazing because it gives annotations to lyrics AND people can comment with notes and facts and all that jazz.