Kanye West
Graduation
(Roc-a-Fella)
With a deft mixture of modesty and self deprecation, Kanye West claims that 'With my ego, I could stand up in a Speedo' and get away with it. Such is the confidence that infuses Graduation, the third in his rites of passage triptych, after The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005). Speedos aside, self belief has never been a problem for West. No longer the self-confessed dropout, he even berates valedictorians as he races past them towards the future in his 'De Lorean'.
The reference to the Back to the Future movies is fitting, because West has again created a blend of hip hop that's unique and beyond its time. His production skills are his greatest asset and he's wise to pay even more detailed attention to them than before. Indeed, the music occasionally lives up to its creator's inflated opinion of it.
Juddering electro beats rub shoulders with synthesised strings and soft guitars. West sponges up influences as varied as Danger Mouse (of Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley fame) and Daft Punk (on stand-out track Stronger). Even Coldplay's Chris Martin gets to duet. Even more surprisingly, it works.
