The College Dropout is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received praise for his production work for rappers such as Jay-Z and Talib Kweli, but faced difficulty being accepted as an artist in his own right by figures in the music industry. Intent on pursuing a solo career, he signed a record deal with Roc-A-Fella and recorded the album over a period of four years, beginning in 1999.
Late Registration is the second studio album by the American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions held at studios in Hollywood and New York City, in collaboration with Jon Brion. The album features guest appearances from Adam Levine, Jamie Foxx, Common, Brandy, Jay-Z, and Nas, among others.
Graduation is the third studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West, released on September 11, 2007, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions took place between 2005 and 2007 at several studios in New York and Los Angeles. It was primarily produced by West himself, with contributions from various other producers, including DJ Toomp. The album also features guest appearances from recording artists such as Dwele, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mos Def, DJ Premier, and Chris Martin. The cover art and its interior artwork were designed by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami.
American rapper and record producer, Ye, better known as Kanye West, has released 10 studio albums, two collaborative studio albums, one compilation album, one demo album, two live albums, one video album, and five mixtapes. All ten of his studio albums have been certified at least gold in the United States. As of June 2021, West has certified 25 million equivalent solo albums units in the United States, placing him among the highest-certified music artists in the United States.
"The New Workout Plan" is a song from Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout. Released as the album's fifth single in August 2004, it peaked at number 59 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was written and produced by West, with additional songwriting from John Legend, Miri Ben-Ari, Sumeke Rainey, and Bosko Cante. The music video was released the same year, with cameos from Legend, Ben-Ari, Anna Nicole Smith, Fonzworth Bentley, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vida Guerra and GLC.
"Heard 'Em Say" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song features a guest appearance from Adam Levine. It was produced by West with Jon Brion, the former of which served as a songwriter alongside Levine, while Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin also received credit due to the sample of "Someone That I Used to Love". When West played Levine an early version of the song during a flight to Rome in 2004, the singer felt he had a chorus written that would work perfectly. West lacked certainty about collaborating with Levine before hearing him in rehearsal at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards, after which the two recorded the song quickly with assistance from Brion. It marked the first song recorded for the album and originally, West sang the chorus.
"Through the Wire" is the debut solo single by American rapper and producer Kanye West, who wrote and recorded the song with his jaw wired shut after a car crash on October 23rd 2002. The song samples Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire" and was released on the last day of September 2003 as the lead single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004).
"Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album The College Dropout (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus Walks" was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its compelling sonic atmosphere and boldness in its open embrace of faith. It was met by widespread commercial success, peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming West's fourth consecutive top-twenty hit in the United States.
"All Falls Down" is a song by American hip hop artist Kanye West. It was released as the third single from his debut album, The College Dropout. The song was written and produced by West and features singer Syleena Johnson. The hip hop song contains an interpolation of "Mystery of Iniquity" by Lauryn Hill from her live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0; Hill is credited as a composer.
"Touch the Sky" is a song recorded by American hip hop artist Kanye West for his second studio album, Late Registration (2005). The song features Lupe Fiasco on his career debut. It was produced by Just Blaze, standing as the album's only track to not include production from West. The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital EP through Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam on January 1, 2006. On February 14, the aforementioned labels serviced the song to US mainstream radio stations as the album's fourth single. The next month, it was released in various countries for digital download by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam and as a CD single through Universal Music, respectively.
Late Orchestration is a live album by American rapper and producer Kanye West, released on April 24, 2006, on Mercury Records, released in Europe and Asia. The album features recordings of live renditions of songs derived from his first two studio albums, The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005). It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, England, before an audience of 300 invited guests in September 21, 2005. West was backed by a seventeen-piece all-female string orchestra and featured guest appearances by John Legend, Lupe Fiasco, GLC and Consequence. The CD release features the full performance along with an additional bonus track, "Gold Digger". The concert was also released on DVD as well as interviews and bonus music videos for the first four singles of Late Registration.
Finding Forever is the seventh studio album by Common, released on July 31, 2007, on GOOD Music and Geffen Records. Like Common's previous album, Be (2005), Finding Forever is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at the number one on the Billboard 200, selling 155,000 units in the first week, becoming Common's first chart-topper. Selling over 500,000 units in the US, it has been certified Gold. Finding Forever was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, losing to Kanye West's Graduation at the 50th Grammy Awards.
"Two Words" is a song by American hip-hop artist Kanye West, that features Mos Def, Freeway and The Boys Choir of Harlem, from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). A cinematic version of the song was released as part of The College Dropout Video Anthology. It has been performed by Freeway regularly at his live shows over the years. An orchestral sound is used in the song. The music video was released in March 2005.
"Slow Jamz" is a song by American rapper Twista featuring fellow American musicians Jamie Foxx and Kanye West. Produced by the latter, it was released in November 2003 through Atlantic and Roc-A-Fella Records, as the lead single from Twista's fourth studio album Kamikaze (2004), and the second single from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). The song was written by Twista and West, with additional writing credits going to Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the sampling of Luther Vandross' cover of Dionne Warwick's 1964 song "A House Is Not a Home". Containing genres of hip hop, pop rap, R&B, and soul, the song's lyrics reference slow jam artists and describes the role of lovermen.
Antony Von Williams, known professionally as the WRLDFMS Tony Williams, is an American singer and songwriter. Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Williams is perhaps best known for his vocals on his first-cousin, American musician Kanye West's debut album, The College Dropout (2004), as well as his subsequent albums. He is currently managed by David Bullock.
"Devil in a New Dress" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and rapper Kanye West from his fifth studio album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010). Originally released through West's GOOD Friday initiative, a weekly free music giveaway started by the rapper to promote My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, it later appeared on the album with an added guitar solo by producer Mike Dean and an additional guest verse featuring rapper Rick Ross. "Devil in a New Dress" was produced by Bink, and is the only song on the album not to be produced by West. The song samples Smokey Robinson's slow jam recording "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", and is themed lyrically to lust and heartache. Both the topics of love and religion serve as the main inspiration to the song.
"Fade" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album, The Life of Pablo (2016). The song features vocals from Post Malone and Ty Dolla Sign. It was first played at West's Yeezy Season 2 show in September 2015, before later being released for digital download and streaming as the third and final single from the album on September 9, 2016, through GOOD Music and Def Jam. 11 days later, the aforementioned labels serviced the song to radio stations across the United States. A hip house song with club elements, it samples Mr. Fingers's "Mystery of Love", Rare Earth's and The Undisputed Truth's respective cover versions of "(I Know) I'm Losing You", Hardrive's "Deep Inside", and Barbara Tucker's "I Get Lifted ". The lyrics of the song focus on trying to hold on to a fading love.
Jesus Is King is the ninth studio album by American rapper Kanye West, released on October 25, 2019, and distributed through GOOD Music. The album follows a Christian theme, different from his usual work. West described it as "an expression of the gospel". It features guest appearances from Clipse, Ty Dolla Sign, Kenny G, Fred Hammond, Ant Clemons, and the Sunday Service Choir. Production is included from West, Federico Vindver, Angel Lopez, BoogzDaBeast, and Timbaland, among others.
"Spaceship" is a song by American musician Kanye West, featuring fellow American rappers GLC and Consequence, taken from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). It was scheduled to be released as the album's sixth and final single, but this plan ended up being cancelled. The music video was released in June 2009. "Spaceship II" and "Spaceship III" were released by Alex Wiley in 2013 and Consequence in 2017.
"Never Let Me Down" is a song by American rapper and producer Kanye West, that features Jay-Z and J. Ivy, from West's debut studio album The College Dropout (2004). It was released as the album's eight track, produced solely by West and samples "Maybe It's the Power of Love" by Blackjack. West and Ivy each provide one verse–the latter's is a poem–while Jay-Z has two verses. Music critics mostly had praise for it, but tended to view Jay's appearance in a negative light. In 2011, Billboard listed the song as the second greatest collaboration between Kanye and Jay. Although an accompanying music video wasn't ever produced for "Never Let Me Down", the audio of it was used in one of West's videos for "Jesus Walks". The song has managed to develop a significant legacy over time, despite never being released as a single.
