KANYE WEST - THE COLLEGE DROPOUT (2004)

In the late 90s and early aughts, before the world ever really knew who he was, Kanye West was merely just a record producer.  He rapped too, and saw producing for other artists merely as his entry point into the music business. It was all just an elaborate ruse for him to do his own thing. Still, industry reaction to his rapping was tepid, and this was the height of the street rap era; nobody wanted to hear a middle class art school dropout rap about his feelings. "The College Dropout" landed in stores on February 10th, 2004. 

1. "INTRO"

There is no way to talk about "The College Dropout" without its skits, which tie the album together. It sets up the concept of the record, which is essentially Kanye speaking to the student body from the standpoint of a dropout who made good on his life sans college degree. 

2. "WE DON'T CARE"

The celebratory track finds Kanye, like a valedictorian, stating his position to the graduating class — they shouldn't care what anyone thinks of them. He spits over a steady drum pattern and chopped sample complemented by children singing.

3. "GRADUATION DAY (SKIT)"

The recurring character portraying a school teacher calls him the n-word, and tells Kanye he's not graduating, at which point the music takes a much darker tone — minor key strokes and a sweeping string arrangement — setting up the rest of the LP.

4. "ALL FALLS DOWN (FEAT. SYLEENA JOHNSON)"

Kanye at his confessional best, acknowledging that his addiction his not wealth; rather, it's consumerism. Over muted guitar licks, Syleena Johnson provides assistance.

5. "I'LL FLY AWAY"
A short rendition of Albert E. Brumley's classic gospel hymn, sung by a then-unknown John Legend. It's more of a skit than a song, but again, sets up the next track, which deals with the themes of escapism. 

6. "SPACESHIP (FEAT. GLC & CONSEQUENCE)
A sample of Marvin Gaye's "Distant Lover" provides the backdrop for Kanye and his comrades to detail needing day jobs to finance their rapping dreams. 

7. "JESUS WALKS"
Over a skittering drumline, West goes in on organized religion, acknowledging that he needs Jesus, but questioning how helpful he'll be. He speaks of the American Midwest — a region filled with its fair share of blight, back in 2004, the same as now — and says that it too, needs Jesus.

8. "NEVER LET ME DOWN (FEAT. JAY-Z & J. IVY)"
J. Ivy — a Chicago native who'd appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam — finds himself sandwiched between Kanye and Jay-Z, kicking the rare poem on a rap album. 

9. "GET 'EM HIGH (FEAT. COMMON & TALIB KWELI)"
Kanye recruited Talib Kweli and Chicago hero Common for "Get 'Em High," one of the album's more playful-sounding songs. A very honest and open portrayal of every twenty-something's real life. Kanye, again, showing that he wasn't caught up in the fantasy world of being a rapper.

10. "THE NEW WORKOUT PLAN"
This playful jam should be commended as much for its conceptual ingenuity as its arrangement; it effortlessly transitions from juke to four-on-the-floor Chicago house. 

11. "SLOW JAMZ (FEAT. TWISTA & JAMIE FOXX)"
Kanye's first number one record on the Hot 100, and ultimately the track that put The College Dropout over the top. Paired with Jamie Foxx's surprisingly nimble voice and Twista's rapid-fire flow, "Slow Jamz" became one of the biggest songs of 2004.

12. "BREATHE IN BREATHE OUT (FEAT. LUDCARIS)"
Kanye rhymes over bluesy trumpets with help from Southern rap veteran Ludacris to add a sense of street to the album's sound.

13. "SCHOOL SPIRIT"
A declarative boast about washing his hands of the school experience, surrounded by a  hilarious skit which pokes fun at the post-college experience: the graduate who has to work a menial job even though he/she has a degree. 

14. "TWO WORDS (FEAT. MOS DEF & FREEWAY)"
This Mandrill-sampled cut sees Kanye adding live guitars, piano, a string arrangement and the Harlem Boys Choir, making it perhaps the symphonic high point of the record. What's more, conscious hip-hop and street rap meet on the same track, with Mos Def and Freeway featured. 

15. "THROUGH THE WIRE"
This is the song that started it all. Kanye, post-car accident, rapping with his jaw wired. It's an endearing cut that displays his passion for the craft. His passion for life, too. 

16. "FAMILY BUSINESS"
One of the most soulful cuts on the record, "Family Business" finds Kanye waxing poetic about the loving relationships he shares with his family members. 

17. "LAST CALL"
Kanye's 15-minute rags-to-riches tale about getting signed to Roc-A-Fella. It's really on this last cut, just hearing Kanye talk over the jazzy instrumental, where the brilliance of "The College Dropout" — and the brilliance of Kanye West, the artist — is fully realized. It never gets boring or dull. The music is dynamic, the story is engaging, and Kanye sounds excited just to be living his dream. We were excited just to be living it along with him, on record.

KENDRICK LAMAR - DAMN (2017)

Kendrick Lamar is as close as you can get to being the unofficial Malcolm X of hip-hop music.  His first project release under Top Dawg Entertainment, an imprint under Dr. Dre's infamous Aftermath label (a subsidiary of Interscope), immediately launched Lamar onto the incredibly short list of leaders in rap music.  Following the 2015 release of To Pimp A Butterfly, the entire entertainment industry was waiting on a habitually quiet rapper to speak up on a America that had seen a dramatic increate in racial tension and political division.

1. "BLOOD."
The album opens with a very Kendrick parable set to film soundtrack strings, as he tells the story of helping an old blind woman only to be shot in return. He labels it the struggle between wickedness and weakness, essentially the age-old battle between good and evil. 

2. "DNA."
In ‘DNA.’, Lamar champions black heritage and the culture that’s made him who he is while sardonically dispelling rap stereotypes. He takes another shot at Fox News, airing a soundbite spouting that “hip hop has done more damage to young African Americans than racism in recent years”.

3. "YAH."
A more languid and laid-back, breezy number ‘YAH.’ sees Kendrick pondering race, religion and family as his thoughts meander and overlap. 

4. "ELEMENT."
‘ELEMENT.’ is Kendrick’s latest call-to-arms to his rap rivals. Here, Lamar complains of his lack of competition and aims for a reaction.  

5. "FEEL."
‘FEEL.’ sees Kendrick gazing into the void and isolation caused by his fame and success, describing his detachment from family and friends and disillusionment with “industry promises” and “false prophets schemin'”.  Production-wise, it sounds like Lamar’s ponderings are being haunted by a distant, distorted echo of his own voice.

6. "LOYALTY. (FEAT. RIHANNA)"
The most interesting sounding song to date as Kendrick takes a Bruno Mars sample, speeds it up, chops it, reverses it and somehow makes it sound like ‘California Love’.  It sees Lamar and Rihanna team up for the first time, delivering the first track of bonafide radio single material as the pair bounce back and forth on the importance of trust and, as the title suggests, loyalty.

7. "PRIDE."
Strong P-funk vibes with a hazy overlay, ‘PRIDE.’ pairs Lamar with Steve Lacy (of The Internet fame) and sees him deliver his best Andre 3000 impression at places. A pleasant but pretty forgettable interlude.

8. "HUMBLE."
It’s the perfect attention-grabbing first single and Kendrick need not be humble about that fact.

9. "LOVE."
There’s longing for love, the trappings of money, Lamar even makes reference to his romantic interest not calling him anymore—but, surprisingly, it works.  Guest vocalist Zacari complements Kendrick perfectly. 

10. "XXX (FEAT. U2)."
‘XXX.’ does the pretty much unimaginable in producing an incredible Kendrick/U2 collaboration.  The song descends into smooth lounge-jazz ruminating about the loss of the American dream.

11. "FEAR."
There are many interesting aspects to ‘FEAR.’: the gospel opening, Kendrick speaking in reverse, Lamar raising his most direct religious questions of anywhere on the record.  Yet, somehow, the track hops and skips, switches and changes, but never really settles.

12. "GOD."
‘GOD.’ literally sounds like a victory lap from Kendrick – and it doesn’t sound very Kendrick at all. There’s autotune, crooning and a trap beat. It’s a direct message to any one who thought they could put Lamar in a box as he beats Soundcloud rappers at their own game.

13. "DUCKWORTH" 
One for the hip-hop purists and Kendrick-heads, it provides a back-story for the rapper’s early career and how his label boss nearly killed his dad when they were younger. Kendrick raps before returning to the parable from album opener ‘BLOOD.’, neatly bringing things full-circle.

50 CENT - GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' (2003)

50 Cent, a young upstart from Queens, New York, put the rap game in a chokehold with the release of his 2003 debut studio album Get Rich or Die Tryin'.  The album was an audio snapshot of a hustler balancing machismo with romance and vengeance with ego. 50 pocked gritty street tales with stitched hooks, mainstreaming a style popularized by his foe Ja Rule and appropriated to boost his own ascent.  Upon release, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" laid a new blueprint for hip-hop releases. Whereas few artists ventured outside of the major label system to build buzz, the rapper overcame getting dropped by Columbia Records and recovering from nine gunshot wounds to architect a career in the streets. 

1. "INTRO"

With the clang of two quarters and the sound of a gun being loaded, 50 Cent quickly sets the tone of Get Rich or Die Tryin'.  The tone feeds into the money-on-my-mind approach set in stone by the Jiggy era, while gesturing to the aggressive establishment of street credibility that pervades the album.

  

2. "WHAT UP GANGSTA"

A casual flow offsets the devilish rhymes on the album's first proper song "What Up Gangsta," touting a Reef-produced instrumental clipped with thick rimshots and a sliding string sample. 

3. "PATIENTLY WAITING (FEAT. EMINEM)

Where 50 used "What Up Gangsta" to cement his fearlessness, he gets slightly personal on the album's first collaboration, a lyrical onslaught delivered with ease.  A singsong chorus from the Shady Records honcho, who also produced the track, seals the deal, while one-off couplets prove 50's knack for quote-worthy rhymes. 

4. "MANY MEN (WISH DEATH)"

Reenacting his brush with death, 50 sets off album standout "Many Men (Wish Death)" with a brief skit where he's assaulted with gunfire. Soon, the twinkly, brooding instrumental kicks in and the rapper's sung chorus brings the track to life. Hosting one of the catchiest hooks on Get Rich Or Die Tryin'.

5. "IN DA CLUB"

As 50's biggest hit, "In Da Club" married his propensity for unshakeable hooks with strong wordplay. It's wrapped in one of Dr. Dre's pinnacle beats. The track appealed to the hardest thugs while bringing Top 40 to its knees, spanning demographics to dominate the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts for nine weeks. 

6. "HIGH ALL THE TIME"

The rapper has gone on record several times to declare he doesn't mess with drugs or alcohol and lives a straight-edged life. Boasting rhymes about smoking the best marijuana, 50 used the drug to show that even if he doesn't like to fly high, he's still plugged into street culture -- the foundation of the album.

7. "HEAT"

Possibly the greasiest gem on the project, "Heat" is certainly more about the beat than the lyrics. Gunshots carry the rhythm on the organ-festooned anthem accented by deeply troubling threats -- an accouterment to the music at hand. It's one of the catchiest displays of braggadocio, as well a triumphant feat of terror softened only by melody.

8. "IF I CAN'T"

"If I Can't" was 50 at his melodious best, invoking the party hardy reliance of "In Da Club" and applying it to what became the piano-laden fourth single from the album. With Dr. Dre on the boards, 50 indulges in the comfort of luxury on the chorus, capping two-liners with memorable jolts of rhyme.

9. "BLOOD HOUND"

50 may have mastered the hip-hop game at the start of his career, but even he couldn't predict the future even if he declared himself that with his breakout mixtape. With one of the icier instrumentals on the album, "Blood Hound" continues in a hustler's vein that goes at alleged enemies. 

10.  "BACK DOWN"

"Back Down" conveyed how not all hooks were slung alike. As the first song on the album that clearly addresses his beef with Ja Rule, "Back Down" channeled the playful honesty of his underground hit "How to Rob" without the jocularity.

11. "P.I.M.P."

the steel drum-driven song was a solo attempt on the album, preserving the flavor of the remix without losing the focus. The song served as the second-bestselling single from the release. 

12. "LIKE MY STYLE (FEAT. TONY YAYO)"

50 showed his versatility with "Like My Style" featuring G-Unit compatriot Tony Yayo. The Rockwilder-produced zinger is stilted with an offbeat instrumental. It's one of the most challenging cuts on the LP. Fif attacks it with ease, proving that his flow could thrive in any musical environment. 

13. "POOR LIL RICH"

Alliteration rules "Poor Lil Rich," an exercise in grammar that keeps the album alive during its weaker moments. 50 isn't as intent on lacing tracks with skin-burrowing choruses, instead packing the latter half with street paeans. 

14. "21 QUIESTIONS (FEAT. NATE DOGG)"

Fif shows his softer side, posting answerless hypotheticals to his girl about how she would handle his shortcomings. For a man whose foundation is based on using self-actuated aggro taunts, "21 Questions" is a refresher, reminding listeners that there's more than meets the facade. 

15. "DON'T PUSH ME (FEAT. LLOYD BANKS & EMINEM)"

There's a vulnerability to "Don't Push Me" that's undermined by the Eminem-produced aggressor. It's a nod to his past with an unsure look at what lays ahead, a proclivity for second-guessing that pushes the track beyond basic boasting. 

16. "GOTTA MAKE IT TO HEAVEN"

Another hood anthem, "Gotta Make It To Heaven" closes out the tracklist for the standard version of "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." It's not the strongest finale to an album that's dotted with songs that pair surefire hooks with street stories, but serves a purpose, veering into storytelling territory that refocuses on non-50 characters.