In 2005, Kanye gave us two great gifts; Late Registration, and this clip of him saying George Bush doesn’t care about black people.
Fantastic.
Late Registration was a great follow up to The College Dropout. No sophomore slump from Ye. CD still hella long though. HELLA. And looking up the credits, there are actually two bonus tracks in the UK version that I never heard. So “Back to Basics” and “We Can Make It Better” get bumped to the b-sides. Because when you do the track and the rap (triple double, no assist) you have tons and tons of b-sides. We’ll get there. Maybe.
- Wake Up Mr. West
DeRay Davis is back doing his Bernie Mac. Kanye is a student in his class. - Heard em Say – featuring Adam Levine (of Maroon 5)
The Jist: Nothing’s ever promised tomorrow, today. Hurts but it may be the only way.
Best lyrics – Before you ask me to go get a job today/Can I at least get a raise of the minimum wage?/And I know that the government administer AIDS
Fun fact: Maroon 5 beat Kanye West for Best New Artist at the Grammys in 2005. Adam also sings this hook on the Maroon 5 song “Nothing Lasts Forever” - Touch the Sky – featuring Lupe Fiasco
MO CHI TOWN
The Jist: When you make some money and buy fancy stuff, you feel pretty good
This song got a lot of radio play but it didn’t really do it for me. The best part is that it samples Curtis Mayfield’s “Move on Up” so it’s a jamma.
Fun Fact: The video for this song is Kanye acting like a 70s stuntman Evil Kanyevel and then Evil Knievel sued him. Oh Ye. Tracee Ellis Ross is in this video too AND so is the band from Houston’s Booker T. Washington high school. - Gold Digger – featuring Jamie Foxx
The Jist: I’m not saying she a gold digger but…
Best Lyrics – I know there’s dudes ballin’, and yeah, that’s nice/And they gonna keep calling and trying, but you stay right, girlAnd when you get on, he’ll leave your ass for a white girl
It’s good to sing and filled with irony seeing as Kanye married an (identifies as) white woman but that’s later.
Fun Fact: Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for Ray and kept it going in this video doing his Ray Charles impersonations. Also note, Jamie Foxx was in classic films such as Booty Call and Players Club.
- Skit #1
Pledging in the Broke Phi Broke fraternity. We ain’t got it! - Drive Slow – featuring GLC and Paul Wall
The Jist: Swang in the Lac as you stroll through the hood.
Best Lyrics –I’m leaning on the switch, sitting crooked in my slab/But I could still catch boppers if I drove a cab/A young Houston hardhitter all about the scrilla/Ridin’ something candy coated, crawling like a caterpillar/I’m tipping on them fours, I’m jamming on that Screw/I’m looking for them hoes, baby, what it do? Drive slow, homie
I am biased because I’m so HTINE HOLD IT DINE and this just meant so much to me.
Fun Fact – Kanye screws the song at the end because I mean, obviously. - My Way Home – featuring (starring??) Common
Kanye’s not even on this track. He just must have liked the song and wanted to sample Gil Scot Heron. Ok fine. - Crack Music – featuring The Game
The Jist: The government screws over black people.
Best Lyrics: Who gave Saddam anthrax?/George Bush got the answers
Not so much for singing but I mean, you saw the video at the top of this post.
This song also features a spoken word piece by Malik Yusef. And now I kinda want to listen to Carl Thomas. - Roses
The Jist: Kanye’s grandmother was really really sick and he learned you need to give people flowers when they can still smell em
Best Lyrics – You know the best medicine go to people that’s paid/If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS/And all the broke motherfuckers passed away/You telling me if my grandma’s in the NBA/Right now she’d be okay? - Bring Me Down – featuring Brandy
The Jist: They always trying to bring you down. Haters, that is.
Best Lyrics: There’ll always be haters, that’s the way it is/Hater niggas marry hater bitches and have hater kids - Addiction
The Jist: Everyone is addicted to something
Best Lyrics : What’s your addiction? /Is it money? /Is it girls? /Is it weed?/I’ve been afflicted by not one, not two, but all three - Skit #2
- Diamonds From Sierra Lionne (Remix) – featuring Jay-Z
The Jist : Kanye knows his diamonds come from Sierra Lionne and it’s a terrible environment but I mean, you kinda still want diamonds though.
Best Lyrics: It’s in a black person soul to rock that gold/Spend your whole life trying to get that ice/Bought a Polo rugby, it looks so nice/How can somethin’ so wrong make me feel so right?
Fun Fact: The original veriion of this song is Track 20. I don’t know why it’s presented this way, but there is much about Kanye we’ll never know. (Unless you do know, in that case, tell me). - We Major – featuring Nas and Really Doe and Tony Williams on the vocals.
This is my favorite song on this CD. It a solid 7:28 run time and I do not care. Sometimes I run it back.
Best Lyrics: The whole hook.
Kanye: That’s all I want, like winos want they good whiskey/I ain’t in the Klan but I brought my hood with me
Nas: The whole verse.
And then the song dies down and the music fades out and Kanye comes back like “Can I Talk My Shit Again?!” and I throw my hands up and keep singing. Ba da ba baaaaaaaa.
AND THEN he goes “Why you call it Late Registration Ye? Cause we taking these muh’fuckas back to school.”
And it’s like when you see the title of the book in the book.
Andplusalso this was back in the day when rappers had beef and Jay and Nas didn’t speak still but Nas and Jay-Z appeared on Late Registration. Good job Ye. - Skit #3
- Hey Mama
The Jist: Kanye loves his mama and he’s proud of her.
Honestly, now, I skip this song because while the lyrics are nice I just get sad for Kanye. - Celebration
The Jist: this is just a happy song
Best Lyrics: Yep, we was praticing/Til one day your ass bust through the packaging/
You know what though? You my favorite accident
Fun Fact – This is going to make you want to watch Chappelle’s Show 150% more than you did before listening to this song.
- Skit #4
- Gone – featuring Cam’Ron & Consequence
The Jist: This is just a rapping song about rapper things and telling stories about your friends and rappity rap things and chunking the deuce when you’re done. It’s probably my second favorite song on this CD. Depending on mood.
Best Lyrics: But if they ever flip sides like Anakin/You’ll sell everything includin the mannequin/They got a new bitch now you Jennifer Aniston - Diamonds from Sierra Lionne
This one is totally different from the Remix but I mean I already heard it so by this point in the CD I skip it because I like the next song better. - Late
Yay for bonus tracks.
The Jist: Kanye be late.
Best Lyrics: Like old folks pissin,/I guess it all depends
and also: Just throw this at the end if I’m too late for the intro
Cause it’s clever.
All in all Late Registration was a great follow up album and this was a great time for Ye. He started GOOD Music and John Legend released a solo album with trash ass lyrics and a phenomenal voice. I also found this fantastic article from 2015 showing 24 Things that 2005 Kanye would never do now. Enjoy.
I miss Ye's smile.
I really truly most days think Gone is my favorite track in his whole discography. I can't immediately think of a follow-up, so I'm going with it. Second on here is Addiction.