FriYe – Graduation

The year was 2007.  The beef was astronomical.  The heat was on.  The heat was oh-hon. Kanye West and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson were both set to release their third LP on the same day.  And we were victims of the greatest lie of the 21st century. 50 Cent swore up and down that if Ye sold more units, he would retire from the rap game.

I’m still mad.

Not so much that I hated 50 Cent because truth be told, In Da Club is still a jamma, but it’s like what else was there to do in 2007 besides buy into the MTV lies.  I remember going to Best Buy to get the CD (I said it was 2007) and the kid at the cash register was making tally marks (on actual paper with an actual pen, because 2007) on who was selling the most records.

Ye sold 970,000 CDs the first week. 50 sold 690,000.   The backpack rapper with jaw reconstruction beat the certified gangsta with jaw reconstruction. And then they hugged it out all the way to the bank.

Without getting too deep into my half cooked schemes of body snatchers or clones, Graduation was the precurser for the “Kanye” we have today. The big(ger) ego, the need for praise, Kanye. Or at least unleashed this Kanye that was buried right exactly underneath the surface.   It was still the last of the school based trilogy and definitely the weaker of the bunch.  There aren’t any skits and sometimes I love that and sometimes I miss them.  Not as many tracks.  Not as many guests.  It’s less throwback soul samples and more throwback rock samples.  It’s not bad.  It wasn’t that different.  But the transition is incredibly apparent in hindsight.

1. Good Morning
   The Jist : Get out there and do your thang
   Best Lyrics : I’m like the fly Malcolm X, buy any jeans necessary
   Samples : Elton John
2. Champion
   The Jist : Did you realize that you were a champion in their eyes?
   Best Lyrics : And I ain’t sayin’ we was from the projects/But every time I wanted layaway or a deposit/My dad’d say “when you see clothes, close your eyelids”
   Cause I mean who couldn’t relate to that?! Also, I think this is the first song where Kanye mentions his dad. And that always sticks out to me more than anything else about the song.
   Samples :  Steely Dan
   Fun Bre Fact : I LOVE STEELY DAN
3. Stronger
   The Jist : Take the hate from the haters and let it make you stronger.  Or whatever
   Best Lyrics : You should be honored by my lateness/That I would even show up to this fake shit
   If you haven’t said that while you were on your way to something that you were already late to, then you really need to reevaluate your life choices.  It’s probably the best lyrics Kanye has ever given us.
   Samples : Daft Punk
   This song was incredibly popular because it’s Daft Punk so you have to dance. If you’re in the car you get a full breakdown to perfect your pop locking.  Don’t act like it’s just me.
   He also says “I’d do anything for a blonde d*ke” and in 2008, he dated one Amber Rose, a popular blonde model with open sexuality.
   
4. I Wonder
   The Jist : Do you know what happens when you find your dreams?
   Do not like.  It’s the delivery.  It’s the placement on the album.  It’s the delivery.  It’s emo.  It’s not good.
   Samples : Labi Siffre
5. Good Life – featuring T-Pain (cause it was 2007)
   The Jist : I have a lot of money now, just like I always wanted
   Best Lyrics : Yo, it’s got to be cause I’m seasoned/Haters give me them salty looks, Lawry’sHe also says that 50 told him switch the style up and if they hate them let em hate and watch the money pile up.  But Lloyd Banks told 50 Cent that so what is the truth.
6. Can’t Tell Me Nothing – featuring Jeezy
   The Jist : I have a lot of money now, just like I always wanted
   Best Lyrics : So if the devil wear Prada/Adam Eve wear nada/I’m in between but way more fresher
   But then he goes on to say: With way less effort, cause when you try hard That’s when you die hard and that is what the writers call foreshadowing. See also: All Kanye’s Zombie Apocolypse Chic wear fashion week fails
   Samples : Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
7. Barry Bonds – featuring Lil’ Wayne
   The Jist : a rappity rap song about how I have a lot of money now, just like I always wanted
   Lyrics : I don’t need writers, I might bounce ideas/But only I could come up with some shit like this/I done played the underdog my whole career/ I’ve been a very good sport, haven’t I, this year/They say “he going crazy and we seen this before”/But I’m doing pretty good as far as geniuses go
   I *want* to say this is the first instance of Kanye referring to himself as a genius.  I do not dispute this fact, but it’s worth a mention.
   Fun Fact : Lil Wayne is the only guest on this album with a verse. Everyone else sings the hooks/chorus
   Samples : Mountain
8. Drunk and Hot Girls – featuring Mos Def
   The Jist :  guys go through a lot of trouble to get a tipsy girl home from the party
   Best Lyrics : Don’t tell me, you sing, you about to get a deal/You drunk and hot girl/
   “Ah da da da da.” That’s how the fuck you sound
   It’s fun and relatable because who hasn’t tried to take a drunk girl home. It’s difficult. And at the end of the night you just don’t want to have to clean up throw up
   Samples : Can
9. Flashing Lights – featuring Dwele
   The Jist : lamenting an ex
   Best Lyrics : Come home, you know you can’t roam without Caesar
   The song is a jamma.  It’s just a great beat and you get to sing it but it’s also like the 4th song in a row that Kanye mentions a first-class flight.
10. Everything I’m Not 
    The Jist : I’m here today because I’m Me
    Best Lyrics : People talking shit, but when the shit hit the fan/Everything I’m not made me everything I am
    Kanye also admits that he will spaz out at his shows and “my 15 seconds up but I got more to say” and we know how it goes when you let Kanye on stage for anything.
    
11. The Glory
    The Jist : I have a lot of money, let me name drop for you
    When you first see the name of the track you think it might be a little religious Kanye, but it is not.  There are no best lyrics.
    Samples : Laura Nyro, and Mountain
12. Homecoming – featuring Chris Martin (of Coldplay)
    There’s an old old mix tape of Ye’s (before College Dropout) that has Home featuring John Legend.  And it is amazing and I was personally offended that he redid the song and put Chris Martin on it.  I love pre-2011 Coldplay.  But why was this allowed?
    Listen:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc1_sOD4d_M
13. Big Brother
    The Jist : I love Jay-Z
    Samples : Prince

Did you give in to the Kanye “vs.” 50 Cent “beef” of “2007” lol?  Do you still listen to Graduation?  Did you sense any foreshadowing to the post-Graduation Kanye? What CD will I wrap up FriYe with???