My Top 3 Songs from each Kanye West Album
For not particular reason at all, I just want to remind everyone Kanye West has got hits! Yeah he had a weird year last year. Yes! He had a crazy roll out of his album. Yes! He talked about wanting to vote for Trump. Yes! He even met with Trump for seemingly just a picture.
But let's just deal with the music he's put out and not dig too deep into his personal life. I'm not here to deal with which order you should rank the albums, even though that's obvious! Let's get even more granular and talk about which songs are the best on each album! Per Pauline's request, and against my original plan, I'm including Watch the Throne (which doesn't appear on Spotify so I can't link to the songs) and Cruel Summer!
Album:
The College Dropout (2004)/AKA the 2nd Best Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Spaceship" (ft. GLC & Consequence)
2) "Jesus Walks"
3) "Get'em High" (ft. Talib Kweli & Common)
"Spaceship" is first for it's soul music appeal. I instantly loved this song when it came on. It's the style of Kanye I loved before he started putting out albums and I was happy to see it represented. "Jesus Walks" is Kanye West doing exactly what he wants on a track. Getting mad about not being able to be himself even though people should be encouraging what it is he wants to be doing. Plus there's something about the beat and first verse that makes me want to get up every time! "Get 'Em High" made me really like Common. I know people find his verse weird, but when he explained why he stops and starts the way he does I couldn't not dig the song.
Album:
Late Registration (2005)/AKA the 4th Best Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)" (ft. Jay Z)
2) "Gone" (Cam'Ron & Consequence)
3) "Touch the Sky" (ft. Lupe Fiasco)
Diamonds has some of the most quotable lines from Jay Z and has the great pass off from Kanye to Jay Z setting up Watch The Throne! But what's most important about this song is the drums and the urgency they create! "Gone" is just dope! The sample and the way Kanye and Cam, in particular, flow over it makes it instantly great. "Touch the Sky" is finally Kanye rapping over a Just Blaze beat and was my introduction to Lupe Fiasco... another rapper whose personal life and rants I need to avoid so I can just enjoy the music.
Album:
Graduation (2007)/AKA the 5th Best Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Everything I Am"
2) "Barry Bonds" (ft. Lil Wayne)
3) "Homecoming" (ft. Chris Martin)
"Everything I Am" has another soulful groove to it so you know it's at the top of my list on this album Plus there are sneak appearances of John Legend and Mos Def all over the chorus and DJ Premier scratching on the record. "Barry Bonds" just goes hard on an album that was threatening the takeover of auto-tune Kanye. So you'll have to excuse my enthusiasm for a song on this album that feels like straight up rap. "Homecoming" is a remake of a song I already loved plus it features the dulcet tones of Chris Martin from Coldplay and that ain't not bad! If you're looking for some behind the scenes Sick,Wicked&Nasty talk you should know when we've got downtime during rehearsals this song gets played on the keyboard and we all do the Chris Martin "Loweeoweeooo" part.
Album:
808s & Heartbreak (2008)/AKA the 7th Best Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Street Lights"
2) "Welcome to Heartbreak" (ft. KiD CuDi)
3) "Amazing" (ft. Jeezy)
Just because this album is my least favourite strictly Kanye album doesn't mean it's not important. We probably don't get Drake and CuDi without this album changing Hip Hop fans' pallets. So I do respect this album. "Street Lights" being number one should show you how I fully embraced this new sound. It is bleak and so far from soulful sample loops but here I am singing every word almost 10 years later! "Welcome to Heartbreak" is perfect CuDi hook singing and I will never not like it! "Amazing" has a similar drive with dope drums and Jeezy actually getting a full verse instead of a tease like on Graduation.
Album:
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)/AKA THE BEST ALBUM
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Gorgeous" (ft. KiD CuDi & Raekwon)
2) "Monster" (ft. Rick Ross/Jay Z/Nicki Minaj/Charlie Wilson/Bon Iver)
3) "All of the Lights" (ft. everybody... CLICK HERE to see them all)
"Gorgeous" has soul and a CuDi hook? Knowing what you know about me, could there be any other choice for the #1 song on the #1 album? "Monster" has great verses by Kanye, Jay, and Nicki... yes Nicki has the best verse but I still quote Jay and Kanye and even Rozay. "All of the Lights" is more of a feeling than a song. There is a rush of excitment that fills me when I hear those horns and Rihanna leading the choir of everyone and then some people you wouldn't even think of.
Album:
Watch the Throne (2011)/Technically a Jay Z & Kanye West Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "No Church in the Wild" (ft. Frank Ocean)
2) "Niggas In Paris"
3) "The Joy" (ft. Curtis Mayfield)
Talk about a way to start an album and introduce me to Frank Ocean! "No Church in the Wild" is undeniably a dope song word to that bass line! "You want to get me amped and to keep going during my workout at the gym? Play the 2nd best song on Watch the Throne with the 1st most unfortunate name for a song that isn't even tied to the hook or a line in the song. "The Joy" is back to soulful Kanye with a Jay assist and Pete Rock on the beat! it just beat out "Primetime."
Album:
Cruel Summer (2012)/Technically a GOOD Music Compilation Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "New God Flow" (ft. Pusha T & Ghostface)
2) "Clique" (ft. Big Sean & Jay Z)
3) "Don't Like (Remix)" (ft. Pusha T/Chief Keef/Big Sean/Jadakiss)
"New God Flow" simply blows me away. I don't even know what it is but Pusha's verses definitely helps. the beat and overall feeling on this track just work for me. "Clique" took time to grow on me, but now I find it the most hummable song on the album. Plus I really like the Big Sean verse. I never thought I'd like a Chief Keef song then Kanye went ahead threw Push and Big Sean on the track. Plus Jadakiss playing clean up at the end? DAWG! This song is exactly what I DO LIKE!
Album:
Yeezus (2013)/AKA the 6th Best Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Black Skinhead"
2) "I Am A God" (ft. Bon Iver)
3) "Hold My Liquor" (ft. Chief Keef & Bon Iver)
I didn't like "Black Skinhead" until it appeared in the first trailer for Wolf of Wallstreet. Then I realized, this is one of Kanye's best tracks. Plus the black man with a white woman/King Kong metaphor is one of his realest lines. "I am a God" is another primal feeling that resonates with me. "Hold My Liquor" is the same idea. I really like "Blood on the Leaves" but "Hold My Liquor" just hits me in a bigger way. Because, these songs aren't particularly memorable to me other than when I hear them, the album as a whole feels less than. But not in the same way as 808s!
Album:
The Life of Pablo (2016)/AKA the 3rd Best Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) "Famous" (ft. Rihanna & Swizz Beatz)
2) "Real Friends" (ft. Ty Dolla $ign)
3) "Ultralight Beam" (ft. Chance the Rapper/Kelly Price/The-Dream/Kirk Franklin)
"Famous" became... well... famous for the Taylor Swift stuff which I won't even link to since everyone is tired of giving that weird relationship attention. But it is one of the hardest beats on the album. Go ahead try not to nod your head to it! Plus Kanye is closest to just rapping. No discernible auto-tune, very few melodies during the verses. I can't help but get on board! "Real Friends" is like a mix between Kanye's first 3 albums and I dig it. There's the singing, auto-tune and drum patterns but there is a hint of soulful Kanye still there and I love it. "Ultralight Beam" is the Chance the Rapper show. If you want to lie and say you're not just waiting for him to show up on the song then that's fine but Chance killed this song and as such it deserves to hit the number 3 spot.
-YG