kanye west / albums

39,368,730 plays
31,147 SHARES
85,457 FAVS
5,049 fans

Late Registration (Parental Advisory),Kanye West

- Late Registration (Parental Advisory)
- - 5,958,884 plays
  - 17,300 favs
  - 1,340 shares
Kanye West
Released 2005

Skit No.2
00:31
92,936 plays

Skit No.3
00:24
85,316 plays

Touch The Sky
03:56
620,129 plays

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songs

- 1
- Wake Up Mr. West
- 00:41
- 160,932 plays

- 2
- Heard 'Em Say
- 03:24
- 553,125 plays

- 3
- Touch The Sky
- 03:56
- 620,129 plays

- 4
- Gold Digger
- 03:27
- 1,236,187 plays

- 5
- Skit No.1
- 00:33
- 101,262 plays

- 6
- Drive Slow
- 04:32
- 285,652 plays

- 7
- My Way Home
- 01:43
- 153,245 plays

- 8
- Crack Music
- 04:31
- 215,586 plays

- 9
- Roses
- 04:06
- 209,132 plays

- 10
- Bring Me Down
- 03:19
- 212,857 plays

- 11
- Addiction
- 04:27
- 258,935 plays

- 12
- Skit No.2
- 00:31
- 92,936 plays

- 13
- Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)
- 03:53
- 289,656 plays

- 14
- We Major
- 07:28
- 210,277 plays

- 15
- Skit No.3
- 00:24
- 85,316 plays

- 16
- Hey Mama
- 05:05
- 249,828 plays

- 17
- Celebration
- 03:18
- 157,492 plays

- 18
- Skit No.4
- 01:19
- 101,094 plays

- 19
- Gone
- 05:33
- 265,960 plays

- 20
- Diamonds From Sierra Leone
- 03:58
- 349,033 plays

- 21
- Late
- 03:50
- 150,274 plays

album review

And then, in a flash, Kanye was everywhere, transformed from respected producer to big-name producer/MC, throwing a fit at the American Music Awards, performing "Jesus Walks" at the Grammys, wearing his diamond-studded Jesus piece, appearing on the cover of Time, running his mouth 24/7. One thing that remains unchanged is Kanye's hunger, even though his head has swollen to the point where it could be separated from his body, shot into space, and considered a planet. Raised middle class, Kanye didn't have to hustle his way out of poverty, the number one key to credibility for many hip-hop fans, whether it comes to rapper turned rapping label presidents or suburban teens. And now that he has proved himself in another way, through his stratospheric success -- which also won him a gaggle of haters as passionate as his followers -- he doesn't want to be seen as a novelty whose ambitions have been fulfilled. On Late Registration, he finds himself backed into a corner, albeit as king of the mountain. It's a paradox, which is exactly what he thrives on. His follow-up to The College Dropout isn't likely to change the minds of the resistant. As an MC, Kanye remains limited, with all-too-familiar flows that weren't exceptional to begin with (you could place a number of these rhymes over College Dropout beats). He uses the same lyrical strategies as well. Take lead single "Diamonds from Sierra Leone," in which he switches from boastful to rueful; more importantly, the conflict felt in owning blood diamonds will be lost on those who couldn't afford one with years of combined income. Even so, he can be tremendous as a pure writer, whether digging up uncovered topics (as on "Diamonds") or spinning a clever line ("Before anybody wanted K. West's beats, me and my girl split the buffet at KFC"). The production approach, however, is rather different from the debut. Crude beats and drastically tempo-shifted samples are replaced with a more traditionally musical touch from Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann), who co-produces with West on most of the tracks. (Ironically, the Just Blaze-helmed "Touch the Sky" tops everything laid down by the pair, despite its heavy reliance on Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up.") West and Brion are a good, if unlikely, match. Brion's string arrangements and brass flecks add a new dimension to West's beats without overshadowing them, and the results are neither too adventurous nor too conservative. While KRS-One was the first to proclaim, "I am hip-hop," Kanye West might as well be the first MC to boldly state, "I am pop." ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

more albums by this artist

See all

- - Graduation (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2007

- - 808s & Heartbreak
  - Released 2008

- - The College Dropout (Parental Advisory)
  - Released 2004

- - Graduation (Edited Version)
  - Released 2007

listener reviews

- - Me
  - - By Scizzle333
    - 3/31/2009 01:16:07
  - I don't think this one is as good as the original, but it's still pretty good. He seemed to grow, as an artist should, but he seemed to sacrifice some of his creativity to attain relevance and be taken serious by those outside the realm of hip-hop.
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- - Kanye is a Beast
  - - By DEREKJ10
    - 2/19/2009 23:20:48
  - Kanye didn't suffer a sophmore slump with Late Registration, instead he created another masterpiece. With songs such as Gold Digger, We Major, Diamonds Remix, and Touch the Sky, Kanye is showing that he has the makings to be a hip-hop legend, greater than even his mentor, Mr. Carter
  - 1 out of 1 people
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- - Fact
  - - By KiD HiCkS
    - 11/27/2008 03:15:44
  - This album was off the chain i like it but either way it go its made by Kanye.
  - 0 out of 1 people
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- - Opinion
  - - By Darkstalker11
    - 8/22/2008 22:53:32
  - I think Late Registration is kanye's best album. When i listen to it i'm able to listen to the whole album without hitting the skip button. Don't get me wrong College Dropout and Graduation were both great albums but i dont think they're as good as late registration.
  - 1 out of 2 people
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