TITLE: The College Dropout (Remastered)
LABEL: Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam
GENRE: Hip-Hop
GRABBER: EAC (Secure Mode)
ENCODER: Lame 3.97 / -V2 --vbr-new
QUALITY: 170 Kbps Avg / 44.1 KHz / Joint Stereo
PLAYTIME: 1h 16min 13sec total
SIZE: 93.05MB
RELEASE DATE: 03-04-2005
RIP DATE: 05-12-2007
Track List
----------
01. Intro 0:19
02. We Don't Care 3:59
03. Graduation Day 1:21
04. All Falls Down (Feat. Syleena Johnson) 3:43
05. I'll Fly Away 1:09
06. Spaceship (Feat. GLC & Consequence) 5:24
07. Jesus Walks 3:13
08. Never Let Me Down (Feat. Jay-Z & J. 5:24
Ivy)
09. Get 'Em High (Feat. Talib Kweli & 4:49
Common)
10. Workout Plan 0:46
11. The New Workout Plan 5:22
12. Slow Jamz (Feat. Twista & Jamie Foxx) 5:16
13. Breathe In, Breathe Out (Feat. 4:06
Ludacris)
14. School Spirit (Skit 1) 1:18
15. School Spirit 3:02
16. School Spirit (Skit 2) 0:43
17. Lil' Jimmy (Skit) 0:53
18. Two Words (Feat. Mos Def, Freeway & 4:26
The Harlem Boys Choir)
19. Through The Wire 3:41
20. Family Business 4:38
21. Last Call 12:41
Release Notes:
Producer Kanye West's highlight reels were stacking up exponentially when his
solo debut for Roc-a-Fella was released, after numerous delays and a handful of
suspense-building underground mixes. The week The College Dropout came out,
three singles featuring his handiwork were in the Top 20, including his own
"Through the Wire." A daring way to introduce himself to the masses as an MC,
the enterprising West recorded the song during his recovery from a car wreck
that nearly took his life -- while his jaw was wired shut. Heartbreaking and
hysterical ("There's been an accident like Geico/They thought I was burnt up
like Pepsi did Michael"), and wrapped around the helium chirp of the pitched-up
chorus from Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," the song and accompanying video
couldn't have forged his dual status as underdog and champion any better. All of
this momentum keeps rolling through The College Dropout, an album that's nearly
as phenomenal as the boastful West has led everyone to believe. The bad points?
A few too many skits, "The New Workout Plan," and the fact that the triumph that
is "Through the Wire" is de-emphasized and placed so deep into the album that
it's almost anticlimactic. Apart from this? Abundant hotness in every aspect.
From a production standpoint, nothing here tops recent conquests like Alicia
Keys' "You Don't Know My Name" or Talib Kweli's "Get By," but he's consistently
potent and tempers his familiar characteristics -- high-pitched soul samples,
gospel elements -- by tweaking them and not using them as a crutch. Even though
those with their ears to the street knew West could excel as an MC, he has used
this album as an opportunity to prove his less-known skills to a wider audience.
One of the most poignant moments is on "All Falls Down," where the self-effacing
West examines self-consciousness in the context of his community: "Rollies and
Pashas done drive me crazy/I can't even pronounce nothing, yo pass the
Versacey/Then I spent 400 bucks on this just to be like 'Nigga you ain't up on
this'." If the notion that the album runs much deeper than the singles isn't
enough, there's something of a surprising bonus: rather puzzlingly, a slightly
adjusted mix of "Slow Jamz" -- a side-splitting ode to legends of baby-making
soul that originally appeared on Twista's Kamikaze, just before that MC received
his own Roc-a-Fella chain -- also appears. Prior to this album, we were more
than aware that West's stature as a producer was undeniable; now we know that
he's also a remarkably versatile lyricist and a valuable MC.
Normally I won't release an internal if a VBR is already out, but the explosive
crew used an unusual codec for the original rip, 3.96 with -b 128 enabled on the
original rip (props to them to getting this release, btw). Considering this is a
classic, I felt the need to release this with a recommended Lame version from HA.
Enjoy this rip, it's about 2.8MB bigger than the original release, with higher
bitrates on a few tracks, even without a -b switch.
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