And btw idk crap about music if I refer to the “beat” I mean like the instrumental. The stuff in the background idk you can figure it out
We Don’t Care: Not a crazy big fan of the intro cuz Kanye sounds weird but the background vocals and beat are really nice and Kanye’s flow and rapping is fire. There’s probably better tracks to lead off the album cuz it’s not a super meaningful track but still really good
Rating: 8/10
All Falls Down: One of the best songs ever made. This song is flawless. The lyrics are so deep and catchy and the feature vocals from Syleena Johnson are beautiful. The beat is amazing and the guitar compliments the singing really well. Perfect song
Rating: 10/10
Spaceship: I LOVE this song. I feel this song really focuses on the rapping of Kanye and his features. The beat is very minimal and the background vocals are nice, if not a but loud sometimes. Both features deliver but the second ones (I think Consequence) flow doesn’t match the other two verses well. Not a huge fan of the chorus but still a very solid song.
Rating: 8/10
Jesus Walks: This song goes so hard. It’s a surprisingly religious song considering it’s so far away from Kanye’s JIK days and he delivers some really heartfelt and deep lines while still keeping a catchy hip-hop vibe. The background vocals compliment Kanye’s verses really really well and it makes the song feel very cohesive
Rating: 9/10
Never Let Me Down: This song is ALMOST perfect. This is a song we haven’t seen from Kanye at this point, the beat and background vocals are absolutely beautiful. The lyrics from all 3 artists on the track play so well with the beat it’s not even funny. The features, especially the first one, absolutely destroy their features. This is my favorite song by Kanye production-wise. GOD THE VERSES ON THIS SONG ARE SO GOOD. The only thing I don’t like is the “Get up I get… Down” chorus that they repeat because it feels a little cheesy and out of place. This is still a essentially flawless track tho
Rating: 11/10 (I guess the 11 rating exists now)
Get Em High: I hate this song. It’s so frustrating hearing this song because every song so far has been fantastic. This song is just… stupid. The beat is alright but it’s such a jarring change from Never Let Me Down and the features literally hurt to listen to. There is absolutely no substance to the lyrics in this song, it’s just braggadocious bs. The chorus can burn in hell. I do not like this song
Rating: 3/10
The New Workout Plan: I think this is a very unique Kanye song. It’s kind of like Get Em High but it flows so much better and the beat and bars play together in a really nice and artful way. The “work it out” chorus is super dance-y and totally slaps. The girls talking in the middle of the song is kinda annoying but when they join in for a lil harmony is kinda nice. The autotuned feature thing is kinda annoying and when they get a weird country ho-down rhythm going down it feels out of place. Still a pretty good song
Rating: 7/10
Slow Jamz: GOD I LOVE THIS SONG. This is the most straight up R&B we get in the entire album and pretty much Kanye’s discography. It has some great lines and the whole vibe of the sing is very sleek and unique to Kanye. I sing the chorus to this song at least twice a day, it’s so catchy. However, the feature is absolutely what makes it a 10. Twista’s flow is unbelievable and he delivers an unforgettable feature. A rare case where the feature outshines Kanye. The beat is pretty minimal but does the job so well. This song is amazing
Rating: 11/10
Breathe In Breathe Out: I have mixed feelings about this song. Kanye has some flow in this song, even if his lyrics are some of the most meaningless on the album. However, the chorus drives me nuts because it ruins the entire song. It’s very obnoxious and it doesn’t match well with the vibe of the song during Kanye’s verses
Rating: 6/10
School Spirit: I have definitely come around more to this song. The chorus definitely gets too repetitive after a while but we see some really strong rapping from Kanye. He provides some interesting social commentary in his bars. There isn’t much to say about this song, it’ll never be a stand out but it’s you can bump to it every once in a while.
Rating: 7/10
Two Words: This feels like Kanye before Kanye. This is reminiscent of like Yeezus Kanye but I really dig this sound. This is the second best beat on this album behind Never Let You Down. Mos Def destroys his feature and even tho Freeway’s isn’t as good it’s still really solid. The choir and violin give this song such a unique and epic sound. The thing I love about this album is it can span so many sounds but still feel like a cohesive piece. Great song
Rating: 10/10
Through The Wire: I feel like this song is an defining moment for early Kanye. Even after a horrific car crash, he comes back on a triumphant track and drops some deep and catchy lines. The sample is amazing and the way they play with it too match the beat changes is beautiful production and shows he is just as good of a producer as a rapper. His little mid-song monologues and lyrical analogies inject some fun into the track to keep it light hearted. Love this track
Rating: 10/10
Family Business: I really like this song because I feel like it’s Kanye’s most sincere track on the album. He feels heartfelt in his verses and it ties together really well. The beat and background vocals are nice but my only complaint is that the sample doesn’t tie in well with the song and feels sampled for the sake of samples
Rating: 8/10
Last Call: This song is unique in the fact that he’s pretty braggadocious but it still tells a compelling story. Even though he’s bragging about his social standing and money, he also tells an inspiring story of grinding for his career. However, it’s not the most technically sound track, as there’s literally like 10+ minutes of Kanye just talking over a beat. This is a long songgggg, over 12 minutes long. This isn’t a song that you put on to listen to, but rather a triumphant capper to an album from someone who worked incredibly hard to get to this point in their career. This is really only a song you can get through if you have listened to the whole album because by then you’re invested in the narrative of the album. I like the story that we go on during the song
Rating: 7.5/10
Song Rankings: (Track # includes skits, which where not included in the review)
1. Never Let Me Down 11/10 Track 8
2. Slow Jamz 11/10 Track 12
3. All Falls Down 10/10 Track 4
4. Through The Wire 10/10 Track 19
5. Two Words 10/10 Track 18
6. Jesus Walks 9/10 Track 7
7. Family Business 8/10 Track 20
8. Spaceship 8/10 Track 6
9. We Don’t Care 8/10 Track 2
10. Last Call 7.5/10 Track 21
11. School Spirit 7/10 Track 15
12. The New Workout Plan 7/10 Track 11
13. Breathe In Breathe Out 6/10 Track 13
14. Get Em High 3/10 Track 9
Cumulative Rating: 8.25/10
My Rating: 9.5/10
Overall Thoughts: I have not listened to a lot of music in my life but I’m convinced that this is one of the best albums ever made. There are only two songs on the entire album that I would consider misses, and even the mediocre songs are good songs on lesser albums. The highs in this album are meteoric and the lows aren’t that low. This is an amazing project and the fact that it was his debut album (and that he produced the album) should shock any logical person. The first 5 songs are all repeat listens and even when we dip into worrying territory with tracks 9-17, it’s mostly skits and we still have Slow Jamz to keep it alive until we get to the excellent tracks 18-21.
Yes this is literally one of my favorite cds I love every song on it I get your points against breathe in breathe out and get em high. Though I was a braggadocious high school kid and a pot head when I bought this album so I loved get em high. Breathe in breathe out was always my least favorite. Spaceship was prob my favorite but hard to pick cus there's so many great ones
