Late Registration

by Kanye West

Overview

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

Product Details

Release Date:	08/30/2005
Label:	Roc-A-Fella
UPC:	0602498824016

Tracks

1. Heard 'Em Say
2. Wake Up Mr. West
3. Touch the Sky
4. Gold Digger
5. [Untitled Track]
6. Drive Slow
7. Roses
8. My Way Home
9. Crack Music
10. Bring Me Down
11. Addiction
12. [Untitled Track]
13. Diamonds from Sierra Leone
14. We Major
15. [Untitled Track]
16. Diamonds from Sierra Leone
17. Hey Mama
18. Celebration
19. [Untitled Track]
20. Gone
21. Late

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Kanye West   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Jamie Foxx   Primary Artist,Vocals,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Paul Wall   Primary Artist,Vocals
GLC   Primary Artist,Vocals
The Game   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Really Doe   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Cam'ron   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Nas   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Jay-Z   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Brandy   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Common   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
Consequence   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Michele Gondry   Drums
Keenan "Keynote" Holloway   Guitar (Bass)
A-Trak   Scratching,Turntables
Don-C   Vocals
Plain Pat   Vocals
Tony Williams   Vocals
Lupe Fiasco   Vocals,Featured Artist
Adam Levine   Guest Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Audrey Solomon   Violin
Victoria Lanier   Violin
David Sage   Viola
Denise Briese   Double Bass
Marda Todd   Viola
Francis Senger   Double Bass
Jason Torreano   Double Bass
Terry Glenny   Violin
Steven Holtman   Trombone
Antony Williams   Vocals
Richard Dodd   Cello
Armen Ksadjikian   Cello
DeRay Davis   Vocals
Daniel Fornero   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Alyssa Park   Violin
Mathew Cooker   Cello
Tom Tally   Viola
Susan Chatman   Violin
Amy Wickman   Violin
Gary Grant   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Marisa Kuney   Violin
Bruce Otto   Trombone (Bass)
John Legend   Vocals
Ervin Pope   Keyboards
Tom Craskey   Guitar,Keyboards
Deray   Vocals
Andrew Martin   Trombone
Strings   Vocals
Dave Tozer   Guitar,Keyboards
Keyshia Cole   Vocals
Charlie Wilson   Vocals
Daphne Chen   Violin
Piotr Jandula   Viola
Victor Lawrence   Cello
Eric Gorfain   Violin
Julie Rogers   Violin
Brad Warnaar   French Horn
Richard Todd   French Horn

Technical Credits

Devo Springsteen   Audio Production,Producer
Warryn Campbell   Audio Production,Composer,Producer
Kanye West   Audio Production,Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Jon Brion   Audio Production,Composer,Producer,Brass Arrangement,Executive Producer,String Arrangements
Andrew Dawson   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
J.J. Barry   Composer
Doug Joswick   Package Production
Kris Yiengst   Photography,Art Coordinator
Kyambo "Hip Hop" Joshua   Executive Producer
Nate Connelly   Assistant Engineer
R. Simmons   Composer
Taylor Dow   Assistant Engineer
Ibn Jasper   Groomer
Leonard Harris   Composer
C. Willis   Composer
Darin Black   Composer
L.D. Harris   Composer
Justin Smith   Composer
Charlene Roxborough   Stylist
Sarah A. Friedman   Photography
Brian Sumner   Engineer
Eric Weissman   Sample Clearance
Larry Smith   Composer
Ryan Neuschafer   Assistant Engineer
Willard Meeks, Jr.   Composer
Louis Marino   Creative Director
Richard Reitz   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Cameron Giles   Composer
Wasalu Jaco   Composer
Nasir Jones   Composer
Devon Harris   Composer
Maureen Reid   Composer
Dexter Mills   Composer
Jonathan Smith   Composer
Warren Trotter   Composer
Antony Williams   Composer
Jayceon Taylor   Composer
R. Richard   Composer
Renald Richard   Composer
Mike Dean   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Michael Masser   Composer
Jared Robbins   Assistant Engineer
Anthony Kilhoffer   Engineer
Paul Slayton   Composer
Adam Levine   Composer
Tom Biller   Engineer,String Engineer
Mike Mo   Assistant Engineer
Gerry Goffin   Composer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
George Kerr   Composer
Gil Scott-Heron   Composer
James Auwarter   Assistant Engineer
Craig Bauer   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
GLC   Performer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Matt Green   Assistant Engineer
Vlado Meller   Mastering
Ray Charles   Composer
Sylvia Robinson   Composer
Bill Withers   Composer
D. Black   Composer
Chuck Willis   Composer
Curtis Mayfield   Composer
Don Black   Composer
Donal Leace   Composer
Eric Gorfain   Orchestration
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Russell Simmons   Composer
Lonnie Lynn   Composer
Really Doe   Performer
Just Blaze   Producer
John Barry   Composer