Kanye West ready to release 2nd album

[UZI Suicide 0]

NEW YORK — Kanye West's second album hasn't even come out yet, but he's already got a release date ready for his third LP and a title set for the fourth.

 

During Wednesday night's listening session for Late Registration,

 

 

 

 

 

Kanye revealed that album number three, entitled Graduation, will come out in October 2006. He explained that the title of his fourth full length (no release date for that one yet) is named after what everyone seeks after they graduate: A Good Ass Job.

 

West himself hasn't done too shabbily with his present professions, excelling as a super producer, label CEO and acclaimed hip-hop performer. Since his rapping came to the forefront, he's emerged as one of genre's most successful artists — and admits that he may have occasionally tooted his own horn louder than some people would have liked (see "Kanye Previews New LP, Modestly Exclaims: 'This Is Killing Everything Out There!' ").

 

"I talk so much sh--, of course [the media asks], 'Oh man, can he do it again?" Kanye said, standing on a small stage at Sony studios for his Late Registration listening session.

 

If you remember the historic listening session of 2004 — not historic in the groundbreaking sense, like DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince winning rap its first Grammy, but more in an memorable sense, as those in attendance will never forget Kanye's speech or his performance of "Get Em High" with Common — you know that he takes pride in sharing his art with listeners (see "Common, John Mayer Drop In To Preview Kanye West's Dropout"). This time he did so on a larger scale, with people like Jay-Z, Talib Kweli and L.A. Reid in attendance. West played his album for over 300 people, told the story behind each track and even held a question-and-answer session afterwards. And the fact that he's going to these lengths to present his new project speaks to the fact that West is one of the most passionate MCs in hip-hop today.

 

"We're here for a special event," Jay-Z said before introducing his friend. "This is Kanye's sophomore album. I said on a lot of records that Kanye is a genius, and I wasn't just freestyling. I really meant that." "There's nothing that they would love more than me to come subpar so they could find something wrong," Kanye, dressed in a blazer and jeans, said of the media. "I'm not putting nothing out unless I can talk my sh--. I want to give y'all something that y'all will remember." West certainly did it the first time with The College Dropout, creating a classic LP out of a collection of songs as diverse as the colors of Polo shirts in his Louis Vuitton suitcase. And you can't accuse Kanye of coming with the same old thing on Late Registration, either. What other MC would talk about blood diamonds the way West does on the "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" remix (see " 'Diamonds' Remix: Kanye Raps About Rocks, Jay Raps About Roc")?

 

When he accuses the government of flooding the black community with drugs and calls AIDS a man-made disease, West isn't saying anything we haven't heard before, but he's in a small group of current rappers who will touch political subject matter. Whether you agree with the lyrics Ye drops on "Crack Music" or not, he's making it clear that he has something on his mind other than sleeping with a groupie, blasting another MC to smithereens or riding in a car with suicide doors.

 

"Crack Music" is an instant motivator. You feel like you have to move your head when West and the track's guest star the Game start yelling, "That's that crack music n---a!/ That real black music n---a!" "Whatever happened to making that black music n---a?" Kanye asked the crowd. "It's certain people that get certain accolades, and they forget. This song, 'Crack Music,' has a few layers because it says that this is the music that's made from the crack generation." "You hear that?" he asks on the song. "What was Gil Scott hearin'?/ Why our heroes and heroines got hooked on heroin?" "I started [thinking], if I was to make a song about [crack], I wanted to start where my parents told me it started," West said, explaining the record's origins. " 'How we stop the Black Panthers?/ Ronald Reagan cooked up the answer.' You say, 'Ronald wasn't even the president at the time,' but he was the governor of [California] when the CIA conspired to bring down the Black Panther Party. It goes back to artists being on the chitterling circuit and labels giving them drugs to lull them over and not be focused on their business. Crack was placed in the black community, used to separate the groups who were to protect us from police brutality and racism at the time." West does floss hard on Late Registration — he even has record called "Celebration" — but strikes a balance on the LP.

 

"Heard 'Em Say," which features Maroon 5's Adam Levine, is another track that follows Kanye's contemplative political path. "So this is in the name of love like Robert say/ Before you ask me to go get a job today/ Can I at least get a raise from minimum wage?/ And I know the government administered AIDS/ So I guess we just pray like the government say." "I had to fight with myself 'cause he's so good, yet he's so popular," the Chicago native said about working with Levine. "The popularity takes away from the illness of having him. Like I have Lupe Fiasco [on a Late Registration track] 'cause I feel he's one of the best MCs coming out, but nobody knows about him yet. So if I put him on, that's ill. That's keeping it real.

 

"Then it's like, 'Kanye has a song with Adam Levine?" West continued. "It just seems so post-Grammy ... but [Adam's] so ill! His voice sounds like a f---ing instrument. The only other dude that has a voice like that is Akon."

 

West said he and Levine actually decided which song they would do while on a flight to Rome. "I played him the song," West explained. "He said, 'I got a song just like that, but I don't know if my fans will like that because it's a little R&B. But I want to do a record like that.' He already had the chorus. I used to play that song for people, but girls never liked the song. ... Adam laid his vocals to that, girls start liking the record and it's the [third] single."

 

Each record that Kanye played, from "Drive Slow" with Paul Wall and GLC to "Bring Me Down" with Brandy, received such a positive reaction that he played a record he planned to debut on Funkmaster Flex's New York radio show. The track — one of Jay-Z's favorites — is called "We Major" and features Nas. Nas raps, "I love to give my blood sweat and tears to the mic/ So y'all cop the LPs and fiends got helped/ I'm like Jesse Jackson on the balcony when King got killed/ I survived the livest n---as around ..." West actually shared the production duties on this album with Fiona Apple collaborator Jon Brion. West needed to find a richer sound and is thoroughly excited with what Brion was able to help him put forth.

 

Toward the end of the listening session, West reiterated that he stands 100 percent behind his latest work. "I'm not finnin' to put nothing out unless I can talk sh-- afterwards."

 

Late Registration is due in stores August 30. The next single from the LP is "Gold Digger," featuring Jamie Foxx.

[Hank Kingsley 0]

The "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" remix is hot stuff. I can't wait for this album.

[Si82 0]

I can't wait for this album. I loved "The College Dropout" and all the stuff I've heard from this album from the album so far has been great. Roll on albums three and four.

[ant_7000 0]

Damn, Kanye has the "2Pac" work ethic going on there. Yea, im looking foward to this next album. Im feeling "Goldigger" and "Diamonds from Sierra Leone."

[snuffbox 0]

He played most all the new shit at Sasquatch...pure greatness. Kanye is absolutely brilliant.

[Zorin Industries 0]

I haven't liked any Rap since early Public Enemy,give me a reason to listen to this?

[snuffbox 0]

I haven't liked any Rap since early Public Enemy,give me a reason to listen to this?

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Hes the most talented musicia since Jeff Buckley. He has the most drive to be perfect and prolific since Tupac Shakur.

[Zorin Industries 0]

Can you recommend me one song?

[snuffbox 0]

All Falls Down...for its popghetto eloquent masterness

Through The Wire...because Kanye is a mad badass rappin through a busted wired jaw

 

Sorry, I couldnt do 1.

[Zorin Industries 0]

Sorry, still sounds like the usual shit I can't get into. Mite sound ok to some, but its too softor something. Still like my old school electro beats

[Guest kylegavin]

Yeah I agree, Kanye has got me interested in rap/hip hop for the first time since Tupac...some great stuff here.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I haven't liked any Rap since early Public Enemy,give me a reason to listen to this?

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Hes the most talented musicia since Jeff Buckley. He has the most drive to be perfect and prolific since Tupac Shakur.

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This is just a...weird sentence. I don't know.

 

D/L Jesus Walks, you'd like that I'd assume.

[Ripper 0]

Thats quite cocky to assume people are going to give a shit about you for a 4th album.

 

Kanye....i love his music, but I swear, he goes on the "I will probably punch this guy in the face one day" list along with those dudes from the Black Eyed Peas and some other people I don't feel like listing.

[ant_7000 0]

Yea, Kanye is arrogant bastard but he's talented especially behind the boards.

[Annabelle 0]

I haven't liked any Rap since early Public Enemy,give me a reason to listen to this?

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Hes the most talented musicia since Jeff Buckley. He has the most drive to be perfect and prolific since Tupac Shakur.

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that is laughable.

 

prolific = mf doom

 

perfect = notorious

 

i can list at least 10 mcs that tupac couldn't even touch. tupac was loved for his persona, not his music. none of his albums came close to being perfect. he's totally a greatest hits rapper. he's been martyred because of how he died. at least biggie smalls released two (well 1 but lad was released a week after dying) of the dopest albums before he did.

 

kanye is okay. at best. very average. he'll be a greatest hits rapper just like tupac, although his work did raise jay-z's level of greatness. the blueprint is remarkable. someone needs to tell kanye less is more. i cut out about 7 tracks from his debut lp on my ipod, and it made me love the album so much more.

 

but kanye couldn't even dream of touching jay. and if jay can't touch nas, than kanye can't touch nas. beanie sigel's album from this year was better than college drop out. so was the pretty toney album.

 

and the over exaggeration of jeff buckley puzzles me, too. i'll give him credit, he died before he could be responsible for releasing any shit. kinda like if noel gallagher died in '95. he'd be compared to john lennon. but now we all no better. that said, i love oasis. for being so cool. beck is a jillion times better than buckley was.

[snuffbox 0]

I said Tupac had the DRIVE for perfection and being prolific. Youre going to have to go ahead and read each word of the sentence. No artist has ever or will ever be perfect, but some are hugely DRIVEN to get as close to that as possible. Right now, the guy trying for that is Kanye West.

 

And for Buckley...the keyword is TALENT. Nobody has ever had a voice like his and I doubt anyone ever will. He could play guitar like Hendrix and still sing with his unbelievable voice. Your saying Beck is more talented than Buckley was? Beck (as fun as he may be) is a tenth of the singer and guitar player, also his biggest hits have all had the beats of the Dusts. Jeff Buckley had more natural talent than any musician ever, it was truly staggering.

 

And, Biggie was good but not near perfect.

 

So, to reiterate, Kanye West is the most talented musician since Jeff Buckley and has the biggest drive to be perfect and prolific since Tupac Shakur.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Kanye + Maroon 5 Singer on new album = Obvious and pathetic publicity stunt. This is done solely so the people who hated on Maroon 5 after they won the Best New Artist Grammy can say "Man, that Kanye is such a cool dude, working with the guy who beat him out for the Grammy he was supposed to win".

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I'm not sure anyone cares enough about the Grammys to make that connection. Maroon 5 guy is on the new Ying Yang Twins album, too.

 

Also, Biggie is the greatest.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

When the fuck did Adam Levine become a precious commodity in the hip-hop community?

 

Considering that Kanye raps about being fucked over at the Grammy's on the new cd I don't think it's too far fetched to consider their pairing as a p.r thing.

[Annabelle 0]

I said Tupac had the DRIVE for perfection and being prolific. Youre going to have to go ahead and read each word of the sentence. No artist has ever or will ever be perfect, but some are hugely DRIVEN to get as close to that as possible. Right now, the guy trying for that is Kanye West.

 

And for Buckley...the keyword is TALENT. Nobody has ever had a voice like his and I doubt anyone ever will. He could play guitar like Hendrix and still sing with his unbelievable voice. Your saying Beck is more talented than Buckley was? Beck (as fun as he may be) is a tenth of the singer and guitar player, also his biggest hits have all had the beats of the Dusts. Jeff Buckley had more natural talent than any musician ever, it was truly staggering.

 

And, Biggie was good but not near perfect.

 

So, to reiterate, Kanye West is the most talented musician since Jeff Buckley and has the biggest drive to be perfect and prolific since Tupac Shakur.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

how the fuck is tupac prolific? think about it. he's been dead for 10 years and he's had an assload of unworhty shit released by his momma in the world's greatest & most disgusting money grab in musical history. she's ruined whatever musical legacy he's had. he'll be known as prolific by uneducated idiots like you who fail to recognize that rehashing & remixing different parts of the same song over like 5 post-humous albums is NOT prolific.

 

biggie IS the greatest. fucking deal with it. tupac was nowhere close to him...definately not perfect. tupac didn't even have a perfect song, perfect rhyme, or perfect beat - so how can you summarize his legacy as perfect?

 

what the fuck is with you & the word DRIVE? you've watched too many vh1 specials. 95% of the musical artsist are driven to be the best, why is kanye so special? tpuac had drive to be the best? yea, so? so does cam'ron. so does lloyd banks. so does the game. that doesn't mean shit in terms of their musical talent.

 

and NOW you say jeff buckley is the most talented musician EVER? sorry, naturally talented musician ever. really? is this the case? are we going to argue this? you're going to put buckley above such innovators as charlie parker, john lennon, & robert johnson? people who revolutionized music with their "natural talent"? buckley released one album. how can you DARE to even make such a fucking ridiculous statement when a guy was making music for only like 5 years before dying? buckley played guitar like hendrix?

 

this is all of the time i'm going to give you.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Biggie is not the greatest of all time, and he's not better than Tupac. Ready to Die is a great album but due to his early death he doesn't have enough of a body of work to compare him to Tupac and many of the other greats.

 

Plus, Me Against The World and The 7 Day Theory are both better than Ready To Die

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

That's false, because, well, nothing is better than Ready to Die. Maybe Aquemini, depending on my mood.

[UZI Suicide 0]

Actually, it's true. Me Against The World and The 7 Day Theory are both better

 

Oh fuck it, it's pointless to argue. This thread is slowly turning into Biggie vs. Tupac when it has nothing to do with either one of them.

[Annabelle 0]

That's false, because, well, nothing is better than Ready to Die.  Maybe Aquemini, depending on my mood.

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nah. ready to die is the greatest rap album of all-time. maybe only illmatic or 36 chambers is close.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

36 Chambers, Ready to Die, and Aquemini are my tops. The latter isn't really the same style as the first two, of course.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

che pretty much explained the weirdness of that statement.

 

I can't really think of what the best rap album would be, I'm a bigger fan of the nihilistic party style anthems though, ala all the shit Dre produced..

 

THe second half of Illmatic drags a little, and at 35 minutes or something that's not good. Biggie's first album is really good, but the beats on the chronic and doggystyle are just so slick, but dre is not a very good rapper, and I haven't listened to doggystyle in ages, so I give it to Biggie.

[Annabelle 0]

36 Chambers, Ready to Die, and Aquemini are my tops.  The latter isn't really the same style as the first two, of course.

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i think i've mentioned before that i've never really been into the dirty south sound. not at all, actually. i respect outkast for their musical exploits, but my respect is nowhere near the enjoyment i get from the others. doggystyle is a hit after hit album. its actually quite amazing. its even more amazing how snoop made a decided turn away from everything that made him great. kinda like whats happened to 50 cent. except 50 was never great. but now he's got mobb deep & mop in g unit. mobb deep's the infamous album is quite great, too. just another group and/or album that is light years ahead of anything tupac ever touched. heck, even kanye couldn't touch that. sadly, mobb deep have been trying to make commercial pop rap like kanye that is sorta poor. maybe they'll return to their roots with 50.

 

i just mindlessly ranted about everything but the topic at hand.

 

on the point, i am scared about kanye telling all franz ferdinand & kaiser chief fans to buy his album because he was directly influenced by the whole angular dance rock whatever fad. that is really really really scary.

[snuffbox 0]

Innovation and talent, last I checked, were two different things.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

36 Chambers, Ready to Die, and Aquemini are my tops.  The latter isn't really the same style as the first two, of course.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

i think i've mentioned before that i've never really been into the dirty south sound. not at all, actually. i respect outkast for their musical exploits, but my respect is nowhere near the enjoyment i get from the others. doggystyle is a hit after hit album. its actually quite amazing. its even more amazing how snoop made a decided turn away from everything that made him great. kinda like whats happened to 50 cent. except 50 was never great. but now he's got mobb deep & mop in g unit. mobb deep's the infamous album is quite great, too. just another group and/or album that is light years ahead of anything tupac ever touched. heck, even kanye couldn't touch that. sadly, mobb deep have been trying to make commercial pop rap like kanye that is sorta poor. maybe they'll return to their roots with 50.

 

i just mindlessly ranted about everything but the topic at hand.

 

on the point, i am scared about kanye telling all franz ferdinand & kaiser chief fans to buy his album because he was directly influenced by the whole angular dance rock whatever fad. that is really really really scary.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Don't worry, you're the only one who seems scared by all this.

[B. Brian Brunzell 0]

That's false, because, well, nothing is better than Ready to Die.  Maybe Aquemini, depending on my mood.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

nah. ready to die is the greatest rap album of all-time. maybe only illmatic or 36 chambers is close.

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No love for The Low-End Theory? I'd also put Follow the Leader over Ready to Die as well. It's still a great album though.

 

And I know how Robert Johnson was an innovator, but his "natural talent" wasn't all that spectacular. I love his work, but it was nothing but 12 bar. As a lyricist, Lennon was great, but I think as a musician, he was average.

 

Bird and Prince are the most naturally talented musicians I can think of right now.

 

And you can't put Aquemini in with the rest of the Dirty South music. It's so much moe than just southern hip-hop. That album is fusion at it's best since Miles, bruddah.