EASE DOWN THE ROAD

 3 1/2 Stars

For over 15 years I feel I have remained relatively aware of the happenings in the hip-hop (specifically, rap) community. My generation, much like the “rock generation” of the 60s and 70s, is, whether you like it or not, the “hip-hop generation.” Look at the movies, commercials, artwork, fashion, clubs and music; hip-hop is the defining element of American pop culture. Months ago, I had no interest in Kanye West’s follow-up to his vastly hyped, somewhat admirable debut, The College Dropout.

I woke up on Late Registration‘s release day completely surrounded by all things Kanye. Everywhere I looked, be it Time Magazine, preppy kids with their collars popped, The New York Times, Chappelle’s Show reruns, AOL or Rolling Stone, Kayne was there, looking as smug and certain as ever. How could I, part of the hip-hop generation, not at least be inquisitive? So I left my house, half skeptical, half excited, ready to regret spending my money on yet another subpar rap album. According to pretty much everyone, including the uber-snobs over at Pitchforkmedia.com, Late Registration is the year’s best release to date.

And oh how I’d love to call it crap. How I’d love to fold down the pink collar (or at least take a picture of it and mail it to him in six months once he realizes how ridiculous it is). I was fully prepared to point out all of Kanye’s tricks; “Let the crutch be broken,” I boldly thought to myself. Despite making classic beats such as Kweli’s “Get By,” and Jay-Z’s “A Dream,” I was ready to wash my hands of Mr. West and his bag of hackneyed ideas once and for all. The always hasty Kanye just couldn’t let me off so easily. Not only did he lose the cursory, sped up R&B vocals, but he vastly improved his drums and radically fleshed out his sound. The result? One of the most extraordinarily produced rap albums to see release on a major label since the early 90s.

Plagued by lame skits, humdrum sample sources, moot guest appearances and a handful of slacker tracks, Late Registration comes up short of the classic status its already received upon its release from numerous publications and critics. The high points, however, are indeed very high. With Dropout‘s recent Grammy success still at the front of the music industry’s mind, Kanye entered his Dropout follow-up sessions with a world of new resources available to him for Registration. Most notably, West has ingeniously added the string arrangements and overall production expertise of Jon Brion, whose recent credits include wonderful scores for both David O. Russell’s I Heart Huckabees and P.T. Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love films.

Never known for his songwriting or vocal performances, Registration sees a great amount of improvement over Dropout, most notably on the more personal tracks “Roses” and “Hey Mama,” as well as the politically charged “Crack Music.” With a simple, predictable delivery and often superficial lyrics, Kanye’s aptitude as an emcee is not the reason he’s able to sell 1 million albums per week. Kayne is, without a doubt, the best pop-star hip-hop has seen in 2005. Less of a puppet than Eminem, more of an artistic force than Jay, Kanye is doing his genre proud as he holds down the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts week after week with a well conceived collection of songs.

So, in closing, I can’t fully “crap” on Late Registration. That’s not to say that I’m not disappointed. Had he more of a knack for album-craft, Kayne certainly could’ve released a near perfect album. With 21 tracks spanning over 71 minutes, Registration presents nine or so excellent hip-hop songs tied down by skits and filler tracks that don’t hold up next to the album’s finer moments. If you are looking for the best hip-hop album of 2005, check for the Dangerdoom. Don’t overlook Kanye; sure, he’s overrated, but maybe there’s a reason for that after all. Or maybe not.

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