Blog #3: Kanye West RELISTEN pt. 1

MARCH 27, 2026

recently i've been relistening to Kanye West's discography, in anticipation of BULLY. unfortunately, as of writing, it is still not on spotify. real shame. regardless, i'm gonna write a bit about his albums. i think his first lp, the college dropout, is just grand. incredible debut. through the wire is an insane first single. recorded with his jaw wired shut. crazy. but that doesn't even open this album, it starts with we don't care, which is another one of my favourite ye songs. at least, in my opinion. that chorus is quite catchy and is quite true. i do think the skits are a bit unnecessary but, like, whomever. the school spirit and lil jimmy skits are pretty funny at least. all falls down, spaceship and jesus walks are all masterpieces. jesus walks is probably among his best songs. the new workout plan is really stupid but also pretty catchy. i dont know if i hate it or love it. probably both. and finally family business is really beautiful. one of the most beautiful songs i've ever heard. as for last call. i uh, kind of skipped it. too long yknow. late registration is probably his best album as a whole. maybe alongside TLOP. heard em say is a banger. and touch the sky is probably the most triumphant song i've ever heard. really makes you feel like you're on top of the world. gold digger is quite iconic. the sample is probably my favourite part about it though. roses is one of the most memorable early ye songs. "bitch are you smoking reefer, can't you see that we hurt". every song on here is incredible, the only weak one is celebration because it's a bit silly. we major might just be the second best song on the album, number one, i think, is the original diamonds from sierra leone. just peak kanye all the way through. hey mama, similiar to family business, is really beautiful. now on to Graduation. his most streamed album. i don't think it's his best per se, but it is still quite peak. so many hits, all in one place: good morning, stronger, can't tell me nothing, flashing lights, homecoming... i've heard all of these several times before i listened to his discography for the first time. really iconic stuff. the lyrics might not be as deep or thought-provoking as on his first two albums but the music is still great. the choruses are the really memorable parts here. i wonder is quite overrated though. i would probably like the album even more if it didn't decide to suck for 8 minutes straight in the middle with barry bonds and "drunk and hot girls". the rest of the music is really good though. perfect for the streaming age, i'd say. kanye west was really ahead of his time, huh. 808's and heartbreak is, of course, a really emotional record. you can feel his heartbreak. everything went wrong at once for kanye. you can feel the heartbreak through the music. welcome to heartbreak is great. heartless is really iconic and catchy. "how could you be so dr evil" is also a very funny line. my favourite song on here is paranoid, again, for being catchy. but that chorus is so beautiful. i don't know why. but it's great. robocop is also a masterpiece. the other songs aren't necessary that noteworthy on their own but the album as a whole is great. then kanye came back with another masterpiece, my beautiful dark twisted fantasy. this might be him at the peak of his carreer. i mean, can he get much higher? gorgeous might just be the perfect kanye song. the lyrics are incredible, so many iconic lines. the guitar is great and that chorus is an earworm and goes really hard. power is really cool, sampling 21st century schizoid man is quite based. all of the lights and runaway are also two songs i've heard many times before but they deserve all the praise. monster is the stupidest song on here. the pharaoh line is insane though. so appalled is great, as is devil in a new dress, as is hell of a life. blame game is a bit unnecessarily long, that skit is quite silly. but still there's a really cool melancholy vibe and i dig the chorus. the next is watch the throne. i didnt actually relisten to this one. this is because JAY-Z lowkey has allegations. the only songs i've revisited since my first listen are no church in the wild and uh. paris. they're both great and the chorus of no church in the wild is really cool lyricism. uh. nothing else matters. cruel summer. i love clique, one of my favourite ye songs. because it sounds like he's saying Click (2006). peak reference. now time for actual peak. yeezus is incredible. the album is kind of intentionally provocative. with that title he's comparing himself to jesus and this is made even clearer on the track i am a god. this is probably when his music went the hardest. the first track opens with loud noise, preparing you for the vibe. black skinhead is a banger even if he confuses spartans with romans. and new slaves is one of his best songs, ever. the lyrics are about how modern day prisons are basically just a reintroduction of slavery. more black people are unjustly prosecuted and have to perform manual labor in prisons. so they're making new slaves. and then the climax of the song is the sample from the hungarian song Gyöngyhajú Lány. this might just be the greatest moment in his discography. frank ocean singing over it is also a really nice touch. hold my liquor and blood on the leaves are also great. then the closing track is something completely different. bound 2 has probably the most memorable sample in his catalogue. even if ye talks about fucking a woman on the sink. it also mentions my goat Jeromey Romey Romey Rome. after Yeezus ye worked on a lot of stuff. i'm not gonna discuss them here. the only three songs I care about are the ones he worked on with Paul McCartney (of Wings fame). Only One is a genuinely beautiful song about his mother. it makes sense that he would choose to write a song about his late mother with Paul, the guy who wrote one of is biggest hits about his own late mom. fourfiveseconds with rihanna is admitedly a bit corny but i still find it really charming. and a bit catchy too. the best one out of these three is probably All Day though. mostly because i find it really funny that a 73 year old Paul McCartney worked on this, seeing the lyrics. i'm a little bit tired rn so i'll write about the rest of the albums starting with TLOP tomorrow. warning: that one's a bit peak.