Kanye’s comeback?

August 30, 2007 on 4:56 pm | In Other-Events, Music, - Jauretsi |

Sooooo, I finally went uptown for the sole reason of checking out Kanye Wests anticipated new record, GRADUATION. I mean, is he gonna “one-up” himself or not?

First off, I’ve been to a ton of crappy industry “listening parties”. This was not one of them. Right out of the taxi, I spot old-school bud and MTV Producer/DJ/Journalist Joseph Pattel finishing his cig on the street corner. As we walk into the off-broadway theater Kanye rented for the night, he shares how pysched he is about his next gig, The MTV Presidential debates online. First one is John Edwards. By the time I reached my seat, it was a already a party. Joseph shuffled in with Kanye’s DJ, the charming Atrak, and sat in front of us. One of the coolest girls I know, Alex Wagner, Editor-in-Chief of The Fader, was my armchair buddy as we kept leaning over eachother sharing room commentary.

I was on my second Rum-spiked-smoothie. Perhaps my pleasant childhood memories of Strawberry Quick powder made me consume them faster than I should. Mos Def planted himself behind us and was full of love while screaming out from the balcony like he was at a football game. Rich Kleiman (second half of Mark Ronson’s Allido Records) sat near, and Qtip was in the house. In short, it was quite a scene with lots of genuine hip hop love.

The lights went down. Kanye gave his intro speech. He stroked himself alot. Then he stepped aside and played the entire record. Track by track. The new vibe is super futuristic. The art is tight, and created by none other than Takashi Murakami.

To be honest, some songs stuck with me tighter than others. The standout to me was “Drunk and Hot Girls” (presumably about groupies) played against a monster screen projecting a Japanese anime flick where 2 girls get their kink on and bump nipples — all while Kanye raps the catchy hook:

“We go…
Thru too…
Much shit…
To mess…
Mess with…
These drunk…
All of these drunk and hot girls”.

Each track played to a specific cinematic inspiration thrusting rap further into the future– with clips from Kubrick’s 2001, Tron, Akira, Wong Kar Wai’s 2046. If Kanye’s lawyers were smart, they’d allow these exact shorts to play on YouTube so the general population can enjoy the beautiful ride we all took in the theater last night.

My Final report:

“A+” for PRESENTATION.

“B-” for MUSIC. Didnt arrest me as much I’d hoped. I honestly need to hear the record several more times as there are already some tracks that are growing on me with a few more listens. This grade could change. Im trying to keep my initial love for the man, but its hard, because… well, this leads me to my 3rd thought…..

“D” for HUMILTY. Im reducing my excitement points due to serious cocky demeanor. Listen, I completely understand hip hop was founded on “braggadocious” behaviour, but there are limits to self-glorification. It’s hard to remain objective about a new body of work when Kanye stands before a crowd telling a room of jaded industry heads “I think this new album is one of the Best 10 albums in Hip Hop History” —– before we even heard it!

I don’t want to sound like one of those generic Kanye “haters” because the man is truly talented and gifted. But jeez brother, bring it down 1 notch? The music should speak for itself.
J