Finally, middle class rap with enough soul to pass ...

Strengths: NA

Weaknesses: NA

Summary: Finally, middle class rap with enough soul to pass the "real nigga" test...Kanye West is a nouveau-riche, urbanized, seething, two-fisted pro-black advocating, pants sagging b-boy struggling with Christian values in a world of mind numbing materialism, knee-buckling sexualization and outright self-hatred. Just like most of us. West's "College Drop Out" boldly sets up this engaging debut album in the atmosphere officially deemed the antithesis of the hyper-machismo of the ghetto (i.e. blackness/black manliness).

That's right, Polo rocking, blazer-friendly K Wizzle represents from the milieu of the college campus. The best example of this is "School Spirit." Spike Lee's "School Daze" was the last artistic offering to pull this off with any resounding success.

West's achievement is fascinating after seeing scores of brothers stroll the yard on FAMU's, Morehouse's (the heterosexual ones) and Howard's campuses trying to be hard with backpacks ripping at the seams from Calculus, Philosophy and Humanities textbooks. West's album is monumental to such men who've been through an identity crisis thanks to the pressure by the media, the 'hood and many of the women they've tried to pursue on these campuses. Kanye West and the pensive teddy bear mascot gracing the album cover are the poster children for surviving academia and maintaining street credibility.

A strange position for an album named "College Drop Out", yet there lies a method to West's schizophrenic madness. "We Don't Care" is West shouting out to the ghetto right off the top, to the drug dealers that had to do something to keep they peoples afloat, the Tyrone Squares slaving 9 to 5's, even bootleggers trying to get by, as if letting the audience know off the top that his academic presentation is without the snobbery that tends to breed hatred of the talented tenth. This gives him the persona of the cat in school that enjoyed asking questions that made teachers look stupid. So you figure, since he's pissing off the administration that put in a learning disability class because the teachers didn't teach worth a damn, you'll take a rain check on trying to beat him down in the hallway - for a while. "Graduation Day" endears you even more to him. West laments that he does not wish to do the good job, predictable rigamarole every parent seems to wish for their child. West captures the spirit of entrepreneurship hip hop has inspired beautifully with the final line, stating that "I'm just not everybody."

"All Falls Down" is the best commentary on the rampant materialism of our time in recent memory. From females "addicted to retail" to insecure thug wannabes who can't run to grocery store without a throwback jersey, West goes off like a dentist in a bad mood; not only takes it to the teeth, but drivin' it down in the gums, rattling your skull with how such materialism is not a sign of black cool, but honestly, self hatred medicated by brand name clothing.

Most of hip hop will have you believe people in the 'hood are born Sunday night and are in some kind of criminal drama by Monday at noon. With "Spaceship", West adds passion and depth to tedious, monotonous grind of young people working at bland gigs at The Gap while waiting for a come up. The most powerful song is "Jesus Walks." West lets his hang strong by summoning a force that scares most contemporary rappers, God (Jesus in this instance). West is the only one to throw down reverently about such a sacred topic and drop the f-bomb in it like it was meant to be there. The most stunning part is West's lamenting that radio stations actually gave him beef about the song simply because of his talking about God. Can you remember a time when talking about most of the garbage you hear on the radio now was kept you off the air?

In "Never Let Me Down", Jay Z actually lets West down with a tired, self-centered rap about his self-proclaimed king of rap status and how high his records chart. No way in hell can that stand shoulder to shoulder with West's recounting of his mother's participation in the Civil Rights Movement, West promising to marry his betrothed and surviving a near fatal car accident. This brings home the odd marriage between someone of substance like West, and the predictable Johnson-stroking of everyone surrounding Jay Z and Rocafella.

Tired of West's deepness? Fear not. Instead of coming off over the top as a self-righteous nerd for the moral upper hand, Kanye retains his sense of humor and bares his contradictions. Recess from the deep-thinking is in session: "Get 'em High" is West wading through a weed-induced haze, swearing to be the big baller a**hole that will bone your girl, diss your demo and demand you dance to this exciting news. The most interesting part of this is the fact that Talib Kweli is featured here in pure wing man mode, setting West up at one point to impress a girl right out her draws. Hey, intellectuals gotta get laid too, right?

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