07/21/07 - Rapper West is on a quest for perfection

Gayme is a Queer · 07-21-2007, 07:25 PM

If Kanye West weren't beholden to release dates, the Chicago rapper might never finish a project.

"I can keep tweaking it, keep finding improvements, because at the end of the day, all human beings worked on it. It can never be perfect," West said by phone recently.

Kanye West at The Concert for Diana, hosted by Princes William and Harry at London's Wembley Stadium.

Perfection might be a mirage shimmering in the distance, but that doesn't stop West from trying to reach it. It's paid off so far with a pair of acclaimed albums that were also commercial smashes: 2004's "The College Dropout" (his debut), and 2005's "Late Registration." West, 30, releases his third school-themed album, "Graduation," Aug. 21 — if he can bear to call it finished.

"I've been working on this album for maybe a year and a half now," he said. "I'll work on songs for a year. I go back to them, I listen to them more. That way I already know if they're classics and if they'll stick with you. The youngest a song will be by the time it comes out might be four or five months, and the oldest song might be 2 years old before it hits the actual album. So it's had a chance to stand the test of time in my car before I give it to the world."

Not just his car, either. West tests out new songs on his iPod, in the office, in dance clubs and anywhere else people might listen to his music. Then he makes adjustments based on what he hears and repeats the process — as many times as necessary.

"Take a song like 'Stronger,' " West said with a rueful chuckle. "Not that this is a good thing, but I used eight different engineers and had over 30 mixes on it to try to make it right. But that's my level of dedication to delivering the best product possible."

His dedication extended to the video for "Stronger," which is built around a sample of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger."

West says he spent three months making the clip, which is an elaborate live-action homage to the 1988 Japanese dystopian anime classic "Akira."

West's perfectionism has stirred up trouble, too: He has reacted less-than-gracefully at various awards shows when he hasn't won, for example, and he's not shy about touting his (very real) brilliance as a producer and rapper. Yet his most controversial moment was political. At a benefit in 2005 for victims of Hurricane Katrina, West declared, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

"People really connected with that," he says of his unscripted bit of political commentary.

Now he's eager to reconnect with people through "Graduation" with messages of strength and self-reliance that he hopes inspire his listeners.

"It's an album full of theme songs," he says.

It's also a departure for West. Bucking the trend toward rap albums padded with skits and filler, "Graduation" has 12 tracks and few skits. The slimmed-down record reflects the music that has inspired West lately.

"I listen to mostly rock music now," he said, citing the Killers, Keane, Modest Mouse and Feist as current favorites.

Those artists also influenced the sound of "Graduation."

"This album has a lot of synthesizers layered on it, which has never really been done before in hip-hop," he said. "That doesn't make it good, just because it's different, but it's a representation of what I've been listening to."

I am God · 07-21-2007, 08:06 PM

wait this thread isn't about 50 Cent!!!!?????!?!?!?

Tha Unit On Top · 07-21-2007, 08:24 PM

12 track? Thats some pussy shit right there. He and Common were on Hot 97 and they were talking about how they love to get great ratings. They talked about how Commons album got an XL rating but it said that this album was better than his album Be which got a XXL rating. So they were talking about how they want 5 mics, they want the XXL ratings, so if you look at it, Commons Be had like 12 songs, Clipse album had like 12 songs, they got perfect ratings. It is so much easier to get a classic rating if you only have 11 or 12 songs, rather than 18 to 20 songs. I think Kanye is on that shit were he wants another classic rating, so he makes it 12 songs, but dam, who wants to buy an album for only 12 tracks?

Gayme is a Queer · 07-21-2007, 09:01 PM

^^ Co-sign, Im Never Buying A Album With 12 Tracks. MAYBE IF IT WAS HALF PRICE OR SOMETHING.

Black Superman · 07-21-2007, 09:10 PM

a rock influenced hip hop album?wtf

mystery6996rr · 07-21-2007, 10:15 PM

props but thats gayyyyy ...

Mr.Smith · 07-21-2007, 10:31 PM

Nigga Thriller was a 9 track album and sold about 27 million. I don't care how many tracks a album has if its good its gonna get purchased.

Gayme is a Queer · 07-21-2007, 10:38 PM

^^ But This Aint The 80's, Thriller Is The Highest Selling Album Of All Time. Everyone Was Droppin Short Albums Back Then. Rappers Are Usually The Ones That Have The Longest Cd's, Every Rock Album Has Like 10-12 Tracks. I Cant Stand 30 Minute Albums, Usually Add More Tracks To Albums When There Is Still Room On A Cd

MC B STREETZ · 07-21-2007, 11:59 PM

i think everybody is

..: Hunter :.. · 07-22-2007, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Smith 2007

Nigga Thriller was a 9 track album and sold about 27 million. I don't care how many tracks a album has if its good its gonna get purchased.

Sold nearer 50 million worldwide. Quite astonishing really.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gayme Is A Queer

^^ But This Aint The 80's, Thriller Is The Highest Selling Album Of All Time. Everyone Was Droppin Short Albums Back Then. Rappers Are Usually The Ones That Have The Longest Cd's, Every Rock Album Has Like 10-12 Tracks. I Cant Stand 30 Minute Albums, Usually Add More Tracks To Albums When There Is Still Room On A Cd

Just because it's a 12 track album or so doesn't mean it's going to be 30 minutes, that's ridiculous. When artists have around 20 tracks on there albums, there is usually many fillers, and songs which length is only around 2-3 minutes. Whereas when creating albums of only 10-13 tracks, you often see songs last over 4 minutes each, and all the songs are very solid. Therefore it's better to have a 12 track album, with all songs being excellent and lasting over 4 minutes, than to have 20 songs, half of which are fillers lastng 2-3 minutes, because that's what mixtapes are for I'm afraid.

Common's "Be" didn't have many tracks on, yet that was an amazing album, a real classic. Something not many artists can claim.

Nickle · 07-22-2007, 04:47 PM

hommoo thats all

Low-Rider · 07-22-2007, 08:08 PM

If it's better than Common's Be, I'll be purchasing it. I have no problem with 12 tracks if it's a dope album. Just look at Illmatic.

Babe Truth · 07-22-2007, 09:33 PM

kanyes first album had 14 songs when u get rid of the skits

LCFC 21 · 07-22-2007, 09:35 PM

propz on this

bnnzz · 07-22-2007, 09:37 PM

so wat if its 12 tracks, eazy duz it was 6 tracks it went 2 times platnium, 50 cents album could have 50 tracks so fare all the singles sucks....

Think Muzik · 07-23-2007, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ..: Hunter :..

Sold nearer 50 million worldwide. Quite astonishing really.

Just because it's a 12 track album or so doesn't mean it's going to be 30 minutes, that's ridiculous. When artists have around 20 tracks on there albums, there is usually many fillers, and songs which length is only around 2-3 minutes. Whereas when creating albums of only 10-13 tracks, you often see songs last over 4 minutes each, and all the songs are very solid. Therefore it's better to have a 12 track album, with all songs being excellent and lasting over 4 minutes, than to have 20 songs, half of which are fillers lastng 2-3 minutes, because that's what mixtapes are for I'm afraid.

Common's "Be" didn't have many tracks on, yet that was an amazing album, a real classic. Something not many artists can claim.

CO-SIGN 100%. Thats what Im tryna do with my album styll

xx1Bloodxx · 07-23-2007, 01:57 AM

Propzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Naturalbornalkaholik · 07-23-2007, 08:47 AM

bla bla bla..........................

07-21-2007, 07:25 PM	#1
Gayme is a Queer Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,188 Repped: 207 Repped 5,971 Times in 422 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	07/21/07 - Rapper West is on a quest for perfection 07/21/07 - Rapper West is on a quest for perfection If Kanye West weren't beholden to release dates, the Chicago rapper might never finish a project. "I can keep tweaking it, keep finding improvements, because at the end of the day, all human beings worked on it. It can never be perfect," West said by phone recently. Kanye West at The Concert for Diana, hosted by Princes William and Harry at London's Wembley Stadium. Perfection might be a mirage shimmering in the distance, but that doesn't stop West from trying to reach it. It's paid off so far with a pair of acclaimed albums that were also commercial smashes: 2004's "The College Dropout" (his debut), and 2005's "Late Registration." West, 30, releases his third school-themed album, "Graduation," Aug. 21 — if he can bear to call it finished. "I've been working on this album for maybe a year and a half now," he said. "I'll work on songs for a year. I go back to them, I listen to them more. That way I already know if they're classics and if they'll stick with you. The youngest a song will be by the time it comes out might be four or five months, and the oldest song might be 2 years old before it hits the actual album. So it's had a chance to stand the test of time in my car before I give it to the world." Not just his car, either. West tests out new songs on his iPod, in the office, in dance clubs and anywhere else people might listen to his music. Then he makes adjustments based on what he hears and repeats the process — as many times as necessary. "Take a song like 'Stronger,' " West said with a rueful chuckle. "Not that this is a good thing, but I used eight different engineers and had over 30 mixes on it to try to make it right. But that's my level of dedication to delivering the best product possible." His dedication extended to the video for "Stronger," which is built around a sample of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." West says he spent three months making the clip, which is an elaborate live-action homage to the 1988 Japanese dystopian anime classic "Akira." West's perfectionism has stirred up trouble, too: He has reacted less-than-gracefully at various awards shows when he hasn't won, for example, and he's not shy about touting his (very real) brilliance as a producer and rapper. Yet his most controversial moment was political. At a benefit in 2005 for victims of Hurricane Katrina, West declared, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." "People really connected with that," he says of his unscripted bit of political commentary. Now he's eager to reconnect with people through "Graduation" with messages of strength and self-reliance that he hopes inspire his listeners. "It's an album full of theme songs," he says. It's also a departure for West. Bucking the trend toward rap albums padded with skits and filler, "Graduation" has 12 tracks and few skits. The slimmed-down record reflects the music that has inspired West lately. "I listen to mostly rock music now," he said, citing the Killers, Keane, Modest Mouse and Feist as current favorites. Those artists also influenced the sound of "Graduation." "This album has a lot of synthesizers layered on it, which has never really been done before in hip-hop," he said. "That doesn't make it good, just because it's different, but it's a representation of what I've been listening to."

07-21-2007, 08:06 PM	#2
I am God Jesus Walks Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: from California to Florida to New York Posts: 1,699 Repped: 257 Repped 1,126 Times in 499 Posts Neg Reps: 41 Neg Repped at 19 Times in 13 Posts	wait this thread isn't about 50 Cent!!!!?????!?!?!? __________________ ^^^^ Throwback

07-21-2007, 09:10 PM	#5
Black Superman Show Time Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 1,588 Repped: 259 Repped 5,423 Times in 619 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 11 Times in 9 Posts	a rock influenced hip hop album?wtf __________________ HH Board's Top 5 or Better... Who Hotter Than Me? HIT DA REP OR CLICK THE GREEN

07-21-2007, 11:59 PM	#9
MC B STREETZ YAYO'S ADVOCATE/HYPE MAN Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: FIND ME IN YA CRIB WIT DA NINA WHERE DA MONEY AT Posts: 18,196 Repped: 3,565 Repped 21,968 Times in 2,198 Posts Neg Reps: 58 Neg Repped at 51 Times in 45 Posts	i think everybody is __________________ "I'M A LOUDMOUTH NIGGA BUT MY RUGER SILENT" -TONY YAYO A.K.A TALK OF NEW YORK "ALL YAYO ENEMYS ARE ALL OF MY ENEMYS" - MC B STREETZ A.K.A YAYO'S NINJA

07-22-2007, 04:47 PM	#11
Nickle Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 78 Repped: 3 Repped 5 Times in 2 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	hommoo thats all __________________ I'm Your Highness

07-21-2007, 08:24 PM	#3
Tha Unit On Top BISD November 23rd Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,194 Repped: 639 Repped 2,455 Times in 352 Posts Neg Reps: 78 Neg Repped at 123 Times in 85 Posts	12 track? Thats some pussy shit right there. He and Common were on Hot 97 and they were talking about how they love to get great ratings. They talked about how Commons album got an XL rating but it said that this album was better than his album Be which got a XXL rating. So they were talking about how they want 5 mics, they want the XXL ratings, so if you look at it, Commons Be had like 12 songs, Clipse album had like 12 songs, they got perfect ratings. It is so much easier to get a classic rating if you only have 11 or 12 songs, rather than 18 to 20 songs. I think Kanye is on that shit were he wants another classic rating, so he makes it 12 songs, but dam, who wants to buy an album for only 12 tracks?

07-21-2007, 09:01 PM	#4
Gayme is a Queer Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,188 Repped: 207 Repped 5,971 Times in 422 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	^^ Co-sign, Im Never Buying A Album With 12 Tracks. MAYBE IF IT WAS HALF PRICE OR SOMETHING.

07-21-2007, 10:15 PM	#6
mystery6996rr iTerminate On Sight Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: LongBeach, CA Posts: 3,245 Repped: 549 Repped 209 Times in 62 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	props but thats gayyyyy ...

07-21-2007, 10:31 PM	#7
Mr.Smith Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,248 Repped: 897 Repped 333 Times in 63 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Nigga Thriller was a 9 track album and sold about 27 million. I don't care how many tracks a album has if its good its gonna get purchased.

07-21-2007, 10:38 PM	#8
Gayme is a Queer Banned Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,188 Repped: 207 Repped 5,971 Times in 422 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	^^ But This Aint The 80's, Thriller Is The Highest Selling Album Of All Time. Everyone Was Droppin Short Albums Back Then. Rappers Are Usually The Ones That Have The Longest Cd's, Every Rock Album Has Like 10-12 Tracks. I Cant Stand 30 Minute Albums, Usually Add More Tracks To Albums When There Is Still Room On A Cd

07-22-2007, 08:08 PM	#12
Low-Rider Circle of Bosses Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: La Habra Posts: 1,350 Repped: 69 Repped 1 Time in 1 Post Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	If it's better than Common's Be, I'll be purchasing it. I have no problem with 12 tracks if it's a dope album. Just look at Illmatic.

07-22-2007, 09:33 PM	#13
Babe Truth Da Truth Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,912 Repped: 296 Repped 82 Times in 26 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	kanyes first album had 14 songs when u get rid of the skits

07-22-2007, 09:35 PM	#14
LCFC 21 Veteran Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: h Posts: 9,152 Repped: 2,605 Repped 4,139 Times in 608 Posts Neg Reps: 7 Neg Repped at 1 Time in 1 Post	propz on this

07-22-2007, 09:37 PM	#15
bnnzz Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 143 Repped: 0 Repped 0 Times in 0 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	so wat if its 12 tracks, eazy duz it was 6 tracks it went 2 times platnium, 50 cents album could have 50 tracks so fare all the singles sucks....

07-23-2007, 01:57 AM	#17
xx1Bloodxx Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 271 Repped: 47 Repped 25 Times in 5 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 0 Times in 0 Posts	Propzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

07-23-2007, 08:47 AM	#18
Naturalbornalkaholik Veteran Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: belgium Posts: 8,906 Repped: 5,401 Repped 1,065 Times in 239 Posts Neg Reps: 355 Neg Repped at 39 Times in 23 Posts	bla bla bla.......................... __________________

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