I must admit I'm a fan of the video, and supposedly he directed it, but it's clear much of the credit needs to go to the director of photography. West can conjure interesting lyrics, but his rhythmic delivery is quite average. We're not talking Eminem-style intensity or originality in rapping style either. Kanye does a competent job of copying that style, and then proceeds to ruin it by putting aggressive, angry, insanely self-obsessed rapping over it. West can conjure interesting lyrics, but his rhythmic This album is a blatant ripoff of Moby's sound and production techniques, most notably from Play and 18.

This album is a blatant ripoff of Moby's sound and production techniques, most notably from Play and 18. It's ambitious, deliberate, and complete.

True hip hop fans finally get something to chew on here, and while I don't know where it stands in the holy 10 of hip hop classics, I can truly say that it is the best hip hop album of this year and perhaps the past 5. Forget cutesy, this album is mean the kind of beats that make you grimace they're so hard.

He's stopped thinking so much about his listeners, and the result is raw, good raw. He's smooth-talking, nasty, and the flows comes much more naturally on this album. This is a reborn rapper, and with him comes a new era of Kanye-ness. If you are looking for any other Kanye album to compare, you're mistaken. West does it completely, convincing audiences to listen closely to his stories and their deep atmospheres. He's smooth-talking, nasty, Few artists could get away with this level of genre-bending, norm-shattering composition and hip-hop artistry. Few artists could get away with this level of genre-bending, norm-shattering composition and hip-hop artistry.

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