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The third full-length album from Chicago rapper Kanye West is unfortunately the worst of the three the man has made, because far too often there just seems like too many moments that feel just in the middle. However, instead of not taking an artistic risk by using typical hip-hop fodder, West uses beats that sound like the same general beat work that flooded College Dropout and Late Registration, but at it's core comes from much more extensive places. West uses samples from Steely Dan ("Champion") and Can ("Drunk and Hot Girls") as well as Elton John and the well noted use of Daft Punk on "Stronger". West also balances his own egotism and love for women with the more biting and deep sides of his personality including a personal indictment of himself ("Can't Tell Me Nothing") and his love/hate relationship with Jay-Z ("Big Brother")

Barring say the two singles and "Flashing Lights", there's not much that's instantly amazing on the record. The cameos are very flaccid this time around, with only Mos Def doing another hold-over appearance and Lil' Wayne making an appearance that is stunningly non-notable (and perhaps an example that Wayne maybe shouldn't run after doing an appearance on every rap record ever made, either).

However, that's not to say the record doesn't have tracks that hold better to multiple listens. "Good Morning" is a fantastic intro to lead into the already mentioned "Champion". "The Glory", "Homecoming", and "Big Brother" turn a decent album into something solid, especially "Brother"'s human take on the idea of "brotherhood" and how one can truly appreciate and respect someone without liking them.

The short length in comparison to other rap records is both a blessing and a curse, too. The blessing is that Kanye tries to take away from the bloated feeling that a lot of mainstream rap gets bogged down by, but Kanye is a rapper for which a long CD works exactly to his strengths as well. Honestly, if he expanded something like "Flashing Lights" to "We Major"-length, I wouldn't have had a problem with that. Hell, it'd just make that song all the more awesome. But as is, Graduation is a solid effort that does take a while to truly appreciate, but as long as you don't expect another Late Registration, you'll appreciate it just fine.

Rating: 7/10
Key Tracks: "Can't Tell Me Nothing", "Stronger", "Flashing Lights", "Big Brother", "Good Morning"

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