Kanye West released The College Dropout on this day exactly years ago, marking a turning point in rap history that changed the sound of rap and the definition of what a hip-hop superstar could be.
He wasn’t a mafioso wannabe living out his dreams of becoming Scarface. He wasn’t just a tough-guy corner boy either. Though energetic and frequently naughty, he was still just your average quirky kid from down the block. He experienced reality.
That relatability won over other rap enthusiasts and struck a chord with me. I felt powerful whether I was rapping about surviving a terrible retail job or standing on a Family Business.
Let’s fast-forward eighteen years to a time when I chastised Ye for his stupid anti-Semitic outbursts, and my inbox is filled with hate mail and threats (the ones with the hard R) for having the audacity to tell him to calm down.
Yeezy stayed quiet most of the year and left the country to spend most of the summer with his wife Bianca Censori in the Tuscany hills of Italy. It was there that he met Ty Dolla $ign and the concept for a collaborative album started to take shape.
“I don’t agree with a lot of the things Kanye has to say but personally, if I feel like the music is good I will listen to it. I believe more in if I like it, I’ll listen to it I don’t prefer one artist over another because of whatever may be going on in the media” said Maven Lebron, senior.
Although Vultures 1 is Kanye’s first album without the support of Def Jam or Universal Music Group, most people would consider it a comeback. However, almost all of his endeavors are motivated by some kind of struggle he is facing. Just recall My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy from 2010 after the MTV VMAs and Taylor Swift controversy from the previous year.
“Kanye just needs some help, I don’t care about his album being released,” says Jessica Garvey, junior.
However, a genuine Yeezy release wouldn’t be complete without some turbulence, with fans questioning if the project would materialize following multiple setbacks and listening parties held in the United Center in Chicago and the UBS Arena on Long Island in the Big Apple.
Nevertheless, Yeezy season endured as the first volume of Vultures 1 eventually made its way into streaming sites early on Saturday morning, February 10, which also happens to be Kanye’s The College Dropout debut album’s 20th anniversary.
