How was it when The College Dropout came out?

[Rozay Oro]

I was a child enjoying Jesus Walks (especially on the radio), All Falls Down and Slow Jamz on mtv. I was too young to understand sample flips, the intricacies of the drum patterns and sound selection.

For y’all that were either already grown or teens at the time. Tell me how your first listen was? What your friends were saying? Were people enjoying the music but knocking the backpacker persona of Ye? Etc?

I was obviously alive but it was when I got much older I could understand that it was deeper than just good sounding music to my ears with interesting lyrics.

 

[Piff Perkins]

I remember being a kid consuming every leak, searching for every track I could possibly find that he produced. That album dominated that year for me and much of the next year. It was that dope. I remember some "real hip hop" people hating on it, saying Dilla was better etc. But it was just that. hate. Felt like one of many examples of purists having zero interest in actual songwriting. No Kanye wasn't the best rapper. His flow sounded childish at times. But he was dope as fukk overall on that album, and even some of the worst bars were meaningful or comical.

 

[Stick Up Kid]

Nothing really
2003-2004 was still the G-Unit/Dipset/Roc A Fella days

nikkas wasn’t listening to Kanye

 

[Ghost Utmost]

I remember thinking he was very dope.

I wasn't in the stage where I really go crazy over new artists. In 2003 I was pushing 30. I heard the popular sruff. Maybe downloaded it and gave it one good listen then picked a few tracks for my ipod and prolly never listened to the rest again

That's the type of thing I was doing, don't recall specifically what happened in the case of that album

 

[Metal Face]

Cacs loved it

 

[Paper Boi]

breh you like 28 stop pretending like you don't remember

 

[Stick Up Kid]

breh you like 28 stop pretending like you don't remember

well he would’ve been 10-11 in 2004

 

[Paper Boi]

well he would’ve been 10-11 in 2004

and i was 12

one of the first CDs i ever bought with my own money

 

[Stick Up Kid]

and i was 12

one of the first CDs i ever bought with my own money

true, when i was 12 i bought Boogie Down Production's tape off some africans in Bed Stuy.

 

[JustCKing]

Some of the songs were old, so you would have to go back a few years to like late 2002 to truly understand the hype. Freshman Adjustment (I think it was this one) that had early versions of some songs that ended up on the album i.e. "Jesus Walks". "Self Conscious" was a Kanye spoken word piece that became "All Falls Down". Anyway, that tape started the hype because of course people loved the beats, but weren't sold on him as a rapper until that tape. "Through The Wire" changed a lot if minds as people thought Kanye's verse on Jay's "The Bounce" was wack, which introduced Kanye the rapper to most. Throughout 2003, we got several leaked songs that increased the hype significantly. There was the version of "All Falls Down" with the Lauryn Hill vocal sample and a couple of others that were different from the album. "Slow Jamz" of course gave that album a huge boost before release, but by this time, Kanye was a star. College Dropout was the most anticipated album of that year.

 

[darealvelle]

I was 16 when it came out and it was more like a breath of fresh air for mainstream hiphop. I thought Late Registration had it bigger impact imo.

 

[Threnody]

Album (the advanced version had been floating around for a long ass time before the album dropped) was incredible....hip-hop heads was really feeling it

Kayne's tribe called quest/guy called west was some real shyt as far as the mainstream went thats how a lot of nikkas really felt

and it was the start of a shift in rap which wasn't all that quick tho mostly because of women

Females is who I remember being the most 'whatever' towards Kayne cause his image didn't fit what they were taught to like for the most part

but still enjoyed the music I remember my shorty at the time telling me she only like "slow jamz" and that was because of Twista

 

[Wild self]

Nothing really
2003-2004 was still the G-Unit/Dipset/Roc A Fella days

nikkas wasn’t listening to Kanye

What I do know, is a lot of black folk switched up from super baggy clothes, to polos and fitted jeans.

 

[Wild self]

I was 16 when it came out and it was more like a breath of fresh air for mainstream hiphop. I thought Late Registration had it bigger impact imo.

Cats at one point said that you had to sell drugs and catch bodies, to be a credible MC.

What Kanye did, was break the chains of mental slavery that was rampant back then.

 

[WhatsGoodTy]

shyt was so different I was hooked.