How was it when The College Dropout came out?

[28 Gramz]

Nobody in my circle was rocking with Ye music like that. We were 16-18 around that time everyone was listening to 50/Dipset/State Prop/TI/Wayne/Crunk etc..

Unless you were apart of that "crowd" Kanye wasn't really a factor like that.

 

[desjardins]

It had big radio hits but I honestly don’t remember it being big amongst my peers
That’s when getting played on the radio 3 times a hour still mattered so no denying it was a big album in rap but it’s not like we were blasting all falls down or jesus walks on the way to the party or nothing

 

[Mr swag]

Believe it or not. He had zero buzz after his first single. He took the 2nd single to get some shine

 

[FeverPitch2]

nikkas acted like it was the second coming of Jesus.
I didn't even have to buy it. nikkas just gave me copies because they thought it was that good.
I thought it was dope and I liked the non-street guy perspective.
What rubbed me the wrong way was his voice and delivery.
He rapped like a straight up batty bwai.
To this this day, I still think Ye is bi or fluid or something.
IMO, Ye was the gateway for all the femininity we've been seen in young Black males as of late.
Then I figured out that he had ghostwriters.
This was prior to the announcement that Rhymefest was writing for him.
I notice how his rhymes would be off the chain dope one minute and horribly wack the next.
Couple that with the story of how nobody at The Roc wanted to hear him rhyme and there you have it.

 

[Waterproof]

I was 27 and at that time to me being from that 88-96 era, hip hop fukkin sucked! I lost the love, the feeling was gone and I stopped listening to hip hop, I started listening to Blue's, Jazz, and revisited Neo Soul, The Soul Aquarians Movement and Old School Soul and that shyt was fresh to me like hip hop used to be, I was heavy into Billie Holiday.

But then Georgia Anne Murdlow dropped worth nothing's on Stone Throws and Stone Throw being Peanut Butter Wolf is from my city San Jose had me digging, I start checking out Madlib, Doom, Dilla again, they dropped new shyt, what Stone Throws was doing it brought my love for hip hop back, I started listening to Little Brother and The Justus League, I was like this is the hip hop I loved.

Then this new cat who I followed because I like his production on Beans and Jay albums dropped College Dropout. It was a breath of fresh air, it was a return of dope samples and simpler times, I brought the feelings of the native tongue movement of the late 80's with the underground scene of the late 90's and a touch of the Soul Aquarians on some new shyt, and that's why it was a classic and hit with the Mainstream, subterranean and underground, it was something old that was new. It was a beautiful album and time.

 

[Waterproof]

My co-workers who were heavy into G-Unit thought I was weird for listening to it. I know it's cliche but it really was a breath of fresh air to me and I was stanning his production since "This Can't Be Life".

We was fukkin tired of G-Unit when College Dropout dropped, We was tired of The Shady Aftermath vs Murder Inc, was tired of the Snap Music, Ringtone Music, was tired of Ying Yang Twins, Tired of Crunk Music, was tired of all that shyt

 

[RIPODB]

You couldn't set foot in any building on any college campus in the country without hearing it.

That demographic went CRAZY over this album.

 

[Waterproof]

I personally remember the chatter being , is Dame/Jay really gonna put out an album of a dude who's better skill is producing over rapping?

Up until that time only the chronic 1 & 2 were the only credible mega selling albums/ from producers who also rapped.

The streets ate up almost anything the Roc put out at that time but there was some skepticism about if Kanye had any other joints than through the wire until Jesus Walks came out.

That Chatter was killed when Kanye West dropped his mixtape in December 2002 Get Well Soon, that mixtape was hot, everybody was looking for that mixtape, from the mixtape everyone was anticipating College Dropout, and he dropped I'm Good Mixtape and it was a wrap he had the most anticipated album

 

[Kliq_Souf]

I was 14 and played that album all summer.
It was a breath of fresh air...
The album cuts were better than the singles

Next summer is when he became a superstar with Gold Digger, probably the biggest hiphop song that summer...

 

[Monoblock]

I was 27 and at that time to me being from that 88-96 era, hip hop fukkin sucked! I lost the love, the feeling was gone and I stopped listening to hip hop, I started listening to Blue's, Jazz, and revisited Neo Soul, The Soul Aquarians Movement and Old School Soul and that shyt was fresh to me like hip hop used to be, I was heavy into Billie Holiday.

But then Georgia Anne Murdlow dropped worth nothing's on Stone Throws and Stone Throw being Peanut Butter Wolf is from my city San Jose had me digging, I start checking out Madlib, Doom, Dilla again, they dropped new shyt, what Stone Throws was doing it brought my love for hip hop back, I started listening to Little Brother and The Justus League, I was like this is the hip hop I loved.

Then this new cat who I followed because I like his production on Beans and Jay albums dropped College Dropout. It was a breath of fresh air, it was a return of dope samples and simpler times, I brought the feelings of the native tongue movement of the late 80's with the underground scene of the late 90's and a touch of the Soul Aquarians on some new shyt, and that's why it was a classic and hit with the Mainstream, subterranean and underground, it was something old that was new. It was a beautiful album and time.

It's funny you mention them bc they were all on the come up back then and truth be told that Listening album and those Justus League tapes made me fall in love with hip-hop all over again. Like you, I fell out of love especially during the 98-01 era. People won't believe this but LB had a huge underground following that was on par with Kanye back in the day. @TheDarceKnight can confirm it for me.



Ye just knew how to market himself and had the Rocafella connects behind him to blow the way he did first.....actually now that I think about it...Rocafella didnt really promote him the way they should've. He was kind of left to fend for himself b/c Ye was doing the videos, producing the songs, promo'd...Yea Ye had to prove himself first before he got cosigned like that.

 

[Malcolmxxx_23]

goat era

 

[987654321]

I was 17. I was like a breath of fresh air. that style of hip hop was normally relegated to the underground cult followings. His production and personality couldn’t be denied. It was much needed, people can’t act super tough all the time. Everybody, whether hood or not, seemed to enjoy some aspect of it. I think it really opened the doors for positive transformation in black pop culture.

 

[Waterproof]

It's funny you mention them bc they were all on the come up back then and truth be told that Listening album and those Justus League tapes made me fall in love with hip-hop all over again. Like you, I fell out of love especially during the 98-01 era. People won't believe this but LB had a huge underground following that was on par with Kanye back in the day. @TheDarceKnight can confirm it for me.



Ye just knew how to market himself and had the Rocafella connects behind him to blow the way he did first.....actually now that I think about it...Rocafella didnt really promote him the way they should've. He was kind of left to fend for himself b/c Ye was doing the videos, producing the songs, promo'd...Yea Ye had to prove himself first before he got cosigned like that.

Bruh I distance myself from hip hop at that time and I was barely returning to it, I mean I stopped listened to it on the radio, no MTV or Bet, No Source or XXL, I was record digging and all of sudden I seen Little Brother The Listening, The Cover caught my attention and I copped it, I put that album in and I was like

The Listening and College Dropout brought Pure hip hop back and they had a huge falling even Jay-Z got hold of the listening and he shout the Album out and rest is history

 

[TheDarceKnight]

It seemed like a pretty big deal where I was. I mean, it felt like the start of something bigger, I'll put it that way. It was a big album, but it wasn't a huge album. I think most knowledgeable heads knew that we were witnessing a paradigm shift in the game. And I don't remember anyone disliking it. I mean, some people still preferred G-Unit, Dipset, etc, but I don't remember anyone not thinking College Droupout as at the very least quality music.

 

[R=G]

Kanye stood out from the day Through the Wire hit the radio.

Him putting that other album out the same day as 50's was what turned him into a smash mainstream star.