Kanye West Back Strong with Graduation

It's hard not to call Graduation Kanye West's crowning achievement to date. Gone are the annoying skits and intros that plagued Late Registration. In their stead are thirteen cuts that leave the listener feeling even a little bit slighted on the light side when all is said and done. The album opens with the soft samplings of Jay-Z on "Good Morning." Some creative rhyming on this cut: "I'm like a fly Malcolm X/Buy any jeans necessary" makes it a nice introductory piece, and then it is immediately followed by "Champion", with a dead ringer for Lauryn Hill crooning away in the background. Lead single "Stronger" rocks the beat as track three, then it's the unique "I Wonder" and funky "Good Life" back-to-back before second single "Can't Tell Me Nothing." A phenomenally strong first side to the disc gets a bit sluggish in the middle with "Barry Bonds" (Lil Wayne's contribution is weak) and "Drunken Hot Girls" (why bother?), but then Kanye regains his footing with a strong finish. "Flashing Lights" and "The Glory" are total dance gems, while "Everything I Am," "Homecoming," and "Big Brother" are all perfectly felt emotional odes. (Indeed, Kanye's "Homecoming" collaboration with Chris Martin is even better than Jay Z's "Beach Chair" of last year.) Closing with "Brother"---a tribute song to Mr. Hovito----is a bit strange, but sometimes less is more, right? Clearly, Kanye is now as relevant and prevalent as any rapper/producer in the business. Three albums in, his production skills are untouchable, while his rhyming seems to have improved with each disc. A head-to-head "battle" with 50 Cent assured Graduation of some good sales, and it's no surprise to see the album debuting at number one with just about one million copies sold. A bit of a lull in the middle, and a tad short on total tracks, Kanye irregardless graduates from my CD player with a strong A- and hands-down the best hip hop release so far this year. -JAB P.S. Next up: Springsteen and the E Street Band drop Magic on Tuesday.