Graduation [PA] by Kanye West

Don't be fooled by what others tell you: The showdown between hip-hop's bad boy (50 Cent) and hip-hop's oddball (Kanye West) is a big deal. Never in history has the "gangsta" and the "conscious" side of rap music - personified in two of hip-hop's biggest representatives - faced off in such a manner and under such circumstances. In the past decade-and-a-half, the former has kicked the latter's a*s sales-wise, and it is no different for Kanye, as despite the accolades and the acclaim, has been constantly outsold by 50 two to one. Thus it is important to hope that 'Ye trounces 50 on the charts as commensurate with his artistry.

But let me discount this confrontation for a moment, if you will, to squarely focus on this latest release from the self-styled Louis Vuitton Don. Besides, at the end of the day, when the smoke of the 9/11 clash clears, the most that would matter is the album's quality. Thus, the question is: Can Kanye continue his winning streak of strong albums with his third outing, Graduation?

Some might be perplexed that I pose this kind of question, as I almost disregard the near-universal call for 'Ye to work on his rhyming deficiencies to begin with, yet that concern is indeed encapsulated in it. Is Kanye truly incapable of faltering as an artist? Well, he's always been a far better producer than a lyrical technician, and that has prevented his preceding albums from soaring further - even in their undeniable brilliance. At least, with College Dropout, he was given somewhat of a pass starting out behind the mic for the first time. But with Late Registration, while his production powers expanded, his verbal proficiency did not experience the same kind of leap forward. So at album #3, there better be some evidence of striving for a balance, or else…

Okay, so from a production standpoint, at least he seems to let nothing remain the same in between albums. Just as album #2 distinguished itself from soul sample-drenched album #1 in its smoother sonic sheen, Graduation is primarily synthesizer galore. Sure, the vestiges of College Dropout and Late Registration are still there, like the sped-up Laura Nyro sample in "The Glory" or the lush krautrock touch Jon Brion lends to "Drunk and Hot Girls". But, for the most part, the electronic aesthetic rules. Check out "Good Life", for example: What could have been a recipe for disaster with the T-Pain guest spot and a sample from Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T." turns out instead to be a celebratory delight with the bright synths meshing perfectly with T-Pain's helium vocals. Even more impressive is the lead single, "Stronger", in which Kanye reworks Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" into a bouncy synth wonder with due thanks to Timberland's squishy drums. And "Can't Tell Me Nothing" - with help from DJ Toomp – might be the eeriest cut 'Ye has ever done, intertwining raspy Jeezy ad-libs, distant vocals from Connie Mitchell, wavering synths and clinking drums to create a ethereal masterpiece.

But there's more to the boardwork than a mere voyage to Synth World. This just might be the most inclusive production work of any 'Ye album. Only the soulfully breezy dawn of "Good Morning" and the confluence of wondrous thumps and mesmerizing strings of "I Wonder" were solely prepared by Kanye's fingers. Add the fact of scaling back the guest performances in lieu of background vocals from famous pop music figures, involving everyone from John Legend and Ne-Yo to Coldplay's Chris Martin and Jay-Z, and there is this subtle communal feel that permeates the entire album. And thank goodness the passable yet obtrusive skits of the preceding records are ditched, hopefully for good, leaving the album with a taut format of 13 tracks and 51 minutes.

But speaking of the skits…what the hell happened to the album concept? This album's called Graduation, right? Or do I need to have my eyes checked? Yeah, the skits are gone, but for a guy of Kanye's caliber and ego, one would have expected him to have done better than to make some sporadic references to higher education throughout the album. Only "Good Morning" has anything substantive thematically, as he continues to rail against college students who fail to think for themselves. And in a metaphorical sense, an honorable mention can go to "Big Brother", as 'Ye emerges from Jay-Z's wing to become a great pop star in his own right. But again, he could have done better. Far from being the conclusive part of 'Ye's trilogy, Graduation is instead virtually devoid of conceptual flow or cohesion, in a sense feeling like The Godfather III of his three-album critique.

Plus, two songs could have been jettisoned. The revelry of "Drunk and Hot Girls" - which features a disappointingly singing Mos Def (Is this brother ever going to rap again?!?) – is sorely out of place in the album. And "Barry Bonds", with its anemic thump, could have done with more of 'Ye (e.g. "You should go 'head, and bow so hard 'til your knees hit your forehead!") and less of Lil' Wayne, who continues to prove that his hype - not his skill - is his greatest attribute. "My teeth and my ice are so white like Shady!"? What the spear-chucking f-…?!?

Still, Kanye is hilariously entertaining. "How you ever popped champagne on a plane, while getting brain/Whipped it out, she said, 'I never seen Snakes On a Plane!'?" – that line from "Good Life" is one of the handful of examples in Graduation that proves that he still possesses those goofy metaphors (The "I'm like the fly Malcolm X - by any jeans necessary" line in "Good Morning" is another good one). There's also a little improvement here rhyme construction-wise, as Kanye has less of those clunky rhyme schemes and corny one-liners that slightly plagued his previous efforts.

As a whole, Graduation has a smoother, more consistent flow (save for those two aforementioned bumps) than his two previous efforts, which is a little to its detriment, since there is remarkably little here that jumps out a la "Jesus Walks" or "Two Words" or "Crack Music." But that still does not mean that the songs here are short of brilliant in content and variety. Whether it's the solid "commercial" and "street" singles ("Stronger" and "Can't Tell Me Nothing" respectively); or the party jams (e.g. "Good Life"); or the self-congratulatory and aspiring cuts (e.g. "Champion" and "The Glory"); or the hometown-dedication twist to Common's 1994 hip-hop-ode classic ("I Used to Love H.E.R.") in the Chris Martin-featured "Homecoming"; or the bemoaning of relationship strains in the Dwele-featured "Flashing Lights", Kanye continues to showcase himself as much as a multifaceted wordsmith as he is a versatile sound craftsman.

And there are two songs in particular that stand out, if only for comparatively conceptual uniqueness. "Everything I Am" - which features the scratching of legendary DJ Premier - is 'Ye's reply to those who lambaste his unconventional style and approach in hip-hop; or in other words, just being himself. So what if he doesn't wear baggy jeans or engage in gun-clapping? "People talk so much sh!t about me at barbershops, they forget to get they hair cut!" he solemnly notes in the midst of the reposeful piano-laden backdrop. The album closer, the overdriven guitar 'n' synth-laden "Big Brother" is 'Ye's dedication piece to his mentor Jay-Z, confirming that a strong relationship has an equal share of ups (e.g. giving him his shot in the music biz) and downs (e.g. "sibling rivalry"), but ultimately can bond two young ambitious men in brotherly friendship beyond the workplace.

Ultimately, Graduation is yet another triumphant notch in Kanye's belt. Yet again, the superstar demonstrates his willingness to make his sound evolve, thus avoiding sonic stagnancy that plagues even the best of hip-hop producers. And even though Kanye West is still far from grasping the Best Lyricist Ever award, his retained knack for making substantive cuts – not to mention that he's not as bad on the mic as some claim - still endears him in the hearts of those who treasure good hip-hop music. Maybe there is solace – even good news - in the theory that Kanye is yet to hit his peak. Here's hoping a monster of hip-hop called Fickleness does not rear its ugly head, though. "I wanna be compared to Big [The Notorious B.I.G.]!" he says in "The Glory", thus belying the very metaphorical essence of the album title. Yep, he hasn't graduated…yet. But he's getting closer to that glorious day.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Good Morning
2. Champion
3. Stronger
4. I Wonder
5. Good Life
6. Can't Tell Me Nothing
7. Barry Bonds
8. Drunk and Hot Girls
9. Flashing Lights
10. Everything I Am
11. The Glory
12. Homecoming
13. Big Brother