Rewind: Kanye West 'College Dropout' (Part 2)

Welcome to our second look at Kanye West's 'The College Dropout'.

One of 'College Dropout''s standout album tracks is Kanye's 'School Spirit' sampling Aretha Franklin's 'Spirit in the Dark' from her 1970 album of the same name. Knowledge jewel: 'School Spirit' is edited for language because one of Aretha Franklin's stipulation for using the sample is there was no cursing over it. The Kanye, Freeway, and Mos Def posse cut 'Two Words' features a sample from Mandrill's 'Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) - Movement IV' from their self-titled 1970 album. Look for future posts about both Free and Mos this month on this blog.

The album's lead single is the outstanding 'Through the Wire', which put Kanye on the map as a rapper in addition to a producer. The track samples and interpolates Chaka Khan's 'Through the Fire' from her hit album 'I Feel for You' from 1984. West's 'Family Business' cuts a sample from 'Fonky Thang' by the Dells from 1972's 'Sweet as Funk Can Be'. The album ends with the track 'Last Call', co-produced by Porse. West's story of joining the Roc thematically uses a loop from Bette Midler's 'Mr. Rockefeller' from her album 'Songs for the New Depression'.

In addition to 'The College Dropout', Kanye produced a grip of great single in 2004 and returned in 2005 with his sophomore album 'Late Registration' (look for a multi-post arc about 'Late Registration' in the future).

The Lowdown:
Kanye West 'School Spirit', 'Two Words', 'Through the Wire', 'Family Business', and 'Last Call'
from 'College Dropout' (2004) (MP3/CD)
Clean Edit: 'School Spirit', 'Two Words', 'Through the Wire', 'Family Business', and 'Last Call'
Aretha Franklin 'Spirit in the Dark'
from 'Spirit in the Dark' (1970) (MP3/CD)
Mandrill 'Peace and Love (Amani Na Mapenzi) - Movement IV'
from 'Mandrill' (1970) (MP3 not avialable/CD)
Chaka Khan 'Through the Fire'
from 'I Feel for You' (1984) (MP3/CD)
The Dells 'Fonky Thang'
from 'Sweet as Funk Can Be' (1972) (MP3 not available/CD not available)
Bette Midler 'Mr. Rockefeller'
from 'Songs for the New Depression' (1976) (MP3 not available/CD not available)