On its 15th anniversary today, I decided to make a thread on why I think Kanye West’s Late Registration is a masterpiece.

(Thread)

With the success of The College Dropout, 28-year-old Kanye West was faced with the astronomical pressure of following up his debut classic. He was out to prove that it was not just a fluke, and he knew that he needed to craft something special.

In order to do so, Kanye wanted this album to transcend the genre. He wanted “lush orchestras, grand experiments and a new form of rap.” He wanted it to be larger than life. What Kanye didn’t know, was that it was about to make HIMSELF a larger-than-life figure.

To accomplish this lofty goal, Kanye brought in film score composer Jon Brion to collaborate on several tracks. Brion had composed films such as Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and more recently, Lady Bird.

Brion’s philosophy was to make “performance pieces” instead of songs, meaning that these tracks were to feel like an experience rather than something you would simply sing along to on the radio. He and Kanye recorded with live instruments including entire string orchestras.

Ye certainly succeeded in the sound he was going for.

Late Registration is authentic, and there is a raw, vulnerable element to the album. A lot of the lyrics were spontaneous in order to capture a sense of emotional honesty, so they were not written down and Ye came up with them directly in the booth.

Another aspect of this authenticity is in the mixing. It was only partly mixed to maintain a sort of raw aesthetic. While the vocals were certainly edited to fit the instrumentals, many of the beats weren’t touched after they came out of the drum machines, which is very unique.

The themes are profound. It was especially significant due to Hurricane Katrina:

-1,833 deaths
-80% of those affected were People of Color
-70% of the poor ppl affected were Black
-75% of ppl who didn't have a car during evacuation were Black
(Journal of Black Studies)

As such, Late Registration has a special focus on introspection with careful attention to the subject matter. Kanye wanted to write about more complex social issues and dealt with vulnerable themes such as pain and adversity. This is evident on songs like Crack Music and Roses.

Even with some serious topics, Kanye still wanted to uplift the audience and create art to relate to. He stated: “One of the reasons why I don’t have beef with any rappers, with anybody is [because] it’s always positive energy put out.” Ye wanted to put out positive music.

It has some of Kanye’s best rapping ever. He went to poetry sessions to practice rhyming and speaking directly from the heart, and learn from those who could already do so at a high level. The commitment to his craft is evident on this project.

LR has possibly Kanye’s most intimate song ever in Hey Mama. It is a beautiful and sentimental love letter to his mother. It hits even harder knowing that Donda West passed away at the age of 58 in 2007. RIP Donda.

Last but not least, this album is one of the first hip hop albums I ever heard, and is still a top 5 album all time for me. It has been there for me when I am down, it has been there for me when I am up, it is perfect for a plethora of different moods and it’s a classic.

End of thread. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!