Maps of Music

Graduation (2007)

Where the lyrics of Graduation take you, and where it was really made.

Kanye West's third album beat 50 Cent's Curtis in a same-day sales contest, and the result is often linked to the decline of gangsta rap in mainstream hip-hop.

Key places

Sony Music Studios in New York (2007)

Recording site Sony Music Studios — The album's recording sessions were spread across several New York and Los Angeles studios. This New York studio is listed among the recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Chung King Studios in New York (2007)

Recording site Chung King Studios — The album's recording sessions were spread across several New York and Los Angeles studios. This New York studio is listed among the recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Record Plant in Los Angeles (2007)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — West asked singer Connie Mitchell to travel to this Los Angeles studio to begin recording tracks for the album. Several tracks with her background vocals were recorded here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Graduation is the third studio album by Kanye West
• Released September 11, 2007 through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records
• Recording sessions ran from 2005 to 2007 at several studios in New York and Los Angeles
• Mostly produced by West, with contributions from DJ Toomp and other producers
• Guests include Dwele, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mos Def, DJ Premier, and Chris Martin
• Cover shows Dropout Bear, West's mascot at the time, in a new cartoon form
• Interior artwork designed by Takashi Murakami
• Closes the education theme of West's first two albums, The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005)

Background

• Inspired by watching Bono open stadium tours on the U2 Vertigo Tour
• Aimed at anthemic songs that could work in large stadiums and arenas
• Moves away from the ornate, soul-based sound of West's earlier releases
• Draws on house music, indie rock, and arena rock

Recording

• Work began right after Late Registration; by late September 2005 three songs were done, with twelve tracks planned
• Stronger's music video, shot by Hype Williams, pushed the album toward a more futuristic direction
• Stronger was mixed seventy-five times
• Homecoming came from a jam with Chris Martin at Abbey Road Studios in London

Cover

• Story follows Dropout Bear through a rainy morning to a graduation ceremony at a futuristic college
• Murakami's art ties the album to the education theme

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Ye (born Kanye Omari West, June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.
• Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago; began producing in the mid-1990s for Chicago-area artists.
• Signed to Roc-A-Fella Records as a recording artist after producing for Jay-Z's label.

Members

• Solo artist; formed the Go-Getters group with GLC, Timmy G, and Arrowstar (1999).

Career

• Debut The College Dropout (2004) and Late Registration (2005) earned critical acclaim.
• Released eleven US Billboard 200 number-one albums; five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
• Known for stylistic shifts from chamber pop to electropop, gospel, and industrial rap.
• Founded GOOD Music label; ventured into fashion with Louis Vuitton, Nike, and Adidas (Yeezy).
• Has 24 Grammy Awards and sold an estimated 160 million records.
• Faced major controversy for antisemitic statements from 2022 and later expressed remorse.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Graduation received widespread acclaim from music critics who praised the production
• Metacritic gave it a weighted average of 79 out of 100 from 32 critic scores, described as generally favorable reviews
• Spin's Charles Aaron called it mesmerizing and alienating, like all the purest forms of pop culture
• Pitchfork's Mark Pytlik praised the accessibility of West's sonic experiments
• Greg Tate of The Village Voice called West the most genuinely confessional MC in hip-hop today
• Stylus Magazine's Jayson Greene said it serves as a document of West's maturation
• Robert Christgau of MSN Music called it a minor success
• Dave Heaton of PopMatters said it lacks the epochal feel of Late Registration

Reappraisal

• Later named to Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list
• Later named to NME's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list
• Listed among numerous decade-end lists and widely regarded as one of West's best albums

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, with over 957,000 copies sold in its first week
• Sold over 8 million copies in the United States, certified octuple platinum by the RIAA
• Debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart dated September 22, 2007
• Debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart; certified double platinum by Music Canada for 200,000 copies
• Won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, West's third
• Won Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at the American Music Awards of 2008

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Singer Chris Brown had planned to call his second album Graduation, but renamed it Exclusive after learning West would use the title.
• Lil Wayne is the guest on the track Barry Bonds, which West had first planned without guest rap verses.
• West and 50 Cent were booked on a 106 and Park special titled Kanye West vs. 50 Cent: The Clash of the Titans, which aired on September 11.
• Dropout Bear's story on the cover ends with him shot out of a cannon into another stratosphere on the back cover.
• The album's Good Morning opens with a three-minute cel-shaded animated music video by Murakami.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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