 Kanye West has a lot to say -- especially when he's talking about Kanye West. Fortunately, there's also a lot to talk about, including his sophomore album "Late Registration," which took his breakthrough with 2004's "The College Dropout" and expanded the sound thanks to the help of co-producer Jon Brion and a guest list that included John Mayer, Jay-Z, actor Jamie Foxx, Maroon5 frontman Adam Levine, Patti LaBelle, Brandy, Nas, The Game, Paul Wall, Cam'ron and West protege John Legend. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and won three Grammy Awards. |
| What kind of pressure did you feel after "The College Dropout's" success? West: I knew that after "The College Dropout" I had the world listening. So what I had to do was not just outdo "The College Dropout" and the accolades that received. My (goal) was to make an album with no fast-forward material, 'cause how often can you say "I like every song on the album?" I wanted it to be an adventure, a journey, like...exciting. So it's me up there, setting new goals for myself. This IS the next level, the next generation. So if there were any flaws in this album, it's like why even (point that out), because the rest of it's so dope. |
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You raised a lot of eyebrows by working with Jon Brion on "Late Registration." West: I know a lot of people, when they heard I was working with Jon Brion, they'd see him as like a regular white guy or whatever, and they'd see me and think I'm just a big-headed one-hit wonder that wasn't supposed to make it that far, and they have no idea what's going on. I love Fiona Apple, man, love it. And I knew she had listened to a lot of hip-hop and, with Jon Brion, brought that into her sound. So I knew that we could get the hip-hop feel but have these really massive tracks, like a rock album. Rappers never had tracks this massive. That's what (Brion) helped me get. |
| What kind of music influenced you on "Late Registration?" West: "Jon and me would sit around listen to stuff. There'd be, like, random modern (stuff) we'd pop in; I remember this one day listening to the Jackson 5 for so long and hearing stuff, like, where they wouldn't bring drums in for, like, two minutes. That would never happen in music today. Everything was possible for us, man. (Brion) had so much knowledge from that (pop) side, and I had so much knowledge from this (hip-hop) side, it was just...unfair. |
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| There was a lukewarm response when you put "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" out as the first single. How did that impact on the rest of the album? West: It was a wake-up call when there were certain black people that didn't connect with "Diamonds." I went back and redid songs on my album and did the new songs and made my album blacker. Who's on your wish list to work with? West: Eminem and Lauryn (Hill). Those are like the only two. I did something (for Hill) and she didn't accept it. It wasn't my best work, and she's got her own shit. What other ambitions do you have? Would you like to write theatrical or Broadway pieces? West: I don't know about Broadway, particularly, but movies, something cinematic. That's in that same family. I felt like ("Late Registration) sounded like a movie, 'cause a movie might have regular, upbeat songs like "Touch the Sky," and it has emotional part's like "Roses" or "Bring Me Down." So a situation like that might appeal to me. |
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