This album had more fake bootlegs than 50's Get Rich or Die Trying, but I got a hold of the real deal. Here we go.

1. Wake up Mr. West - Intro featuring Bernie Mack

2. Heard 'Em Say (feat. Adam Levine of Maroon 5) - Nice laid back beat, Kanye spits about some of the struggle he and his family has been through back in his younger days. Levine provides good harmony on the hook.
7.5/10

3. Touch the Sky (feat. Lupe Fiasco) - Up-beat instrumental with a real energetic horn part, reminiscent of the "Encore" beat Kanye made for Jay-Z. Don't know much about Lupe Fiasco, thought he was Consequence until I looked at the track list. Anyway, he's got a nice style, and hangs right with Kanye on lyrical ability. 8.5/10

4. Gold Digger (feat. Jaime Foxx) - The single blowing up everywhere about what else? Money-hungry bitches. Jaime Foxx provides a nice sample, taken from the movie Ray, and I heard a rumor that some of it is the actual Ray Charles himself. Good lyric-wise, but it's a single so it's gonna get old quick. 7/10

5. Skit #1

6. Drive Slow (feat. Paul Wall and GLC) - Hey everyone, let's go tipping. This instrumental is ill, with a sample from Tupac's "Shorty Wanna Be A Thug". I was somewhat skeptikal when I noticed Paul Wall had a guest appearance, but the track title suggested it was about cars, and that's what he normally raps about. This track turned out to be a beautiful blend of midwest rhyme styles with that dirty south persona. And yeah, Paul Wall's good on it too...so is GLC, of course. 8.5/10

7. My Way Home (feat. Common - Lol @ "featuring Common"...this track is Common, by himself for about a minute. Not quite as good as "Be", but still a nice beat and the usual laid back real talk from Common. Would've liked to hear Kanye on a second verse though. 8/10

8. Crack Music (feat. Game) - Kanye gets on his political game and kicks 2 verses about how the government treats minorities, and how minorities can overcome. Unfortunately, Game is just on the hook. The beat fits with the lyrics, but just doesn't seem like a Kanye rapping beat. 7/10

9. Roses - I'm not usually a fan of instrumentals with no bassline, but Kanye flows flawlessly over this one, about his hospital-committed grandmother. Feeling the chorus, pretty soulful. Kanye's pretty good at indirect stories in his rhymes. Like he's more describing the moment at hand rather than a series of events. 9/10

10. Bring Me Down (feat. Brandy) - For those of you who have heard "Wack Niggaz" by Kanye, Consequence, Common, and Talib Kweli, you'll recognize some of Kanye's lyrics. A real emotional display, over a real emotional beat, about the dream-killers. Brandy compliments the track with an almost motivational feel to her simple hook "I always knew that one day they'd try to bring me down." Her interlude is pretty good also. 9/10

11. Addiction - Kanye tries out a new rhyme style on this one, about the addictions we all encounter - women, money, etc. The beat is just hypnotic, don't recognize where the sample is from though. 8/10

12. Skit #2

13. Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix, feat. Jay-Z) - Longer intro, new 1st verse. Kanye comes hard on it again, but IMO it's not as good as the original. Jay snaps though, with 2 legendary lines right next to each other. I won't spoil it for you, just peep it. 8.5/10

14. We Major (feat. Nas and Really Doe) - Not really feeling this beat, and it's 7 1/2 minutes long. Kanye and Nas save it as much as possible, with some real talk as Nas always does. Really Doe provides some decent background vocals. This is actually one of my least favorite tracks on the album. 6.5/10

15. Skit #3

16. Hey Mama - Had this one for a while. Nice soulful instrumental, I think it's a Simon and Garfunkel sample. Kanye even showcases some of his singing ability as well, on this track about his mother focusing mostly on his younger years. 7.5/10

17. Celebration - Decent beat, Kanye works well over it. Just kind of a slowed-down party jam. Placement on the album was a little early in my opinion, it sounds more like it would be the last track on an album. Nevertheless, it's aight. 7/10

18. Skit #4

19. Gone (feat. Consequence and Cam'ron) - Nice beat, Kanye starts it off hyped up. Cam'ron drops a really enjoyable verse, creative as hell as always. I mean, the man rhymes with "cerebellum". 'Quence finishes the track up nicely...or so you think. Just after his verse the beat begins to change gradually, and then before you know it, it's got a harder feel with Kanye ripping the hell out of it. Probably one of my favorite tracks on the album. 9/10

20. Diamonds from Sierra Leone - We've all heard this, the explosive single that let us know The College Dropout was in no way a fluke. I still chuckle at the "mini-van" line. Like I said before, Kanye's lyrics are better than the ones on the remix, but I say overall they're evenly matched. I still have heard it somewhat too much though. 7/10

21. Late (Hidden Bonus Track) - Kanye slows down the album this one. Half love song, half song about Kanye himself. Still, it's real dope and a great end to this album. 8.5/10

Overall, I give this album an 8/10. This'll be one of the top hip hop albums of 2005. Don't know if it'll be the best, but to top this someone will have to drop something damn near classic status. And at the moment I can't think of any that have been released so far this year. So yeah, this is a must-have, and when you cop it, ENJOY!

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