Kanye West doesn’t want to have much fun anymore. At least that’s the impression you get from his third album, Graduation. Kanye proved he wasn’t joking around when he pushed his album up to September 11, a date that just happened to coincide with a release from one of the biggest selling artists of this millennium. Who knew the serious approach would be so reflective of the album itself?

There’s really nothing wrong with Graduation, it’s just lacking some of the kick that made Late Registration memorable. There’s none of the big horns that drove “Touch the Sky” or anything quite as frenetic as “Gold Digger.” Simply put, Graduation isn’t very danceable.

But where it lacks in boisterousness it makes up for in smoothness. And it’s not like ’Ye forgot how to flip a sample. Right out of the gate, Kanye borrows from Elton John to concoct the simple, silky “Good Morning.” His lyrics have improved a little too, as he drops clever lines like, “Look at the valedictorians/ Scared of the future while I hop in the DeLorean.”

“Everything I Am” couldn’t be more mellow. The calming pianos and scatches courtesy of DJ Premier provides a perfect backdrop for Kanye to express his uniqueness: “I never rock a mink coat in the wintertime like Killa Cam/ Or rock some mink boots in the summertime like will.i.am/ Let me know if you feel it man/ ’Cuz everything I’m not may be everything I am.”

But these songs are almost too perfect. Kanye supposedly returned to the studio – even after the first shipment of albums was sent to the stores – to tinker with a snare drum here, an ad lib there. The result is that almost all the songs on Graduation sound better through your headphones than they do in your whip.

Even when he lets loose a little, the results are more uplifting than club-worthy (“Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Flashing Lights”), though still very respectable. It’s when Kanye tries to get silly that he has his only slip-ups. The bouncy, yet uninspiring “Barry Bonds,” featuring a less than stellar verse from Lil’ Wayne, is one example. It’s a song that’s not nearly as good as West thinks it is, but at least it’s somewhat listenable. The same can’t be said for the completely inane “Drunk and Hot Girls.” The pace of the track makes it even more unbearable. It’s as if the track is trudging through a tar pit.

But the lows are easily outweighed by the highs. “Stronger” is perhaps one of Kanye’s better uses of a sample, as he turns Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” into a futuristic, electro-infused hip hop hit. West reclaims some of his swag, too, offering such lines as, “So how the could you front on me?/ There’s a thousand you’s, there’s only one of me.”

Mr. West hasn’t lost his personality by any means. He’s still arrogant as hell. He still drops the beat unnecessarily when he thinks what he’s saying is more clever than it really is. But he’s definitely lost some of the hunger he had on The College Dropout (when he had to prove he could actually rap) and the braggadocio he displayed on Late Registration (when he realized he was the man). Still, even without trying very hard he’s got more flair than most rappers.

So if you can get over the fact that Graduation isn’t as rowdy as you might’ve anticipated, it’s hard to be displeased. At only 13 songs and – rejoice! – no skits, it’s a very tight project.

And as far as the sales competition with that other rap heavyweight dropping on the 11th, my money’s on the Louie Vuitton Don.

by Andrew Kahn

RELATED CONTENT

• • Kanye West Kicks Off World Tour [sohh.com]

  • Mos Def Goes Indie; Set To Work With Kanye West On New Album [ballerstatus.com]

  • Kanye West issues statement about mother’s death

  • Kanye West Keeps Registers Ringing, Keyshia Cole Says Goodbye To The Top 10, Jennifer Lopez Joins Charts Race [sohh.com]

  • Kanye is set for ‘Graduation’ in September