On February 10, 2004, Kanye West released his debut album, The College Dropout. Fans were first teased by hit singles “Through the Wire”; “All Falls Down” with Syleena Johnson; and “Slow Jamz,” featuring Twista and Jamie Foxx. In this album, Kanye brought a new style to hip-hop. He rapped about family, materialism, religion and racism, opposed to the “gangster-persona” lyrics that were very popular in the genre at the time. Kanye also produced his own innovative beats on this album, establishing himself as an elite artist and producer. The album also has a very exciting group of featured artists as well, including Syleena Johnson, Consequence, GLC, Jay-Z, J.Ivy, Common, Talib Kweli, Twista, Jamie Foxx, Ludacris, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Freeway and Mos Def. If I had to pick my favorite song on this album, it would be “All Falls Down” with Syleena Johnson, which would ultimately be one of Kanye’s breakthrough songs. This iconic track’s message is about people’s insecurities, specifically Kanye’s. What makes “All Falls Down” very enjoyable to listen to is the funky beat, along with West’s unique flow and intelligent bars. The tracklist as a whole is very diverse and features many different components of music. On songs like “All Falls Down” and “Spaceship,” featuring GLC and Consequence, there is a very groovy beat. Other songs, such as “Jesus Walks” and “Two Words” with Mos Def, Freeway, and The Boys Choir of Harlem, feature more aggressive tones with intense rapping and flow from Kanye and the featured artists. There are also more mellow and poetic songs like “Family Business,” where Kanye raps about his own family and his upbringing. In all, The College Dropout has aged extremely well within the past two decades and is now considered to be one of the best debut albums of all time. Not only that, it is widely known as one of the greatest hip hop albums ever as well. The College Dropout gets a 9.6 rating out of 10 for me.