Kanye West
Graduation
Roc-A-Fella/ Universal

There is not much that hasn't been already said about Kanye West. His meteoric rise to hip-hop and pop culture stardom is well documented, trademarked by his critically acclaimed full length releases: 2004's 'College Dropout' and 2005's 'Late Registration.' 'Graduation,' his third album release, continues the production formula of his previous works, and unfortunately this may also prove to be its shortcoming.

Don't get me wrong, this album still possesses the high quality productions that we have to come expect and love from West. His clever use of sampling is evident, with Elton John, Michael Jackson, Steely Dan, Public Enemy, and Daft Punk (on the popular lead off single Stronger) all getting the magic touch from West. However, that's just it - there is nothing new with this. He has shown in his long list of production discography, that he is capable of more. So rather than following the growth pattern of his previous works, 'Graduation' indicates to me that West is plateauing somewhat which is a little disappointing but, in a way, expected.

Another area that I thought West might improve upon is his MCing. As always some of his lyrical content is cleverly written, but his delivery is still an obvious weakness. The best indicator of this is The Glory. It has a similar vibe and structure to that of his previous production with Jay-Z on Izzo (H.O.V.A), but the comparison between West's lyrical delivery to that of Jay-Z's is quite distant.

'Graduation' has already proven to be a successful release for Kanye West, and along with his previous works ensures that he will be a major part of modern hip-hop history. But with great success comes great expectations, and despite the fact that this album continues to be of high quality production and will surely be one of the major releases of the year, it appears to show West creatively levelling off.

Leo Varona