March 18, 2005

'The College Dropout' Speaks on Campuses

By JOHN KITTERMAN

Kanye West has been called the Barack Obama of hip-hop, a golden boy whose mixture of soulful beats and social consciousness appeals to middle-class young people but has street credibility too. For his album The College Dropout, the Chicago-raised rapper and producer took home a Grammy last month for Best Rap Album of 2004. It sold 450,000 units in the first week and went multi-platinum.

In his 21 tracks West, who dropped out of college himself after a year, is able to articulate the

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