Kanye West is a polarizing figure in pop culture.

There are die-hard fans of Ye, and some who despise him. While some revel in his chaotic antics, others find Mr. West obnoxious and egocentric. Even his latest album has people divided. But in a world of TIDAL and Kim Kardashian, I propose we go back to a simpler time, 2004. A year when Toby Maguire was still playing Spiderman, Shrek was still going strong, and most importantly The College Dropout by Kanye West came out.

Now before we delve deep into this hip-hop masterpiece I want to confront my own bias about the album. I will always have a soft spot for The College Dropout, it was the album that sparked my interest in rap (even though I first listened to it 11 years after it came out) and is still in my opinion the greatest rookie album by a rapper. Additionally it is an album I’ve both listened to thousands of times as well as wrote English papers on.

The College Dropout is the perfect album for two main reasons: It’s progression and it’s songs. While you may think these two are similar factors, they’re actually quite distinct. To do this legendary album justice, I will first delve into the progression of the album, after which I will analyze three songs on the album.

The album starts with the intro, in which Kanye is asked by an authority figure to write a song for the kids, one that can be used as a school anthem of sorts. It then moves onto the first song of the album, We Don’t Care, in which Ye has young children sing about everything from drugs to the life expectancy of African American children. In the next song, Graduation Day, we see Ye expelled from school for the song he wrote, as it was not considered appropriate for children to sing.The rest of the album further details Ye’s fall from grace, with him describing his lack of self confidence and control in All Falls Down (more on that song later) and his wish to escape the life he is currently living in I’ll Fly Away and Spaceship. The album switches to a more positive note in the song Jesus Walks, in which Kanye chooses to detail that God is always with him and has helped him persevere throughout life’s many challenges. Kanye then takes a break from the school narrative for the next few songs, but then re-establishes the school theme with the track School Spirit Skit 1. In this song Kanye critiques the entire concept of college by introducing us to a character that was so focused on doing well in school, that it consumed his entire life, leaving no room for a personal life. In the next song, School Spirit, Kanye criticizes fraternities, the slow pace of college, and calls to attention the fact that he never graduated from college but is still successful. In the next 2 tracks, School Spirit 2 and Lil Jimmy, Kanye finishes his analysis of secondary education by returning to the character introduced in School Spirit Skit 1. When we return to this character he is still going to school well into his adult life, and has spent all of his money on school, leaving no money left for his son Jimmy.

So you may be wondering, what about this narrative in the album makes it so great? Well, The College Dropout tells a story, it encompasses the listener by asking them to keep track of a theme, and rewards them for doing so by having that theme lead them to a deeper understanding of the album, and Kanye in general. The listener gets to follow Kanye as he goes from missing college to disliking the whole system and viewing college as not necessary to success.

(The Grammies know The College Dropout is a classic)

The other part of The College Dropout that makes it such a fantastic album is the songs themselves. Kanye avoids the easy route of having his songs all sound similar and be superficial. For evidence of this, one only has to look at a handful of songs from the album. For this article I’ve chosen to look at All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, and Family Business. All Falls Down is in my opinion both the crown jewel of The College Dropout and of Kanye’s entire career. In All Falls Down Kanye chooses to discuss our societies addiction to material goods and spending more than we have. In an industry obsessed with jewelry and flashiness, Kanye chooses to show us the error of our ways. This would seem hypocritical to someone who hasn’t listened to the song, because Ye shows out more than most people, but this is exactly what makes the song amazing. Kanye uses the second part of the song to critique himself, he admits that he has a self-confidence problem and uses material goods to hide his lack of true confidence; all because he wants is to be admired. Kanye is willing to put it all on the line in this song, just to show people that everyone has problems.

The second of the three songs we will examine is Jesus Walks. Jesus Walks confronts the uncommon, yet important topic of God’s place in pop culture. It is just one of many examples of Kanye taking on a somewhat taboo topic, and though it may seem common for him to do so in 2016, it was extremely bold to do so at a time. Kanye advocates for God to play a larger role in the music world by constantly showing the role God has had in his life. My personal favorite part of this song is its versatility. This song’s fantastic beat and gospel vocals make it a fantastic song to run/lift too, but at the same time the powerful vocals allow for it to be used to inspire thought.

The final of the three songs we will be looking at is Family Business. Family Business is an extremely powerful song, largely because you can tell how close the message is to Kanye’s heart. Kanye discuss how despite facing daunting challenges, from unnecessary drama to having a relative incarcerated, Kanye’s family pushes through. They lean on one another for support, and that is what gets them through the rough waters of life. The bond he has with his cousins is as strong as steel, because of the memories they share.