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West treats crowd to 'Late Registration'
Grammy winner looks outside of hip hop to create much anticipated sophomore album.
By Adam Graham The Detroit News
Inside a nondescript office building in Troy Wednesday evening, music's hottest entity, Grammy-winning rapper-producer Kanye West, was on hand to unveil the year's most-anticipated album, West's sophomore effort "Late Registration."
"This album will change the game," the Chicago native confidently told a group of more than 40 industry professionals, DJs and journalists assembled to hear the record, the follow-up to last year's triple-platinum "The College Dropout."
"Brace yourself, I don't want anybody to get hurt," he said as he started into the album's first track, "Heard 'Em Say."
Immediately, it was clear people were feeling it, but no one was digging it more than West himself: He nodded his head throughout, mouthed the words to "Touch the Sky," raised his fist in the air during the pounding "Crack Music," formed a celebratory diamond sign with his hands during "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" and stood up and rapped along to the triumphant, genre-bending "We Major," which went over so well he decided to play it twice.
He even kept his cool when the sound system went dead during "Drive Slow."
The room burst into applause several times, but West repeatedly shushed them, so they wouldn't miss a moment of his work.
West, 27, recorded the album with producer Jon Brion, best known for his work with Fiona Apple (of whom West is a huge admiror) and his film scores ("Magnolia," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind").
In a Q&A session afterwards, West made it clear he looked outside of hip-hop for inspiration for "Late Registration," saying he and Brion spent hours in the studio listening to old Beatles and Jackson 5 records.
There are enough musical flourishes on "Late Registration" to make any audiophile's ears perk up, which is not surprising, considering West and Brion's influences: There's pipe organs on "We Belong," a 20-piece orchestra on "Gone," a harpsichord on "Diamonds" and a string section on "Hey Mama."
An impressive list of guests drops in on "Late Registration," including Jay-Z, Nas, Jamie Foxx and Patti Labelle. But there are two people West has never worked with, whom he says it's his dream to collaborate with in the future: Lauryn Hill and Eminem.
West said "Late Registration" cost $2 million to make and needs to sell 2.6 million copies to break even. He even lamented the security surrounding the album, which is under lock and key until its Aug. 30 release.
"I think downloading is the best thing ever. I'm like, 'When's my bootleg coming out?' " he said. "I want people to hear the music!"
But as cocky as he is -- "I would hate to not be me!" he bragged at one point, later adding he feels sorry for other people who aren't him -- he knows he has room to improve, and says he plans on taking poetry lessons to bone up on his lyric-writing skills before writing his next album, which is tentatively due next year.
Before that, he has plans to hit the road with a 20-piece orchestra. He says he's playing some dates with U2 later this year, and he's been talking to Coldplay's Chris Martin about hooking up on the road.
But currently, the focus is on "Late Registration."
"I wanted to make an album where there was no fast-forward material on it," he said, adding -- in typical West fashion -- he's confident he's made the album of the year, an "uncriticizable" achievement deserving of the top honor at next year's Grammy Awards.
But if he were to lose, "I'd be happy to lose to System of a Down," he said of the Armenian-American metal maniacs, whose "Mesmerize" was released in May.
"That's my favorite album of the year so far," he says.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/events/0...E06-285250.htm
Grammy winner looks outside of hip hop to create much anticipated sophomore album.
By Adam Graham The Detroit News
Inside a nondescript office building in Troy Wednesday evening, music's hottest entity, Grammy-winning rapper-producer Kanye West, was on hand to unveil the year's most-anticipated album, West's sophomore effort "Late Registration."
"This album will change the game," the Chicago native confidently told a group of more than 40 industry professionals, DJs and journalists assembled to hear the record, the follow-up to last year's triple-platinum "The College Dropout."
"Brace yourself, I don't want anybody to get hurt," he said as he started into the album's first track, "Heard 'Em Say."
Immediately, it was clear people were feeling it, but no one was digging it more than West himself: He nodded his head throughout, mouthed the words to "Touch the Sky," raised his fist in the air during the pounding "Crack Music," formed a celebratory diamond sign with his hands during "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" and stood up and rapped along to the triumphant, genre-bending "We Major," which went over so well he decided to play it twice.
He even kept his cool when the sound system went dead during "Drive Slow."
The room burst into applause several times, but West repeatedly shushed them, so they wouldn't miss a moment of his work.
West, 27, recorded the album with producer Jon Brion, best known for his work with Fiona Apple (of whom West is a huge admiror) and his film scores ("Magnolia," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind").
In a Q&A session afterwards, West made it clear he looked outside of hip-hop for inspiration for "Late Registration," saying he and Brion spent hours in the studio listening to old Beatles and Jackson 5 records.
There are enough musical flourishes on "Late Registration" to make any audiophile's ears perk up, which is not surprising, considering West and Brion's influences: There's pipe organs on "We Belong," a 20-piece orchestra on "Gone," a harpsichord on "Diamonds" and a string section on "Hey Mama."
An impressive list of guests drops in on "Late Registration," including Jay-Z, Nas, Jamie Foxx and Patti Labelle. But there are two people West has never worked with, whom he says it's his dream to collaborate with in the future: Lauryn Hill and Eminem.
West said "Late Registration" cost $2 million to make and needs to sell 2.6 million copies to break even. He even lamented the security surrounding the album, which is under lock and key until its Aug. 30 release.
"I think downloading is the best thing ever. I'm like, 'When's my bootleg coming out?' " he said. "I want people to hear the music!"
But as cocky as he is -- "I would hate to not be me!" he bragged at one point, later adding he feels sorry for other people who aren't him -- he knows he has room to improve, and says he plans on taking poetry lessons to bone up on his lyric-writing skills before writing his next album, which is tentatively due next year.
Before that, he has plans to hit the road with a 20-piece orchestra. He says he's playing some dates with U2 later this year, and he's been talking to Coldplay's Chris Martin about hooking up on the road.
But currently, the focus is on "Late Registration."
"I wanted to make an album where there was no fast-forward material on it," he said, adding -- in typical West fashion -- he's confident he's made the album of the year, an "uncriticizable" achievement deserving of the top honor at next year's Grammy Awards.
But if he were to lose, "I'd be happy to lose to System of a Down," he said of the Armenian-American metal maniacs, whose "Mesmerize" was released in May.
"That's my favorite album of the year so far," he says.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/events/0...E06-285250.htm
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