There’s no disputing that Kanye West has had one of many wilder story arcs in trendy music historical past. By no means one to carry his tongue, his timeline has seen him progressively evolve from the protagonist of an endearing underdog story to a seemingly unstable, but admirably uncancellable villain.
Nevertheless, above all the non-public drama the producer, rapper and trend mogul has very publicly endured since his debut album The Faculty Dropout dropped 20 years in the past, his music has remained his fixed. His inventive mindset is at all times in perpetual movement, leading to a catalog that has advanced together with him — sonically and thematically, for higher or worse.
In a world the place antics and relevance go hand in hand, Ye has made a behavior of dying on very unpopular hills, making it more and more tough for some to separate the artwork from the artist. That, in fact, is a really delicate strategy to put it.
Nonetheless, his discography stays one of the vital celebrated and influential in Hip Hop.
With that mentioned, HipHopDX has put collectively an inventory of his albums — solo and collaborative — and ranked them from worst to finest. Try our record of Kanye West albums ranked beneath.
Editor’s Observe: The picks beneath are listed in descending order from worst to finest.
VULTURES 1 (w/ Ty Dolla $ign)
Following the discharge of his stem player-only Donda sequel, Kanye West did completely every little thing he presumably might to additional divide his followers. Amongst different issues, he professed an over-the-top love of Hitler and hatred in the direction of the Jewish folks — burning down each bridge in sight.
Vultures 1 — a collaboration with steadily featured Ty Dolla $ign — appears like an try to maneuver ahead and simply neglect the entire thing. Moments like “Again To Me” that includes Freddie Gibbs and “Talkin” that includes his daughter North West nearly make that appear believable. Nevertheless, with weak bars, a number of lulls and pattern clearance points, it’s one of many least impressed Kanye West albums.
JESUS IS KING
This album marked Kanye West’s pivot to surface-level gospel music, reflecting his public embrace of Christianity. The album, accompanied by Sunday Service performances, signified a brand new chapter in his profession, one centered on religion and spirituality. Regardless of its shaky vital reception, it underscored and, frankly, tracked contemplating the unpredictability of his “genius.”
In embodying this new, squeaky-clean — and lyrically downgraded — path of enlightenment, he shunned his non-secular again catalog, vowing to by no means carry out it stay once more. What made this tough for some followers to embrace was that Jesus Is King is the album that dropped as a substitute of the aggressively delayed Yhandi. For some, it stung about as laborious as a shock André 3000 flute album.
DONDA 2
The sequel to Kanye West’s bold 2021 album Donda tried to broaden his exploration of grief, religion, introspection and redemption, albeit in an unconventional format. Solely launched on his Stem Participant — a tool designed to let listeners manipulate tracks by isolating stems — the venture was intriguingly hyped as a piece in progress.
Whereas it was promised to develop and evolve — a fascinating notion in principle — it by no means reached completion. Moreover, the album’s aggressive inaccessibility led to rampant leaks, to not point out bundling it with the Stem Participant made it ineligible for Billboard charting, which Ye celebrated, stating: “We will not be counted or judged.”
It stays a set of demos, some plagued with placeholders and scratch concepts, representing a big ‘what if’ that by no means absolutely materialized into Ye’s full imaginative and prescient. Because of this, it occupies a curious area inside his discography, making it fairly powerful to evaluate totally and rank pretty. However as it is a record of Kanye West albums ranked, we had a go.
YE
Recorded within the seclusion of Wyoming — the second of 5 tasks made throughout this era — Ye is concise and deeply private, addressing Kanye West’s psychological well being, household, and, in fact, controversial statements within the media (his notorious “Slavery was a alternative” monologue being considered one of them). The album’s intimate listening celebration, set in opposition to the backdrop of the Wyoming mountains, provided followers and influencers alike a glimpse into West’s present way of thinking, making the venture really feel like a private confession set to music.
There are various moments on the venture the place the message will get muddy, nevertheless, it was a much better hear than many detractors on the time gave it credit score for. Whereas it lyrically bordered extra on ‘simply positive,’ it was noticeably extra centered than The Lifetime of Pablo. Nonetheless, whereas it noticed success, it stays considered one of his poorest-performing releases, proving that by this level, the artwork had develop into more durable to separate from the artist.
KIDS SEE GHOSTS (w/ Child Cudi)
Launched after Ye — and recorded throughout the Wyoming classes — Youngsters See Ghosts served as a cathartic launch for each Yeezy and Child Cudi, deep-diving into their struggles with psychological well being. From the haunting opener “Really feel the Love” to the introspective nearer “Cudi Montage,” every monitor gives a glimpse into the artists’ shared struggles and triumphs.
The venture’s fusion of psychedelic rock and Hip Hop, together with its exploration of themes of rebirth and therapeutic, gives a hopeful counterpoint to Ye, superbly displaying the therapeutic energy of collaboration and friendship in overcoming private demons. Whereas solely bite-sized, on the time of its launch, it gave followers one thing to consider in.
DONDA
Named after his late mom, Donda is a sprawling, genre-blending epic that hears Kanye West wrestling with grief, religion and his public persona. The album’s launch was preceded by a sequence of high-profile listening occasions, every with altered tracklistings and mixes. The continued evolution of the venture was nearly as exhausting because it was participating.
At its finest, the album hears Ye, who had been on a draining social media spiral, channel his emotion right into a sprawling labyrinth of Hip Hop, gospel and digital soundscapes, with a stacked visitor record in tow. At its worst, it’s an especially lengthy hear (27 tracks) that loses coherence at factors — one thing heightened by the oversharing of his inventive course of.
THE LIFE OF PABLO
There’s no query that The Lifetime of Pablo is a way more universally palatable hear than its predecessor, Yeezus, albeit Ye’s pen sport somewhat extra weathered. Followers acquired their first style of the LP throughout the Yeezy Season 3 trend present at Madison Sq. Backyard, with the album later getting a Tidal-only launch.
The album, nevertheless, grew to become a residing, respiration entity — altering on the fly. By the point it hit different DSPs (prompting a lawsuit from one disgruntled fan), it was an altered listening expertise from its preliminary model.
TLOP notably accommodates the Grammy-nominated “Well-known,” which options what Ye on the time appeared to suppose was an innocuous declare that he not solely put Taylor Swift on — however he might in all probability have intercourse along with her; the video solely made issues worse. The tour for the album started in late 2016 however was later cancelled after he went on a political rant, imploring adoration for Donald Trump, which went about in addition to chances are you’ll think about.
WATCH THE THRONE (w/ JAY-Z)
Upon its launch, Watch the Throne was, for many who watched Kanye West develop all through his storied profession, a cultural occasion. Collaborating along with his “massive brother” JAY-Z, it was recorded in numerous areas world wide and tackled themes of Black excellence, legacy and success, set in opposition to the backdrop of socio-political unrest.
In brief, the manufacturing was lavish, the themes grandiose and the tour raised the bar. “N-ggas in Paris” and “Otis” stay classics. However, regardless of its opulent sound and unapologetic swagger, it balanced out its highest highs with some even decrease lows.
It largely did not stay as much as the large shadow of both rapper’s discography, perpetually incomes itself comparatively decrease rankings throughout each Ye and JAY’s discographies. Nonetheless, it stands as a monument for 2 of the style’s biggest innovators — and one of the vital talked-about Kanye West albums.
YEEZUS
For a sect of youthful Kanye followers, Yeezus served as their entry level, as they by no means acquired to know the “Outdated Kanye” in actual time. For a lot of day one followers, it was a sonically jarring and uncharacteristically aggressive listening expertise that created a transparent division. Brimming with Ye’s apparent frustrations with the style business and, actually, society at giant, it’s abrasive in the way it confronts problems with race, identification and consumerism on tracks like “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves.”
A lot in the best way that 808s & Heartbreak was a pivot into new territory, Yeezus was a transparent rebirth of Ye as an artist. Nevertheless, greater than that, it bolstered his rep as a recent disruptor unafraid to alienate followers and critics alike to hyper extents. Finally it’s a type of Kanye West albums that followers both unabashedly love or form of hate — however mentioned they cherished on the time to keep away from having prolonged dialogues.
LATE REGISTRATION
Following up a debut like The Faculty Dropout was no small feat, however Late Registration upped the ante. Ye seemingly advanced his manufacturing, teaming up with Jon Brion, who was identified at that time for scoring movies like Everlasting Sunshine of the Spotless Thoughts. The pairing helped weave in stay orchestration which launched a extra luscious, cinematic really feel to the album — take a look at “Gone” as a beautiful instance.
This album is decidedly extra refined and intentional; Ye sheds a few of his extra lighthearted fare, delving deeper into social points, like on “Diamonds from Sierra Leone.” Conversely, massive data like “Drive Gradual” and “Gold Digger” exemplify not simply his storytelling sport but in addition his skill to make hits whereas not prescribing any sound that would pigeonhole him or inadvertently lump him in along with his friends. It’s a part of the rationale why “Gold Digger” nonetheless sounds so recent nearly 20 years later.
808S & HEARTBREAK
808s & Heartbreak was born from a interval of profound private loss, following the dying of Ye’s mom, Donda West, and the top of his engagement to designer Alexis Phifer. Impressed by then up-and-comer Child Cudi, the venture’s stark, autotuned vocals and minimalist manufacturing was met with extraordinarily blended vital and fan reception, because it was a grand departure from his earlier work — jarringly so. Tracks like “Love Lockdown” and “Heartless” showcase vulnerability and emotional depth in a method Ye had by no means finished earlier than.
Whereas it isn’t, maybe, for everyone, it resonated strongly with an entire new crop of soon-to-be business juggernauts who would all later cite the album as a turning level of their lives. Ye had, up up to now, discovered himself on the forefront of thrilling new instructions; 808s & Heartbreak was his most bold leap and, finally his most groundbreaking.
GRADUATION
Whereas protecting one foot in his wheelhouse, Commencement was a shift, embracing digital and pop sounds — taking dangers that paid off in spades with tracks just like the anthemic Daft Punk-sampled “Stronger” and T-Ache featured “Good Life.”
Launched amidst a head-to-head gross sales conflict with 50 Cent, the venture didn’t simply symbolize Ye’s stronghold on popular culture, as he dominated Fif. It additionally marked the top of the sonic period that the Queens rap titan’s G-Unit crew had as soon as revelled in, main the pack because the business was transferring in the direction of a extra eclectic, digital sound. This album was pre-Yeezus Ye at his zenith in additional methods than one.
THE COLLEGE DROPOUT
This Grammy-winning gem stays Ye’s Illmatic, a culture-shifting, defiant stand in opposition to the established order of the day. In a time when 50 Cent‘s model of street-centric Hip Hop was operating the sport, a pink-Polo-rocking Yeezy was a breath of recent air — devoid of the overt road aesthetic and mainstream gloss that superstars of the second had been making an attempt to straddle.
As a substitute, he crafted a soulful and poignant commentary on the intersections of schooling, societal expectations and ambition, changing into a champion of the everyman in a method that no rapper on the time was in a position to pull off.
Constructed upon his harrowing story of surviving a automotive accident, detailed within the breakout “By the Wire,” this album exemplifies the “Outdated Kanye” that day one followers will at all times have a spot for of their hearts. Should you haven’t spun it shortly, it’s aged superbly.
MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY
Kanye West had lots to show when he secluded himself and a small circle of creatives in Hawaii to craft what would finally develop into his magnum opus. Only a yr earlier than, after ingesting with Joe Jackson on the 2009 MTV VMAs (which is wild in hindsight), he stormed the stage to interrupt Taylor Swift, changing into a villain in what has develop into one of many biggest success tales in trendy human historical past — a transfer that would have simply ruined his profession.
As a substitute, he gained again public adoration with My Lovely Darkish Twisted Fantasy, a masterful exploration of fame and the poisonous combination of extra and private demons. Housing songs like “Runaway,”“Energy,” and the epic JAY-Z and Nicki Minaj-featured “Monster,”MBDTF stands as maybe essentially the most absolutely fleshed-out, advanced instance of Ye’s creative and conceptual genius.
Far faraway from his “Outdated Kanye” aesthetic, and never but as polarizing as Yeezus, which marked the start of a brand new period for the rapper, this album finest showcases why Ye is broadly thought to be one of the vital influential artists of his time.
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