More importantly, the album has become one of the most influential rap LPs of all time. His efforts eventually paid off and Kanye mania picked up - as evidenced by the fact that his second single, “Slow Jamz” with Twista and Jamie Foxx, hit #1 on the Hot 100.Īt the 2005 Grammy Awards, The College Dropout was nominated in ten categories and took home three awards, including Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song for “Jesus Walks” and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “Slow Jamz.” The College Dropout went on to sell 3.3 million copies to date, remaining West’s highest-selling album. He dropped mixtapes and performed constantly in an effort to drum up interest in both the song and the album. West spent his own money to promote the album’s first single, “Through the Wire,” a song he wrote and recorded while recovering in the hospital from a near-fatal car crash.
When the album dropped, though, few people were paying attention. Ten years ago, he managed that feat with his now-classic rap album, The College Dropout.Īfter producing hits for Jay-Z, Talib Kweli and Alicia Keys, West became a rapper in his own right with that seminal LP, which introduced the world to a relentless MC with ambition, drive and extravagant ideas - a reputation he maintains ten years later. 1 rock star on the planet” - before all that, Kanye West was just another guy at Roc-A-Fella Records trying to make a name for himself as a rapper.
Follow Kanye was a mononym and quote machine on the kusp of marrying a Kardashian before there were classes taught about him before being Kanye’d was a verb before he was a fashion designer, a Harvard lecturer, a renowned Twitter ranter, a religion, or even the self-proclaimed “ No.