Late Registration
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Late Registration | ||
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| Studio album by Kanye West | ||
| Released | August 30, 2005 (U.S.) | |
| Recorded | 2004-2005 | |
| Genre | Hip hop, Rap | |
| Length | 70:25 | |
| Label | Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam | |
| Producer(s) | Kanye West Jon Brion Devo Springsteen Just Blaze Warryn Campbell |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Kanye West chronology | ||
| Freshmen Adjustment (2004) |
Late Registration (2005) |
Freshmen Adjustment 2 (2005) |
Late Registration is the second major label album release from Roc-A-Fella hip hop artist and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, and debuted at #1, selling over 904,000 copies in its first week. Film composer Jon Brion was the co-executive producer of the album, and created the string arrangements found in several songs such as "Bring Me Down".
The first single released from the album was "Diamonds from Sierra Leone", which contains a sample from the James Bond theme "Diamonds Are Forever" performed by Shirley Bassey. The song was originally a reference to his record label Roc-A-Fella, which is known for its "diamond" hand gesture. The song's title was subsequently changed from its original one ("Diamonds Are Forever") due to confusion with another song featured on Jay Z's The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse titled "Diamond Is Forever". The title of the single as well as a subsequent remix (with Jay-Z) directly address the issue of conflict diamonds, which are a major factor in Sierra Leone's civil war. The second single released from Late Registration was "Gold Digger", which contains a vocal sample from Ray Charles' "I Got A Woman" sung by Jamie Foxx, who starred as Charles in the biopic Ray. It became his second single to top the Billboard Hot 100. The third single released was "Heard 'Em Say" featuring Adam Levine from Maroon 5, and the fourth was the Just Blaze helmed "Touch the Sky". The track "Hey Mama" was intended to be released as a single, but never actually was. A video was later made for the song "Drive Slow", and it featured Atlanta based rapper T.I.. This version of the song was included on the bonus DVD for T.I.'s platinum-selling album King. The original version of Drive Slow also appears on Paul Wall's CD, The People's Champ.
The title of "Late Registration" is explained by Kanye in the song "We Major" [1]:
"So they ask me - why you call it "Late Registration" 'Ye? Cause we takin these muh'fuckers back to school'"
Apparently "We Major" became Jay-Z's favorite song.
It was the only album from 2005 to receive a 5-star review from Rolling Stone, and it was ranked #1 on their end-of year list of the year's 50 Best Albums. [2]
This is Kanye's second album to be rated XXL by XXL Magazine [3]
The album was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards of 2006 and received the award for Best Rap Album.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
There are also four "Skit" tracks appearing after "Gold Digger," "Addiction," "We Major" and "Celebration." The liner notes do not mention or include these tracks.
| # | Title | Songwriters | Producer(s) | Performer(s) | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Wake Up Mr. West" | Michael Masser Gerry Goffin |
DeRay Davis |
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| 2 | "Heard 'Em Say" | Kanye West Adam Levine Michael Masser Gerry Goffin |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Adam Levine of Maroon 5 Kanye West |
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| 3 | "Touch the Sky" | Kanye West Wasalu Jaco Justin Smith Curtis Mayfield |
Just Blaze | Kanye West Lupe Fiasco |
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| 4 | "Gold Digger" | Kanye West Ray Charles Renald Richard |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Jamie Foxx Kanye West |
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| 5 | "Drive Slow" | Kanye West Paul Slayton Leonard Harris |
Kanye West | GLC John Legend Kanye West Paul Wall |
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| 6 | "My Way Home" | Kanye West Lonnie Lynn Gil Scott-Heron |
Kanye West | Common Kanye West |
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| 7 | "Crack Music" | Kanye West Jayceon Taylor Willard Meeks |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Kanye West The Game |
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| 8 | "Roses" | Kanye West Bill Withers |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Kanye West |
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| 9 | "Bring Me Down" | Kanye West A. Williams |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Brandy Kanye West |
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| 10 | "Addiction" | Kanye West Richard Rodgers Lorenz Hart |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Kanye West |
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| 11 | "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)" | Kanye West D. Harris John Barry Don Black |
Devo Springsteen Jon Brion Kanye West |
Jay-Z Kanye West |
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| 12 | "We Major" | Kanye West Nasir Jones W. Trotter A. Williams Warryn Campbell R. Simmons L. Smith M. Reid |
Jon Brion Kanye West Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell |
Kanye West Nas Really Doe |
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| 13 | "Hey Mama" | Kanye West Donal Leace |
Jon Brion Kanye West |
Kanye West |
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| 14 | "Celebration" | Kanye West | Jon Brion Kanye West |
Kanye West |
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| 15 | "Gone" | Kanye West Dexter Mills Cameron Giles Chuck Willis |
Kanye West | Cam'Ron Consequence Kanye West |
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| 16 | "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Bonus Track)" | Kanye West D. Harris John Barry Don Black |
Devo Springsteen Jon Brion Kanye West |
Kanye West |
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| 17 | "Late (Hidden Track)" | Kanye West Sylvia Robinson George Kerr |
*Uncredited* | Kanye West |
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[edit] International bonus tracks
- "We Can Make It Better" featuring Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common, & Rhymefest (Exclusive to Japan, UK, & Australia versions) 3:52
"Drive Slow" featuring Paul Wall, T.I., GLC & John Legend (Exclusive to Australia & On The U.S. Deluxe Version] 4:51
- "Back to Basics" featuring Common (Exclusive to Japan & Australia versions) 1:39
[edit] Additional credits
- "Gold Digger"
- "Drive Slow"
- Additional vocals: Tony "Penafire" Williams
- "Crack Music"
- Additional vocals: Tony "Penafire" Williams, Keyshia Cole and Charlie Wilson
- "Roses"
- "Bring Me Down"
- Bass trombone: Bruce Otto
- Cello: Richard Dodd, Matt Cooker, Armen Ksajikian and Victor Lawrence
- Contrabass: Jason Torreano, Frances Senger and Denise Briese
- Flugelhorn: Gary Grant and Dan Fornero
- French horn: Rick Todd and Brad Warnaar
- String orchestrations: Eric Gorfain
- Trombone: Andrew Martin and Steve Holtman
- Trumpet: Gary Grant and Dan Fornero
- Viola: Marda Todd, Piotr Jandule, Tom Tally and David Sage
- Violins: Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Victoria Lanier, Julie Rogers, Alyssa Park, Audrey Solomon, Terry Glenny, Susan Chatman, Marisa Kuney and Amy Wickman
- "Addiction"
- Additional vocals: Strings
- "Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)"
- Guitars: Dave Tozer
- Keyboards: Tom Craskey
- Live drums: Michel Gondry
- "We Major"
- Additional vocals: Tony Williams
- "Hey Mama"
- Additional vocals: John Legend
- "Celebration"
- Additional vocals: John Legend
- Bass: Keena "Keynote" Holloway
- Bass trombone: Bruce Otto
- Brass arrangements: Jon Brion
- Cello: Richard Dodd, Matt Cooker, Armen Ksajikian and Victor Lawrence
- Contrabass: Jason Torreano, Frances Senger and Denise Briese
- Flugelhorn: Gary Grant and Dan Fornero
- French horn: Rick Todd and Brad Warnaar
- Keyboards: Ervin "EP" Pope
- String arrangements: Jon Brion
- String orchestrations: Eric Gorfain
- Trombone: Andrew Martin and Steve Holtman
- Trumpet: Gary Grant and Dan Fornero
- Viola: Marda Todd, Piotr Jandule, Tom Tally and David Sage
- Violins: Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Victoria Lanier, Julie Rogers, Alyssa Park, Audrey Solomon, Terry Glenny, Susan Chatman, Marisa Kuney and Amy Wickman
- "Gone"
- Cello: Richard Dodd, Matt Cooker, Armen Ksajikian and Victor Lawrence
- String arrangements: Jon Brion
- String orchestrations: Eric Gorfain
- Viola: Marda Todd, Piotr Jandule, Tom Tally and David Sage
- Violins: Eric Gorfain, Daphne Chen, Victoria Lanier, Julie Rogers, Alyssa Park, Audrey Solomon, Terry Glenny, Susan Chatman, Marisa Kuney and Amy Wickman
- "Victory Day"
- Dj Jfocus
- Keyboards: Tom Craskey
- Live drums: Michel Gondry
[edit] Charts
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 43 |
| 2005 | "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" | UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| 2005 | "Gold Digger" (featuring Jamie Foxx) | The Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| 2005 | "Gold Digger" (featuring Jamie Foxx) | UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| 2005 | "Heard 'Em Say" (featuring Adam Levine) | The Billboard Hot 100 | 26 |
| 2005 | "Heard 'Em Say" (featuring Adam Levine) | UK Singles Chart | 22 |
| 2006 | "Touch The Sky" (featuring Lupe Fiasco) | The Billboard Hot 100 | 42 |
[edit] External links
- KanyeWest.Com - Official Site
Albums and EPs: The College Dropout · Late Registration · Graduation · Freshmen Adjustment · Late Orchestration · Freshmen Adjustment 2
Singles: "Slow Jamz" · "Through the Wire" · "All Falls Down" · "Jesus Walks" · "Talk About Our Love" · "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" · "Gold Digger" · "Heard 'Em Say" · "Touch the Sky" · "Better Than I've Ever Been"
See also: Kanye West discography · Kanye West production discography
| Preceded by Most Wanted by Hilary Duff |
Billboard 200 Number 1 Album September 17, 2005 - September 30, 2005 |
Succeeded by The People's Champ by Paul Wall |
