When Graduation dropped everything was so dope in hip-hop. You had Wayne on every mixtape. You had 50 and Jay-z still dropping massive label projects. Common, Nas, Lupe and Mos Def still dropping for the soul. Gucci Mane, TI and Jeezy too. So much range and style. Even in fashion.
DJ Toomp, who is T.I. & Jay Z, Jeezy and Kanye’s former collaborator and producer, is the unsung hero behind Good Life, and Graduation as a whole (namely Can’t Tell Me Nothin’, Big Brother) owe a lot to Toomp’s sonic. Atlanta by 2006 was becoming the Mecca of Hip-Hop, and the biggest rap single of the year- Toomp and T.I.’s “What you Know”. Then of course he produced for Jeezy on his second album and would go on to be credited producer on both Jay Z’s American Gangster and Kanye’s Graduation. This is a man who was no stranger to Southern hip-hop, having produced since the mid 80’s.
Toomp is underrated. I don't think he's worked with Kanye again. He said in an interview he wasn't a fan of the way Kanye currently works with all these producers working on one song. However, Good Life, Stronger etc, showed that maybe that's where Kanye started to get the idea that working with multiple high level producers was his path forward. There were multiple people working on Graduation and Kanye was reaching out to everybody.
@@apoclypse it prob was late reg with jon brion, he saw a vision of what he wanted his music to sound like and new he was limited and he would have to pull from many creatives to deliver his musical ideas. I understand why Toomp felt the way he did though.
I pick a discog to listen to every summer when Im off from teaching. This year I did Kanye, and I realized he uses major keys insanely more than any other hip hop entity. He also likes to use compound and triple times in his intros.
6:53 to 7:02 ... the Last Poets sample ('Like we always do about this time') was also used on the last few seconds of the song "Bathtub" by Snoop Dogg, from his debut album, "Doggystyle", and it was a resung sample on the intro song of Dr. Dre's album, "Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath."
At the time I liked Kanye cause at the time he did set an example that Rap didn’t have to be so Thugcentric. That look was getting played and kitch by 2006 and Kanye was truly shifting the taste and aesthetic in Rap Culture at that time. I was also waking to other genres of music at that point myself, like indie artists so he really came in when rap needed him I felt.
I remember hearing the story of Biggie actually meeting Tupac, and when confronted Tupac actually said he just started the feud to sell records. I've never have trusted feuds since then.
ppl eat up Drake vs Kendrick, got them more press and social media comments than they probably ever got in the last 5yrs. No such thing as bad press. The only time it hurt someone was Ja Rule but that dude still made bank and fell off because he had worse production...just like Drake recently. Kendrick had a far better beat. Music is what matters most in forced beefs, but everyone focuses on disses
I just completely ignored this "beef" when it happened, which got me wondering who else dropped albums around that time: T.I., Tech N9ne, UGK, Chamillionarie (what happened to him, btw), Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Styles P and Wu-tang Clan. That was just the back half of '07, so I guess that's why I fell off both 50 and Kanye by that time.
Kanye & 50 album release drop was the storyline I'm hip hop all summer. T.I vs T.I.P & Jay-z American gangster were popular albums are that time. But none bigger than this in 07. My personal favorites were common- finding forever & lupe fiasco the cool in 07.
Ye was already working on what would become 808s and Heartbreak as shown by him performing an erlier version of Love Lockdown during the Glow in the Dark tour.
I feel with this Kendrick and Drake beef, we're getting a sales battle (which is what Drake wants to be Round 2) where the winner of that battle will shift the landscape of hip-hop. But the only difference is that these 2 definitely hate each other.
Interesting video & well done - gives context around some music I don't know that well. I like the odd song from both Kanye&50 & t-pain - I've tried on multiple times to listen through some of the albums and they've never clicked with me so it's hard to understand quite how people revere graduation as a masterpiece (though not to take anything away from it being so for other people). Personally in 07 I was diggin on the heralds of change, foreign beggars, El-p, Dizzie rascal, MIA & Pharoache Monch.
What has always annoyed me is that everyone always says Kanye outsold 50. YES, he outsold him DOMESTICALLY. However, GLOBALLY Curtis sold more during that first month of their battle, why would only domestic sales count? Thats why 50 didnt retire, he didnt think he lost.
US is typically more important to hip hop than the rest of the world because it’s the place that drives forward the culture, and this was a battle for the future of hip hop and by extension, its culture.
PYT is one of, if not my favorite, Michael Jackson songs. I could say something similar about Good Life. The fact that i never put 2 and 2 together just blew my mind. I now love Good Life even more now.
Being creative and not being scared on taking risks making hit records that also have that classic feel to them and on top of that..having a real message is what makes kanye west a genius. Not many artist in music history have 10 classic albums 7 of his own and 3 as a producer for the rappers albums below.. Jay z - the blueprint Common - Be Pusha T - Daytona kanye has 84 platinum songs out of 184 songs 75 Grammy nominations.. the 4th most ever kanye won 24 Grammy's in total. Classics 🎖 Mainstream success 🎖 Critically acclaimed 🎖 All huge achievements it's super rare and kanye has influenced pretty much everyone we listen to. You can hate the man but you can't deny his one of a kind legendary career.
I was around 19 years old when those albums dropped. It solidified Kanye as next up and we pretty much didn't want to hear from 50 anymore after that. Curtis just sounded dated and the elements of graduation sounded new and refreshing. 2007 was also the year, when Wayne was really taking off on the Mixtape scene. He dropped dedication 2 and Like Father Like son in 06. Jeezy was on fire, Ross was bubbling and etc. We just looked at 50 sound as boom bap and started to like fun music and trap music. I say that as an East Coaster.
Yeah 50 knew his album sounded a bit old so the story was that at the last minute he reached out to Timbaland and they put out Technology as his single. Everyone was reaching out to Timbaland to add that special sauce at that time, including Kanye who had him punch up the drums on Graduation.
It seems like the future is just a mix of 50 and Kanye… Modern day rap includes Gangster rappers using auto-tune singing all day long about poppin shots at their foes, and then going into reflection on their inner emotions
Can we get a quick video about the history behind the two versions of the song “Swang” by Trae Tha Truth? It’s another song that originally sampled Michael Jackson.
Nice video, but you missed on how T-Pain made impact on ye making 808s n H , and pretty much everyone at that time. Nice video but you favorized Ye for things that T-Pain did first.
I remember the "battle" unfolding on 106 & Park. 50 performed a song and had G-Unit onstage. Then 'Ye performed by himself until the very end and brought Jay-Z out as a surprise guest. Good times.
I discovered your channel yesterday looking for some MF Doom videos. I have no words to describe what a great job you’re doing and how informative your videos are. Since yesterday i am watching every single video in the hiphop playlist. Thank you so much, keep doing this! 🙌🙌🙌
Feuds in hip hop is only about the competitive nature of the art form...now if it's manipulated to sell records as long as the music coming out is good....does it really matter?❤
A lot of beefs are just for show, just to boost sales numbers. I grew up in a time and place where most Ford truck owners were compelled to have some kind of anti-Chevy bumper sticker and vice versa, where men occasionally got into fistfights over which mega-corporation-that-didn't-give-a-shit-about-either-of-them was better. Yet imagine back then if Congress tried (for some crazy reason, I know it's a stretch but just go with me) to ban all domestically produced automobile sales, allowing only foreign owned companies to sell in America. The Ford Motor Company and General Motors and every single one of their rivaly-fighting customers would have become overnight best friends, uniting together to pool their resources and fight against the proposed bill. It would have been fought against with more zeal and money than almost anything Congress has ever tried to do, and when it went down in flames the celebration and afterglow would maybe last a week if we were lucky...and then everyone would be right back at each other's throats. One of the two brands would release their next truck whatever and claim that it's the best truck whatever that's ever graced God's green earth, and the Ford vs Chevy battle would be right back on.
This was a classic case of milking the industry, in a good way. 😂 It was also a great example of: a) what the demand of the culture was and b) whose favor the tide is in and at that moment and the tide was in Kanye’s favor. 50 totally had his own speed bumps during his woes with Interscope but he did benefit from this in his own way, which I think people should go read “Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter” for the full scope.
No one gave a damn about that Curtis album, musically….it was just a fun feud about their potential sales, that’s it He lost a battle to Camron right before that. 50 named the album Curtis because Cam got under his skin repeatedly calling him by his government name.
The sales battle between Graduation and Curtis is still a legendary moment in Hip-Hop.
lol both are incredibly whack.
@@Positive_Tea 🙁
@@Positive_Tea Graduation better than your entire existence. 💀
Curtis was 🗑
Graduation was good. Dubbed a classic 👌
@@peace_of_mind_00 True, but that doesn't change what I said.
I would genuinely watch a whole series breaking down graduation like this, so much fun
Id watch a series breaking down most Kanye albums
SAME
In Welcome to Heartbreak out of 808s he says "chased the good life my whole life long. Look back on my life and my life gone, where did I go wrong?"
He married the wrong person
@@stellviahohenheim 808s was well before he married kim kardashian... i do agree tho he did marry the wrong person years later
@@nightwingmix1the death of his mum was the death of Kanye. In that moment he lost his best friend and the only person who he trusted fully
@@madgamer44xso ur saying that mbdtf and yeezus were trash?
@@Penguin1400no, tf? How do you get that out of that?
This “rap beef” ended 50 Cent’s relevancy as a recording artist.
Funny that he joked that he’ll retire if he lost then hip hop changing forced him to retire.
@@lelimaseru652it all manifested itself in the end before 50 could predict it 😂
When Graduation dropped everything was so dope in hip-hop. You had Wayne on every mixtape. You had 50 and Jay-z still dropping massive label projects. Common, Nas, Lupe and Mos Def still dropping for the soul. Gucci Mane, TI and Jeezy too. So much range and style. Even in fashion.
Graduation Vs Curtis was the last big moment in hip-hop I cared about really. Hip-hop basically died a few years later for me
Now we are in hip hop hell
People try to convince me that the late 2000s Hip-hop wasn't all that 🤦🏾♂️😭
DJ Toomp, who is T.I. & Jay Z, Jeezy and Kanye’s former collaborator and producer, is the unsung hero behind Good Life, and Graduation as a whole (namely Can’t Tell Me Nothin’, Big Brother) owe a lot to Toomp’s sonic. Atlanta by 2006 was becoming the Mecca of Hip-Hop, and the biggest rap single of the year- Toomp and T.I.’s “What you Know”. Then of course he produced for Jeezy on his second album and would go on to be credited producer on both Jay Z’s American Gangster and Kanye’s Graduation. This is a man who was no stranger to Southern hip-hop, having produced since the mid 80’s.
Toomp is underrated. I don't think he's worked with Kanye again. He said in an interview he wasn't a fan of the way Kanye currently works with all these producers working on one song. However, Good Life, Stronger etc, showed that maybe that's where Kanye started to get the idea that working with multiple high level producers was his path forward. There were multiple people working on Graduation and Kanye was reaching out to everybody.
@@apoclypse it prob was late reg with jon brion, he saw a vision of what he wanted his music to sound like and new he was limited and he would have to pull from many creatives to deliver his musical ideas. I understand why Toomp felt the way he did though.
It’s great to see toomp getting his props. One of the most underrated producers in the history of hip hop
The ATL been the Mecca of hip hop since early 90's !
@@palmereldritch4166 thats just not true mid 200s onwards id say
I pick a discog to listen to every summer when Im off from teaching. This year I did Kanye, and I realized he uses major keys insanely more than any other hip hop entity. He also likes to use compound and triple times in his intros.
mad respect for your work man
I still remember when these albums dropped and the radio station Power 106 in LA played both albums alternating between a Kanye song and a 50 song
This is the Kanye I miss. After her mom passed, he never recovered and slowly deteriorated
He only deteriorated due to his controversy, but MBDTF was his best album
@@rotimitomson7801yes.
As much as I love Yeezus, I wish Kanye took a break after such a mangum opus like MBDTF to properly grieve his mother.
6:53 to 7:02 ... the Last Poets sample ('Like we always do about this time') was also used on the last few seconds of the song "Bathtub" by Snoop Dogg, from his debut album, "Doggystyle", and it was a resung sample on the intro song of Dr. Dre's album, "Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath."
The beef steak bar at 1:07 was actually a double entendre 👀📶🆗
those 106 N park days when they went head and head September 11 2007 Still remember to this day
I was in Sony Studio when he recorded parts of this song. He also recorded Drunk Hot Girls when I was there.
What do you do now?
Found your channel through the iPod series and I’m so glad I did. Great writing
Very interesting I love how you explain everything!
Ur channel is so amazing
Didn't even realize this was brand new, was just diving through your videos this morning. Great video!
This is some amazing content! Thank you my dude 💯💯💯
At the time I liked Kanye cause at the time he did set an example that Rap didn’t have to be so Thugcentric. That look was getting played and kitch by 2006 and Kanye was truly shifting the taste and aesthetic in Rap Culture at that time. I was also waking to other genres of music at that point myself, like indie artists so he really came in when rap needed him I felt.
I remember hearing the story of Biggie actually meeting Tupac, and when confronted Tupac actually said he just started the feud to sell records. I've never have trusted feuds since then.
ppl eat up Drake vs Kendrick, got them more press and social media comments than they probably ever got in the last 5yrs. No such thing as bad press. The only time it hurt someone was Ja Rule but that dude still made bank and fell off because he had worse production...just like Drake recently. Kendrick had a far better beat. Music is what matters most in forced beefs, but everyone focuses on disses
before the pac fans try and gaslight you, the conversation did happen, everyone on both sides have the same story all consistent
@@Whatyoumeanyoudontcap
@@daniel_dumileYeah the beats is the decision factor hugging underage girls on stage have nothing to do with it huh
@@TreFKennedy elaborate on your side of the info
This channel is truly excellent! Not sure where this was all my life!
one of the most underrated channels with another banger video
Very good, well researched content. This channel deserves to grow more and more 👏👏
I love this channel! Keep up the good work!!!
best hip hop analysis channel on youtube!
I just completely ignored this "beef" when it happened, which got me wondering who else dropped albums around that time: T.I., Tech N9ne, UGK, Chamillionarie (what happened to him, btw), Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Styles P and Wu-tang Clan. That was just the back half of '07, so I guess that's why I fell off both 50 and Kanye by that time.
Kanye & 50 album release drop was the storyline I'm hip hop all summer. T.I vs T.I.P & Jay-z American gangster were popular albums are that time. But none bigger than this in 07. My personal favorites were common- finding forever & lupe fiasco the cool in 07.
Good night my favorite song from Graduation
"Good Life" also samples "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5...
If you broke down all of Graduation like this, I’d pay to watch it
Ye was already working on what would become 808s and Heartbreak as shown by him performing an erlier version of Love Lockdown during the Glow in the Dark tour.
I feel with this Kendrick and Drake beef, we're getting a sales battle (which is what Drake wants to be Round 2) where the winner of that battle will shift the landscape of hip-hop.
But the only difference is that these 2 definitely hate each other.
Nobody likes pdfs bro
@@stellviahohenheim I didn't type anything about people liking pdfs tho. Bro, read before you type a ridiculous comment like that.
Another great vid. Would love to see one on 808’s. My favorite Kanye album
Interesting video & well done - gives context around some music I don't know that well. I like the odd song from both Kanye&50 & t-pain - I've tried on multiple times to listen through some of the albums and they've never clicked with me so it's hard to understand quite how people revere graduation as a masterpiece (though not to take anything away from it being so for other people).
Personally in 07 I was diggin on the heralds of change, foreign beggars, El-p, Dizzie rascal, MIA & Pharoache Monch.
I had no idea it was a fake beef!?!
Lol, not even gonna say nothing bad, cause this is too easy lol 😅
In the moment, I knew it was fake. I remember seeing the bts of Kanye and 50 doing the rolling stone cover and they will laughing together
@@TravisHouze exactly, was all over the news at the time. But was a long time ago, Was good times though!
@@cuzjuan right 😂 like what would Kanye and Mr. Cent even have to “beef” over lol besides both being artists, they had their own lanes entirely
What has always annoyed me is that everyone always says Kanye outsold 50. YES, he outsold him DOMESTICALLY. However, GLOBALLY Curtis sold more during that first month of their battle, why would only domestic sales count? Thats why 50 didnt retire, he didnt think he lost.
Can you cite your sources? I was just looking this up
US is typically more important to hip hop than the rest of the world because it’s the place that drives forward the culture, and this was a battle for the future of hip hop and by extension, its culture.
Why did that annoy you? Lol
@rickstraws92 probably a 50 fan, don't get me wrong I am too so I looked up his claim and couldn't find anything
And bad bunny sells more than drake globally but nobody gaf for a reason
Love your Kanye videos. This album is truly transformative for me.
It's amazing how now Graduation is this legendary masterpiece and Curtis, nobody barely remembers lol
I prefer Curtis 🤷🏻♂️
@rorz999 some ppl prefer sirloin steak over ribeye. It means absolutely nothing lol
lol people remember that album stop it
@@slimeballmk6656 barely. It's never talked about lol
@@patricktruerd2644 ok buddy
This is sublime content
PYT is one of, if not my favorite, Michael Jackson songs. I could say something similar about Good Life. The fact that i never put 2 and 2 together just blew my mind. I now love Good Life even more now.
Thanks for what you do
7:46 it’s basically like being sarcastic in conversation but just in music love it.
13:00 😳 is there a ghost in the room playing with this man’s Nas tour pass to the left in the background?!
I stopped listening to Kanye a long time ago, but that album and song is a BANGER!
You had to be there
Being creative and not being scared on taking risks making hit records that also have that classic feel to them and on top of that..having a real message is what makes kanye west a genius. Not many artist in music history have 10 classic albums 7 of his own and 3 as a producer for the rappers albums below..
Jay z - the blueprint
Common - Be
Pusha T - Daytona
kanye has 84 platinum songs out of 184 songs
75 Grammy nominations.. the 4th most ever kanye won 24 Grammy's in total.
Classics 🎖
Mainstream success 🎖
Critically acclaimed 🎖
All huge achievements it's super rare and kanye has influenced pretty much everyone we listen to. You can hate the man but you can't deny his one of a kind legendary career.
i missed these free, non patreon videos!
one of my favourite songs ever. great video
The best album is Kamaal the Abstract and The Renaissance by Q-Tip
The Renaissance is a classic! One of my favorite hip hop abums of all time. Best hop hop album of 08
I was around 19 years old when those albums dropped. It solidified Kanye as next up and we pretty much didn't want to hear from 50 anymore after that. Curtis just sounded dated and the elements of graduation sounded new and refreshing. 2007 was also the year, when Wayne was really taking off on the Mixtape scene. He dropped dedication 2 and Like Father Like son in 06. Jeezy was on fire, Ross was bubbling and etc. We just looked at 50 sound as boom bap and started to like fun music and trap music. I say that as an East Coaster.
Yeah 50 knew his album sounded a bit old so the story was that at the last minute he reached out to Timbaland and they put out Technology as his single. Everyone was reaching out to Timbaland to add that special sauce at that time, including Kanye who had him punch up the drums on Graduation.
Both of you are just wrong
@@stellviahohenheim Oh yeah? How so?
You can't mention those years without mentioning T.I.
Your video's are awesome
I always play the game of which video will be linked at the end and here I was thinking it was gonna be to PYT lol
I wouldn’t call this a “beef. “It was more like a rivalry.
Luv these stories😊
It seems like the future is just a mix of 50 and Kanye… Modern day rap includes Gangster rappers using auto-tune singing all day long about poppin shots at their foes, and then going into reflection on their inner emotions
Can we get a quick video about the history behind the two versions of the song “Swang” by Trae Tha Truth? It’s another song that originally sampled Michael Jackson.
What a fun time loved both albums at 16 yrs old. Graduation for the win
History in the making, literally.
September 2007 is actually my birthday month.
Happy birthday when it comes or Happy belated birthday
I literally that was just talking about this to a friend who didn’t remember any of this
Nice video, but you missed on how T-Pain made impact on ye making 808s n H , and pretty much everyone at that time. Nice video but you favorized Ye for things that T-Pain did first.
Yes he’s back
I remember the "battle" unfolding on 106 & Park. 50 performed a song and had G-Unit onstage. Then 'Ye performed by himself until the very end and brought Jay-Z out as a surprise guest. Good times.
Changed the title did you?😊
Love the MJ sample 😍
I discovered your channel yesterday looking for some MF Doom videos. I have no words to describe what a great job you’re doing and how informative your videos are. Since yesterday i am watching every single video in the hiphop playlist. Thank you so much, keep doing this! 🙌🙌🙌
my favorite album AOTY
I think some of these songs could be mashed up pretty well.
Bruh this is awesome
WTF? All this time…I’m today years old noticing the “switch the style up” back and forth between them!
This song is legendary for the first time a rapper used a synthesiser 🙌🏿
50 told me gon'head switch the style up, and if they hate, then let 'em hate and watch the money pile up 🔥🔥🔥
Good Life is one of the few Ye songs I don’t skip these days.
he’s said that the sample came second so the song wasn’t built around the sample but hell yeah brother rock on
common digging the greats w
Feuds in hip hop is only about the competitive nature of the art form...now if it's manipulated to sell records as long as the music coming out is good....does it really matter?❤
I always say that lil Wayne and Kanye molded what hip hop is today... Aside from the Kdots and the jcoles, the main stream hip hop is from them
A lot of beefs are just for show, just to boost sales numbers. I grew up in a time and place where most Ford truck owners were compelled to have some kind of anti-Chevy bumper sticker and vice versa, where men occasionally got into fistfights over which mega-corporation-that-didn't-give-a-shit-about-either-of-them was better. Yet imagine back then if Congress tried (for some crazy reason, I know it's a stretch but just go with me) to ban all domestically produced automobile sales, allowing only foreign owned companies to sell in America. The Ford Motor Company and General Motors and every single one of their rivaly-fighting customers would have become overnight best friends, uniting together to pool their resources and fight against the proposed bill. It would have been fought against with more zeal and money than almost anything Congress has ever tried to do, and when it went down in flames the celebration and afterglow would maybe last a week if we were lucky...and then everyone would be right back at each other's throats. One of the two brands would release their next truck whatever and claim that it's the best truck whatever that's ever graced God's green earth, and the Ford vs Chevy battle would be right back on.
lol this era seems like a trillion miles away from today. Not our best times honestly.
You mean today's era isn't our best times?
Even if I'm not a fan of Kanye, it's obvious Graduation is better than Curtis unfortunately
Whatever there is to say about Kanye. He is very good at making music
The good life ending maybe the best entourage episode ever made it a bigger song
But I know for certain that Gold Digger is not on Graduation but is on Late Registration...holla!!!
You’re good.
I wonder if we are witnessing this right now with Drake and Kendrick? Small things I’m seeing in the business of rap music are small indicators of it.
I remember watching this on 106 & Park and knowing Ye would win
Remember they also involved Kenny Chesny ? Major marketing
Wow
go kendrick baby
0:23 uh oh
You just gave a graduate student an excellent launching point for a sociology or art history thesis
Loved it sir!
goat
I LOVE GOOD LIFE
They never had a Beef (conflict) they had a competitive battle
This was a classic case of milking the industry, in a good way. 😂
It was also a great example of: a) what the demand of the culture was and b) whose favor the tide is in and at that moment and the tide was in Kanye’s favor.
50 totally had his own speed bumps during his woes with Interscope but he did benefit from this in his own way, which I think people should go read “Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter” for the full scope.
Pretty sure the lead single for 50 album was "I get money" but it seemed like good life vs in da club? ?
No one gave a damn about that Curtis album, musically….it was just a fun feud about their potential sales, that’s it
He lost a battle to Camron right before that. 50 named the album Curtis because Cam got under his skin repeatedly calling him by his government name.
50 told Kanye to switch his style up and if they hating watch the money pile up😂. Fifty all day long
12:16
Same with Kendrick and Drake 🤔
Nevermind....I stand corrected