fbpx
Wikipedia

Late Registration

August 23, 2023

Late Registration is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions held at studios in Hollywood and New York City, in collaboration with Jon Brion. The album features guest appearances from Adam Levine, Jamie Foxx, Common, Brandy, Jay-Z, and Nas, among others.

Late Registration
Studio album by
Kanye West
ReleasedAugust 30, 2005 (2005-08-30)
Recorded2004–2005
Studio
Genre
Length70:25
Label
Producer
Kanye West chronology
The College Dropout
(2004) 		Late Registration
(2005) 		Late Orchestration
(2006)
Singles from Late Registration
  1. "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"
    Released: May 2005
  2. "Gold Digger"
    Released: July 5, 2005
  3. "Heard 'Em Say"
    Released: October 24, 2005
  4. "Touch the Sky"
    Released: January 1, 2006
  5. "Drive Slow"
    Released: June 6, 2006

West's production for Late Registration departed from the sped-up soul samples of his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004), moving towards a more elaborate and orchestral style with a 20-piece ensemble. Drawing creative inspiration from alternative acts such as Fiona Apple and Portishead, he experimented with musical shifts, string arrangements, and a variety of instruments not usually associated with hip hop, including a celesta, harpsichord, and Chinese bells. In an effort to write authentic yet relatable lyrics, West engages in storytelling while showcasing his Christian heritage that informed his relationship to the capitalist market economy. He critiques multiple issues, such as institutional racism, higher education, health care, and the blood diamond trade.

A widespread critical success, Late Registration has often been viewed as a progression from The College Dropout and a pivotal release in hip hop. Numerous reviewers praised the former's elegant and ambitious musical direction, while some highlighted West's songwriting and performances for their balance of pop and conscious hip hop sensibilities. It was named to year-end lists for 2005 by multiple publications, such as Rolling Stone, Time, and USA Today. The album led to West receiving eight nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album, winning the latter.

Matching The College Dropout's commercial success, Late Registration debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and sold 860,000 copies in the first week, while reaching the top 10 in nine other countries, including the United Kingdom and Ireland. It eventually sold more than 3,000,000 copies in the US and received a five-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), as well as sales certifications in several other territories. Five accompanying singles were released, including the hits "Touch the Sky", "Heard 'Em Say", and "Gold Digger", the latter of which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Music videos for all five singles were produced, while West also promoted the album with the Touch the Sky Tour (2005–06) and his debut live album, Late Orchestration (2006). Since then, Late Registration has frequently appeared on top albums lists, including Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", on which it ranked 117th in 2020.

Background

Late Registration is the second of Kanye West's planned four education-themed studio albums, following the major success of his 2004 debut The College Dropout.[1][2] The album showcased his signature production style of using sped-up vocal samples from soul records, known as "chipmunk soul".[1] However, because of its success, other hip hop artists widely imitated this sampling style. In response to this, and fearing his own dependence on the technique, West decided to find a new sound and progress in both songwriting and stylistic range.[1][2] West enlisted film score composer and record producer Jon Brion for Late Registration, resulting in Brion serving as co-executive producer for several tracks.[3] The rapper heard and liked Brion's score while watching the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and also listened to songs he had produced for singer-songwriter Fiona Apple's second album When the Pawn... (1999).[4] Apple was another one of West's favorite acts and sources of musical inspiration for Late Registration,[3][4] whose direction West described as "that Coldplay, Portishead, Fiona Apple style".[2] Portishead's 1994 album Dummy was another reference point for West's direction with the album.[4]

Brion was inexperienced in creating hip hop records when initially collaborating with West, yet the two were able to productively work together after only one afternoon in the studio when they discovered that neither confined his musical knowledge and vision to any specific genre.[5] Discussing Late Registration differing in direction from standard hip hop, Brion said, "There are colors and ideas that make [the album] different from average hip-hop, but Kanye is already different from the average hip-hop guy. He's got this sense of pop record-making which is really solid, and he likes tracks with a lot of things going on in them – which is not necessarily common for hip-hop. He was already barking up that tree."[3]

Recording

 
Film score composer Jon Brion (shown in 2006) assisted with the album's production.

West spent two million USD to produce Late Registration, recording it in slightly over a year.[6] The majority of the recording sessions for the album took place at Sony Music Studios in New York City and the Record Plant in Hollywood, California; further sessions were held at other Hollywood locations Chalice Recording Studios and Grandmaster Recording Studios.[7] In June 2004, the rapper made plans to begin recording material after finishing his support of R&B singer Usher's Truth Tour.[8] By November, West had completed around 75 percent of the album.[9] However, he felt unsatisfied with the outcome and this led to Brion becoming involved in March 2005, which drastically altered the project's direction.[3]

The album's recording sessions between West and Brion were largely exploratory, as the pair experimented with a broad spectrum of sounds. West would construct a song's basic structure, bringing in a sample, drum beat programming, and occasionally unfinished rap verses.[1] After thinking through what musical direction to take, he would then select from a variety of unique instruments that Brion both provided and played, including drums and strings.[3] With the instruments, West attempted to incorporate a distinctive sound into the song's texture.[3][10] West envisioned the recording as the creation of a film: visualizing the songs as scenes, outlining each in such a way that they efficiently conveyed their respective social or introspective context, and ensuring all were synchronized within the fabric of the complete set.[1] This sentiment was shared by Brion who said, "He thinks in frequency ranges. I can recognize when someone sees music architecturally, which is how I work. I see it as a spatial thing: left to right, front to back, up and down. It's animated and it's moving in real time. Kanye has that. He tries things out until it fits, until it sits where it is supposed to sit and everything has the correct emotional function."[10]

For Late Registration, West also collaborated with guest artists, whom he selected based on the effect each of their voices had on him upon hearing them. He cited the serene vocals of pop rock band Maroon 5's lead vocalist Adam Levine, the trademark voice of Brandy, the rap skill of his frequent collaborator Jay-Z, and the lyricism of fellow rapper Paul Wall as primary examples.[11] Levine is featured on the album's opening track, "Heard 'Em Say". The two had previously collaborated on a remix for "This Love" (2004) that Maroon 5 commissioned West to work on and later became good friends when sitting together on a flight to Rome for the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards.[12] While playing songs from his second album via his iPod for him on the flight, West presented the demo for "Heard 'Em Say", to which Levine added a hook he had recently written and thought was an ideal fit.[12] The song was recorded quickly because the singer only had a couple of hours free for studio time, and Brion was able to effectively work with the composition and Levine's vocal track in a few hours.[3]

West originally produced and recorded "Gold Digger" at Ludacris's home in Atlanta, Georgia, for fellow rapper Shawnna's 2004 debut album Worth tha Weight. He had written the chorus from a female first-person viewpoint, though Shawnna ultimately passed the song on to him. West then rewrote the two verses from his own point of view and shortly before the release of "Gold Digger" in 2005, he penned a third verse; the final recording and mastering was done at Sony Music Studios in a week.[13] After he saw singer Jamie Foxx's portrayal of singer-songwriter Ray Charles when watching the 2004 film Ray with his friend John Mayer, West decided to have him sing an interpolation of Charles' song "I Got a Woman".[13] Once the track was in place, it was layered with additional instruments that Brion contributed.[13]

Wall appears alongside West and his GOOD Music labelmate GLC on "Drive Slow". It was recorded in Los Angeles after the two had formed a friendship while posing for a photo shoot for an August 2005 issue of King, in a spread titled "Coming Kings".[14] West had originally wanted British-Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. to appear on the track, but she opted out of the appearance due to a busy schedule.[15][16] "My Way Home" is performed solely by West's GOOD Music associate and fellow rapper Common, whose sixth studio album Be was being produced and recorded by West alongside Late Registration.[7][17] Certain tracks originally produced by West for the former turned into beats for his own work.[17] 107 tracks were recorded during a Pro Tools session for "Bring Me Down"—48 of which were solely sang by Brandy— and the editing process for the tracks lasted one day.[18]

West first crafted "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" as a song about his friendship with his crew, until he learned of the civil war in Sierra Leone financed by conflict diamonds and re-recorded it.[19] While the original version of the song featured West as the sole performer, he decided to record a remix with a guest verse provided by Jay-Z.[20] Both the original and remix versions of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" appear on the album, with the former included as a bonus track.[7] The original contains live drums played by Michel Gondry, the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and later the first music video for "Heard 'Em Say"; he had visited the studio one day when a drum kit was set up by Brion.[3][12] According to Jay-Z, West mixed "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" about 14 times before he felt comfortable with premiering it.[21] The recording was further delayed when West and Brion were required to wait two weeks to rent the harpsichord that they used for the percussion.[22] West recorded a verse by fellow rapper Nas for the track "We Major", even though the rapper was engaged in a feud with Jay-Z at the time. Despite this, West revealed that the song is regarded by Jay-Z as his favorite on Late Registration.[23] "Hey Mama" was first recorded by West as early as 2000.[24]

Brion experienced difficulty conducting a 20-piece orchestra for "Celebration", as its musicians were distracted when giggling at West's humorous lyrics. West and Brion had some minor discord for "Roses"; Brion initially layered it with keyboard arrangements, only for West to remove his keys along with the beat and completely reconfigure the entire song so that the verses are built around the rhythm of his vocals, while Brion's arrangements arrive during the choruses. Brion later lightheartedly compared the indecision surrounding the construction of the track to that of Prince's well-known last-minute removal of the bassline from "When Doves Cry" (1984).[3] Singer Patti LaBelle recalled having contributed vocals to "Roses": "I was in [West's] studio one night, and he and his mother both asked if I'd just sing something on this song."[25] The singer further stated that she was not credited because the album's liner notes "had already been printed up".[25]

Music and production

West's prize catch, audibly enriching at least half [the] songs, is co-producer Jon Brion ... adding an unprecedented third element to West's proven meld of hitbound soul hooks and rhythm tracks made or played. There's never been hip-hop so complex and subtle musically.

—Robert Christgau[26]

The music of Late Registration blends West's primary hip hop production with Brion's elaborate orchestration and experimentally delves into a wide variety of genres,[3] including pop,[27] R&B,[2] soul,[26] and G-funk.[28] With the presence of Brion, who conducted a 20-piece orchestra and played instruments chosen by West, the album is largely orchestral in nature, featuring string arrangements,[29] drums,[3] gospel choirs, a 360 digital keyboard, guitars,[30] pianos,[28] and brass,[31] among other symphonic instrumentation.[27] Brion further incorporated authentic instruments, such as a celesta, Chamberlin,[30] harpsichord,[2] Chinese bells, and berimbau.[26]

In a piece about Late Registration, Serena Kim of Vibe magazine noted how West uses unconventional styles and sudden musical shifts in song structures, drawing comparisons to the Beatles' experimental era.[28] Kim observed a heavy difference between the album and West's previous work, stating, "West ambitiously attempts to depart from the street sensibilities of Dropout by giving Late Registration a shiny, quasi-alt-pop finish."[28] Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield concurred with this sentiment, analyzing that West "claims the whole world of music as hip-hop turf", taking on a "mad quest to explode every cliché about hip-hop identity".[2] The album has been described as a work of pop rap by Caleb Wossen of the Dallas Observer.[32]

 
West played with an extensive orchestra on "Bring Me Down", "Gone", and "Celebration".

The first full track on Late Registration, "Heard 'Em Say" exhibits a cascading piano melody provided by excerpts of "Someone That I Used To Love", as performed by Natalie Cole, embellished over tumbling beats, a bass synthesizer, and brief plucks of acoustic guitar.[7][33] The song's intricately composed outro features the last vocals fading out as various bells and whistles are incorporated, succeeded by the bass synthesizer.[29] "Touch the Sky" stands as the sole song on the album not to feature production by West. The song was produced by fellow Roc-A-Fella producer Just Blaze, who uses a slowed-down sample of Curtis Mayfield's "Move On Up" (1970), filled with Latin horns.[7][34][35] "Gold Digger" contains an interpolation of "I Got a Woman" by Charles and a bouncy beat that relies on handclaps,[27][36] accompanied by scratches from West's touring DJ A-Trak.[7] Towards the end, the song employs vintage synthesizers, which are joined by a honking keyboard.[37][38] West's production approach is simplified for "Drive Slow", a song that contains a looped sample of the alto sax from Hank Crawford's recording of the 1973 track "Wildflower" by Skylark,[39][40] before slowing down the sample towards the end, which is antithetical to West's "chipmunk soul"-styled loops.[41]

The interlude "My Way Home" contains a sample of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" (1971) by Gil Scott-Heron. "Bring Me Down" has more orchestration than any other track on Late Registration, including string arrangements, violins, and cello.[7] The structure of "Addiction" contains synths, congas,[35] strings, and elements of Etta James's "My Funny Valentine" (1937).[7] All the while, West's vocals go through heavy overdubbing.[42] "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" is built around a sample of Shirley Bassey's theme song for the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, layering it with lush instrumental arrangements that feature drums,[7][27] horns, strings,[35] and a harpsichord.[22]

 
"Hey Mama"
A 22-second sample of "Hey Mama", which showcases the influence of Fiona Apple on Late Registration. The song also demonstrates Brion's orchestration, featuring Tin Pan Alley-styled drums.[43]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Late Registration's longest track, the seven-minute-long "We Major", implements exuberant, amplified backing vocals and a "splashy disco groove" featuring a bassline, electric piano glissandos, and horns.[41][44] The melody of "Hey Mama" is laced with a looped "La-la-la" vocal sample from the 1972 track "Today Won't Come Again" by Donal Leace,[2] while its beat contains Tin Pan Alley-styled drums. Additionally, the song features vocoder-processed background vocals, an xylophone solo, and a cascading synth outro.[43] "Celebration" is a cinematic-styled song that includes contributions from a 20-piece orchestra and contains a sample of the KayGees's "Heavenly Dream" (1979).[3][7] A columnist for The Guardian described the song as evoking "the lavish 1970s psychedelic soul of Rotary Connection".[37]

Some of the most elaborate orchestral arrangement expressed on the album is contained within its final official track "Gone".[7] The composition begins with a vocal sample of "It's Too Late" (1965) by Otis Redding that develops into a two-chord piano ostinato, followed by a simplistic funk beat. As the song progresses, its structure gradually morphs and experiences growing musicality. The composition later adds a string arrangement from ten violinists, four violists, and four cellists, which initially comes in brief staccato bursts and acts as a counterpoint to the rise and fall of West's voice. After its third verse, the song enters an instrumental passage.[38]

Themes and lyrics

 
West spoke about the way he planned raps for Late Registration, specifying his aim for them to be understandable.

According to Time magazine's Josh Tyrangiel, Late Registration acts as a demonstration of West's deliberate storytelling mode.[45] West stated that his goal for the album was to touch on topics that people from all walks of life could find relatable, while remaining true to himself, intending his rapping to be "just as ill as Jadakiss and just as understandable as Will Smith".[11] University of North Carolina scholar Kevin Pyon sees Late Registration as a continuation from The College Dropout in demonstrating how West's Christian heritage has informed his relationship to the capitalist market economy. In his analysis, the album reaffirms West's "paradoxical articulation of market and religion—that is, his simultaneous sacred critique and secular valorization of capitalism".[46] The scholar elaborated that West being an authentic Christian "does not replace or merge with his market authenticity as a materialistic rapper but co-exists with it in uneasy tension".[46] West later told Berlin-based artist Tino Sehgal in 2021 that being "under capitalist rule" is "killing us" and declared, "It's time to change that."[47] Robert Christgau summed up West's lyrical persona to be "mammon in practice, Christ in spirit".[26]

"Heard 'Em Say" is told from the perspective of an afflicted, impoverished American quietly lamenting the fallacies of society and questioning the ways of the world around him. According to rap scholar and author Mickey Hess, West's lyrics contemplate "being honest with yourself in a world that is not".[48] On "Touch the Sky", West expresses wonder about his good fortune,[49] while also admitting that his mistakes helped him with songwriting despite trying to put them right.[35] West speaks about women that drain men of the money in their pockets on "Gold Digger", accompanied by Jamie Foxx's ad libbing.[50] However, another story arises within the third verse, which illustrates a formerly destitute black male who abandons a non-gold digger for a white woman.[26] "Drive Slow" acknowledges car culture and features West reflecting on when he was young, poor, and ambitious.[36][42] In West's description, "Crack Music" delves into "how crack was placed in the black community".[11] West delivers poetry on "Roses", which sees him criticizing the quality of American health care.[2][51]

The remix of "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" references the deaths of many civilians in diamond mines, as well as reiterating the tension between criticizing consumerism and failing to resist it.[20][49][52] Jay-Z appears towards the end of the remix, focusing on his ongoing feud with Dame Dash.[20] The original version is included as a bonus track, featuring West linking Sierra Leone's civil war to the jewellery trade.[7][51] The extended raps on "We Major" are a spiritual exultation of generational and personal success,[48] followed by Kanye's dedication to his mother Donda West on "Hey Mama". In the latter song, Kanye West recounts his mother being supportive of him even though he was doing the opposite of what she desired.[11] West looks at the idea of abandoning fame on "Gone", thinking about a simpler life.[31]

 
Alpha Phi Alpha board members at a banquet in Washington, D.C., 2006. West critiques institutions such as historically black colleges on the album for not properly helping African Americans.

Similarly to The College Dropout, a series of skits are voiced by comedian DeRay Davis throughout Late Registration.[53] They involve a fictional black fraternity called "Broke Phi Broke", which West's character joins. The members pride themselves in living a life without money or worldly possessions, despite the clear disadvantages such a lifestyle brings.[54] West's character is eventually expelled from the fraternity after the leader discovers that not only has he been making beats for cash on the side, but has also broken some of its rules, such as eating meals everyday, buying new clothes, and taking showers. According to Hess, the skits serve to encapsulate "a contradiction at the core of contemporary American life: the need to belong, to fit in, with your fellow humans versus the Darwinistic mad grab at material things, success in the latter being the very definition of success in our culture".[54] The album's critique of higher education, including historically black colleges and universities, as a useless institution for African Americans is considered by some scholars to be a variation of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's theories connecting education to social and cultural reproduction.[55] According to academic journalist Chris Richardson, West advances "a theme critical of institutional education and the broader social distinctions it produces" that is specifically connected to Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence, which is "defined as the ability to impose meanings while concealing their underlying power relations".[56]

The fraternity theme is revisited towards the end of the album on the UK edition bonus track "We Can Make It Better", featuring guest raps from Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common, and Rhymefest over a sped-up sample of "Make It Easy on Yourself", as covered by the Three Degrees. In his lyrics, West addresses a girl as a tour guide through her first day on a college campus while trying to alleviate her fears of dating black men in the aftermath of an abusive relationship. The guest rappers offer observations on urban threats such as exploitative criminals, drug addicts, and dangerous police officers, concluding with Rhymefest's blame of government tactics in terrorizing African Americans.[57] On the Japanese and Australian Tour editions bonus track "Back to Basics", West explores the materialist-conscious rapper contrast.[58][59]

Release and promotion

Late Registration was originally set to be released on July 12, 2005, but was pushed back to August 16 by West's record labels Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam.[60] The release date was postphoned once more to August 30, 2005, for which over 1,600,000 copies were distributed to stores in preparation because the album was expected to be the best-selling record of the year.[61] On the iTunes Store, it became one of the most pre-ordered titles in history up to September 2005.[62]

 
West performing on U2's Vertigo Tour in late 2005

An advertising campaign for Late Registration was directed by Maggie Rogers and Paul Tuersley, while commissioned by Rachel Paley. It was produced by Abby Johnson for Mr & Mrs Smith Design. At the 2006 Cads Music Vision Awards, the campaign received a nomination for Best Music TV Commercial.[63] Late Registration was released for online streaming via AOL Music on August 30, 2005.[64] That same day, West made an in-store appearance at the Tower Records location in New York's Lincoln Center to autograph copies of the album for fans.[65] In September 2005, Def Jam announced tour dates across North America from October to December of that year for West's Touch the Sky Tour, titled after the song.[66] West was supported by Common, Keyshia Cole, and Fantasia on the tour.[66][67] Common had cancelled his involvement, until he performed with West for the Touch the Sky Tour's kickoff show at the University of Miami Convocation Center on October 11, 2005.[67] After he finished the tour's first leg, West supported Irish rock band U2 for four dates of their Vertigo Tour at the end of 2005.[68] West later performed five UK dates on the Touch the Sky tour in 2006 and during the last show at the NEC Arena in Solihull, two security guards were shot.[69] The rapper was then supposed to support U2's Australian concerts on their Vertigo Tour in March 2006, but the shows were postponed.[70]

Artwork and packaging

The art direction and music packaging design for Late Registration were both handled by Brooklyn graphic design studio Morning Breath, Inc, while Louis Marino served as creative director. The photography was done by Sarah A. Friedman and Kris Yiengst, the latter of which also did art coordination. Styling and grooming were handled by Charlene Roxborough and Ibn Jasper, respectively, for the company Partos, while Doug Joswick was responsible for package production.[7] Similar to the cover art of The College Dropout, the artwork features West's "Dropout Bear" mascot, showing it at a child's size and stood in the center of two large wooden doors at Princeton University.[53][71] The mascot has goggle eyes, perky ears, and a collegian outfit, wearing a blazer with a school insignia.[72] In the album booklet, Dropout Bear appears in the university, sitting alone in classrooms and reads books before exiting. The booklet includes a banner that reads Tardus Subcriptio, translated as Late Registration.[7][71] West's vision for the style of the pictures was inspired by the works of American satirical painter John Currin, one of his favorite artists.[71]

Singles

In a preview of Late Registration on April 20, 2005, West appeared on New York radio station Hot 97 and premiered "Diamonds from Sierra Leone".[17] The following month, the song was serviced to US mainstream radio stations as the album's lead single by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam.[17][73] It charted at number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100, alongside reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart.[74][75] "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA for amassing 1,000,000 certified units, while the BPI has awarded it with a silver certification for sales of 200,000 units.[76][77] An accompanying music video was debuted on June 15, 2005, in which rough scenes of young children mining for diamonds are juxtaposed with shots of West rapping through the streets of Prague.[78][79] On July 5, "Gold Digger" was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio stations as the second single from Late Registration, through West's labels.[80] The song was a smash hit, topping the Hot 100, ARIA Singles Chart, and NZ Singles Chart.[81][82][83] It experienced similar success on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at the second position.[75] In September 2020, "Gold Digger" received an octuple platinum certification from the RIAA for pushing 8,000,000 certified units in the US, standing as one of the best-selling singles digitally in the country.[84] The song was later certified triple platinum by the BPI for selling 1,800,000 units in the UK.[85]

On October 24, 2005, "Heard 'Em Say" was issued on a 12" vinyl as the album's third single by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam.[86] The song peaked at numbers 26 and 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, respectively.[74][75] It has been awarded a platinum certification by the RIAA for shelving 1,000,000 certified units in the US.[87] The song's first music video depicts a Christmas world in Macy's flagship New York store, while the second one utilizes animation and shows West taking on the role of a cab driver in an imaginary city.[12][88] "Touch the Sky" was released on a digital EP in the UK as the fourth single from Late Registration on January 1, 2006, through West's labels.[89] The song reached number 42 on the Hot 100, while it debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart.[74][75] "Touch the Sky" has been certified platinum by both the RIAA and BPI in the US and UK, respectively, having amassed 1,000,000 certified units in the former country and pushed 600,000 units in the latter.[90][91] The song's music video was debuted in February 2006 and features West portraying the character "Evel Kanyevel", preparing to travel across the Grand Canyon in homage to Evel Knievel's unsuccessful 1974 jump across the Snake River Canyon.[92] On June 6, "Drive Slow" was released on a 12" vinyl as the album's fifth and final single by Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam.[93] The song was later certified gold by the RIAA for shelving 500,000 certified units in the US.[94] An accompanying music video was filmed, featuring cameos from Wall and fellow rapper T.I.[95]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100[96]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [97]
Blender     [36]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[49]
The Guardian     [51]
Los Angeles Times    [98]
NME8/10[15]
Pitchfork9.5/10[43]
Rolling Stone     [2]
SpinB+[35]
USA Today    [50]

Late Registration was met with widespread critical acclaim.[99] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 31 reviews.[96] Reviewers generally regarded it as far superior to The College Dropout.[100]

Writing in Rolling Stone, Sheffield deemed Late Registration "an undeniable triumph" throughout, seeing it as expansive enough to make "the debut sound like a rough draft" and adding that West proves he is a real rapper.[2] The Guardian lead critic Alexis Petridis highlighted West's topicality and subversive studio production on the album; he noticed the indication of "an artist effortlessly outstripping his peers: more ideas, better lyrics, bigger hooks, greater depth".[51] Andy Kellman from AllMusic said the rapper "can be tremendous" as a songwriter and noted his production style had gone from unrefined and erratic-tempo samples to "a more traditionally musical touch" contributed by Brion.[97] Sean Fennessey of Pitchfork felt West provided a worthy successor to The College Dropout with an "expansive, imperfect masterpiece" that draws on his enthusiastic, ambitious, and scattered personality.[43]

Late Registration was hailed by some journalists as a pivotal release in hip hop. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said that with its combination of socially conscious hip hop, club, and personal reflections, the album "represents a watershed moment in rap music history",[100] while Kitty Empire from The Observer viewed it as an important milestone for the genre, declaring West "the Brian Wilson of hip-hop" and observing that he "plays up the struggle between conscience and covetousness, the pop mainstream", and what is achievable within hip hop's traditional boundaries.[27] Similarly, Steve Yates from the same publication compared West's aspirations in working with Brion to how Stevie Wonder collaborated in his classic 1970s period, adding that by being "creative, intelligent, funny and daring" he is the only act besides rap group Outkast "to walk the tightrope between pop sensibility, conscious rap and the outright nihilism of your common-or-garden [variety] gangsta".[101] In the Los Angeles Times, Robert Hilburn compared West's dignified execution of pop crossover to that of the Beatles, Johnny Cash, and Bob Marley.[98] Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, praised the lyrical and musical "exquisite details" of the album, saying that West may be arrogant, "only that's not why he always samples".[26] He concluded that West is as good as he believes himself, calling the rapper "a backpacker at heart who, like many brilliant nerds before him, has accrued precious metal by following his dream".[26]

Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise. In The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin found Late Registration as ambitious as The College Dropout, albeit "less successful" because of melodramatic lyricism and symphony music without a "strong narrative" to hold the songs together; he finalized that the album "plays like a brilliant first draft, flawed and uneven, but radiating humor and heart".[52] The New York Times critic Jon Pareles believed West's elevated status undermined the underdog quality that had accentuated his debut, writing that "for much of Late Registration, the striver has turned into a hip-hop V.I.P.", with his "cool arrogance" being prominent on the songs.[42] Hattie Collins of NME was highly impressed by the beats in the music, which she called "pure cranium-crushing boom bap at its best", but lamented the lack of "rubbish lyrics" and clumsy charm that made The College Dropout appeal to West's hardcore fans.[15] In the eyes of Spin magazine's Jon Caramanica, the improved versatility and eccentricity of West's flow still "pales in comparison to his sonic ambition".[35]

Rankings

 
Robert Christgau (pictured in 2014) supervised the 2005 Pazz & Jop critics poll, which Late Registration won. He also named it the best album of the year on his own list.

Late Registration appeared on year-end best album lists for 2005 by numerous publications, including being named the best album of the year by Spin,[102] Time,[45] and USA Today.[103] Rolling Stone also gave the album this accolade, with the staff hailing it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic".[104][105] In The Village Voice's 2005 Pazz & Jop nationwide poll of 795 popular music critics, Late Registration finished at number one with 2,525 points.[106] It scored a 107-point lead, standing as the narrowest margin in the poll's history.[107] Christgau, the poll's supervisor, also ranked Late Registration first on his own list,[108] and assigned it an "A+" grade in his "Consumer Guide" column.[109] On the Washington City Paper's list of the top 20 favourite albums of 2005 calculated from points assigned by the magazine's music writers, the album finished at number four with 43 points, becoming one of the five albums to score over 40 that year.[110] Late Registration was West's second consecutive album to be rated "XXL" by XXL, the magazine's highest rank, which had been awarded to only 16 other hip hop albums by 2005.[111]

MSN Music selected the album as the seventh best album of the 2000s decade; the staff praised West's work with Brion for expanding his genre range.[112] PopMatters ranked Late Registration as the 15th best album of the 2000s,[113] while Pitchfork named it the decade's 18th best album.[114] Observer Music Monthly listed the album as the 19th best of the decade, and the staff noted that West reached his ambition to be "bigger than hip-hop".[115] Consequence named Late Registration the 26th best album of the 2000s,[116] whereas La Vanguardia picked it as the 36th best of the decade.[117] The album finished at number 40 on Rolling Stone's list of the best albums of the 2000s, with the staff highlighting West's decision to work with Brion.[118]

In 2012, Rolling Stone placed Late Registration at number 118 on their revised list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[119] The album was the highest entry among both recent albums and the three West releases to appear on the list.[120] On a 2013 list published by Vibe of the 50 best albums since 1993, it was positioned 16th.[121] In 2012, Late Registration was placed at number 100 on Spin's list of the 125 best albums of the past 25 years.[122] Three years later, the magazine ranked the album at number 104 on its list of the 300 best albums of the past 30 years.[123] Late Registration was later listed at number 117 on Rolling Stone's 2020 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[124]

Select rankings of Late Registration
Publication List Rank Ref.
Complex The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade (2002–2012)
93
[125]
Consequence The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s
26
[116]
Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2005
2
[126]
The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s
18
[114]
Rolling Stone Top 50 Records of 2005
1
[105]
100 Best Albums of the 2000s
40
[118]
500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2012)
118
[119]
500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020)
117
[124]
The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time
41
[127]
Spin The 40 Best Albums of 2005
1
[102]
The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)
104
[123]
Time Best Albums of 2005
1
[45]
USA Today Best Albums of 2005
1
[103]
The Village Voice The 2005 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
1
[106]
Washington City Paper Music Writers' Top 20 Favourite Albums of 2005
4
[110]
The Wire Top 50 Records of 2005
25
[128]

Industry awards

 
West performing at the 2006 Brit Awards, where he received a nomination for International Album.

Late Registration was a contender for numerous industry awards. In December 2005, prior to the nominations being announced for the 2006 Grammy Awards, West complained that he would have a problem with not winning the Album of the Year award.[129] Late Registration received a nomination for the award at the ceremony, and West recalled himself and Brion saying in the studio, "We're making the Album of the Year!"[130][131] At the 2006 Grammys, the album won the award of Best Rap Album, becoming West's second consecutive album to do so and he delivered an acceptance speech that night.[130][132] "Gold Digger" and "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" were winners of the awards for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song, respectively, at the same ceremony, while the former was also nominated for Record of the Year.[130] West's nominations for the album were six of the eight awards that he contended for at the 2006 Grammys, tying with Mariah Carey and John Legend for the show's most nominations.[129][131] Despite West having stating he would have a problem with not winning, he was happy with eight nominations.[129] However, Late Registration won the Best Album award at the 2006 MP3.com Awards.[133]

Awards and nominations for Late Registration
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2005 Best Art Vinyl Awards Best Art Vinyl Nominated
[134]
HipHopDX Awards Album of the Year Nominated
[135]
Vibe Awards Album of the Year Nominated
[136]
2006 BET Hip Hop Awards Hip Hop CD of the Year Nominated
[137]
Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album Nominated
[138]
Top Rap Album Won
[139]
Brit Awards International Album Nominated
[140]
Danish Music Awards International Album of the Year Nominated
[141]
Grammy Awards Best Rap Album Won
[130]
Album of the Year Nominated
Hungarian Music Awards Best Foreign Rap or Hip-Hop Album of the Year Won
[142]
MP3.com Awards Best Album Won
[133]
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Album Nominated
[143]
TEC Awards Record Production/Album Nominated
[144]

Commercial performance

In its first week of release, Late Registration debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 860,000 copies, selling over 600,000 more copies than Tony Yayo's album Thoughts of a Predicate Felon at number two. This stood as West's first chart-topping album in the United States and gave him first-week sales nearly double those of The College Dropout.[145] The album had the highest-selling first week sales in the US for two years, until West's next album Graduation suprassed it in September 2007 by selling 957,000 copies.[146] The former's first-week sales also ranked as the seventh largest for a rap album up to March 3, 2020.[147] In Late Registration's second week, it remained atop the Billboard 200 and sold an additional 283,000 copies, resulting in more than 1,140,000 copies sold within the first two weeks on the chart.[148] In early 2006, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the album a triple platinum certification, indicating sales of 3,000,000 copies in the US.[149] In June 2013, Late Registration reached 3,100,000 copies sold in the US.[150] On July 21, 2022, it was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 5,000,000 album-equivalent units in the country.[151]

Late Registration also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart.[152] On February 14, 2006, it was certified double platinum by Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 200,000 copies in Canada.[153] In the United Kingdom, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two for the issue date of September 5, 2005, being prevented from topping the chart by McFly's album Wonderland.[154] The former was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of 900,000 units in the UK on March 12, 2022.[155] As of May 2018, Late Registration is the 12th highest-selling rap album in the UK in the 21st century.[156] By November of that year, the album had sold 852,000 copies in the UK, ranking as West's highest selling album in the country.[157] Late Registration reached numbers two and three on the Irish Albums Chart and Scottish Albums Chart, respectively, while it received a double platinum certification from the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) by the end of 2005 for pushing 30,000 units in Ireland.[158][159][160] The album also charted within the top 10 in Norway,[161] Greece,[162] Switzerland,[163] and Japan,[164] as well as entering the European Top 100 Albums chart at number six.[165] In 2021, Vibe reported that Late Registration became one of the rap albums released before 2010 to have been streamed one billion times through Spotify.[166]

Legacy and influence

I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a Black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food.' ... George Bush doesn't care about Black people.

—Kanye West (A Concert for Hurricane Relief, 2005)[167]

With the album's commercial success, West established himself as a recording artist in his own right outside of his earlier success with hip hop productions for other rappers.[167] By surpassing the sales and acclaim of The College Dropout, Late Registration proved that "the Kanye West experiment was no longer an experiment, it was a business model", according to author Shea Serrano.[168] He explained, "It helped revitalize sampling soul music, it stitched together pop music themes generally attributable to the easily ignorable 'conscious rap' quadrant ('Gold Digger' is secretly a clever examination of the effects money has on relationships), and it created a precedent for the larger-scale gazing he'd go on to do. Rap followed along right behind him."[168] As The Ringer's Logan Murdock chronicles, Late Registration proved his unprecedented artistry and relentless ambition with "a story to tell, an underdog tale that the masses related to", particularly the black community.[167] The journalist relates his own experience connecting with the music, recalling having been a fan of West at 12 years old in Oakland, California, recognizing "the same struggles [he] spoke about plaguing my own environment. Like West, I had educated parents and a stable home life, but was aware of the world around me. Like West, I struggled to get acceptance, living a double life."[167]

Released in the wake of Hurricane Katrina's destructive landfall on the US Gulf Coast, Late Registration was followed a few days later by West's appearance on the live telethon A Concert for Hurricane Relief. In a segment alongside actor Mike Myers, he made harsh remarks criticizing the US government's response to the storm and the media for lacking empathy toward black people disproportionately impacted. According to Murdock, West's remarks were in line with both the criticism then-President George W. Bush would receive for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and "with the defiance that Late Registration displayed" through its insight into the "systematic racism faced by those in the water".[167] A few weeks later, West performed tracks from the album at Abbey Road Studios in London for a live record entitled Late Orchestration, which was released in April 2006 and also includes accompanying music videos on the home video edition.[169]

In retrospect, Highsnobiety writer Shahzaib Hussain recognized Late Registration in West's opening trilogy of highly successful albums that "cemented his role as a progressive rap progenitor".[170] Similarly, the staff of XXL felt satisfied with the album as the second work of West's education-themed trilogy and noted that a sophomore slump was avoided. The staff commented that it "relied on his production savvy to craft some of the most stellar beats of his career", which they felt was equaled by West's lyricism.[171] According to Jay Willis of GQ, Late Registration marked the last great album by "the old Kanye"; he remembered it being the soundtrack to many of his life activities.[172]

Track listing

Late Registration standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Wake Up Mr. West"
 0:41
2."Heard 'Em Say" (featuring Adam Levine)
3:23
3."Touch the Sky" (featuring Lupe Fiasco)
Just Blaze3:57
4."Gold Digger" (featuring Jamie Foxx)
  • West
  • Brion
3:28
5."Skit No. 1"  0:33
6."Drive Slow" (featuring Paul Wall and GLC)
West4:32
7."My Way Home" (performed by Common)
West1:43
8."Crack Music" (featuring The Game)
  • West
  • Brion
4:31
9."Roses"
  • West
  • Brion
4:05
10."Bring Me Down" (featuring Brandy)
  • West
  • Brion
3:18
11."Addiction"
  • West
  • Brion
4:27
12."Skit No. 2"  0:31
13."Diamonds from Sierra Leone (Remix)" (featuring Jay-Z)
3:53
14."We Major" (featuring Nas and Really Doe)
  • West
  • Baby Dubb
  • Brion
7:28
15."Skit No. 3"  0:24
16."Hey Mama"
  • West
  • Donal Leace
  • West
  • Brion
5:05
17."Celebration"West
  • West
  • Brion
3:18
18."Skit No. 4"  1:18
19."Gone" (featuring Consequence and Cam'ron)
West5:33
20."Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (bonus track)
  • West
  • Harris
  • Barry
  • Black
  • West
  • Devo Springsteen
  • Brion
3:58
21."Late" (hidden track)
West3:50
Total length:70:25
UK edition[173]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
21."We Can Make It Better" (featuring Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common and Rhymefest)
  • West
  • Brion
3:52
22."Late" (hidden track)
  • West
  • Kerr
  • Robinson
West3:50
Total length:74:17
Japanese and Australian Tour editions[58][174]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
21."Back to Basics" (with Common)
West1:39
22."We Can Make It Better" (featuring Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, Common and Rhymefest)
  • West
  • Lynn
  • Fareed
  • Greene
  • Smith
  • Bacharach
  • David
  • West
  • Brion
3:52
23."Late" (hidden track)
  • West
  • Kerr
  • Robinson
West3:50
Total length:75:56

Sample credits[7]

  • "Wake Up Mr. West" and "Heard 'Em Say" both contain excerpts of "Someone That I Used to Love" as performed by Natalie Cole.
  • "Touch the Sky" contains samples of "Move On Up" as performed by Curtis Mayfield.
  • "Gold Digger" contains samples of "I Got a Woman" as performed by Ray Charles.
  • "Drive Slow" contains samples of "Wildflower" as performed by Hank Crawford.[40]
  • "My Way Home" contains samples of "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" as performed by Gil Scott-Heron.
  • "Crack Music" contains samples of "Since You Came in My Life" as performed by New York Community Choir.
  • "Roses" contains samples of "Rosie" as performed by Bill Withers.
  • "Addiction" contains elements of "My Funny Valentine" as performed by Etta James.
  • "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" contains samples of "Diamonds Are Forever" as performed by Shirley Bassey.
  • "We Major" contains samples of "Action" as performed by Orange Krush.
  • "Hey Mama" contains samples of "Today Won't Come Again" as performed by Donal Leace.
  • "Celebration" contains samples of "Heavenly Dream" as performed by The Kay-Gees.
  • "Gone" contains samples of "It's Too Late" as performed by Otis Redding.
  • "Late" contains samples of "I'll Erase Away Your Pain" by The Whatnauts.
  • "We Can Make It Better" contains a sample of "Make It Easy on Yourself" as performed by The Three Degrees.[57]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[7]

Musicians

  • Eric Gorfain – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Daphne Chen – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Victoria Lanier – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Julie Rogers – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Alyssa Park – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Audrey Solomon – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Terry Glenny – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Susan Chatman – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Marisa Kuney – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Amy Wickman – violin (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Marda Todd – viola (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Piotr Jandule – viola (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Tom Tally – viola (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • David Sage – viola (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Richard Dodd – cello (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Matt Cooker – cello (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Armen Ksadjikian – cello (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Victor Lawrence – cello (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Jason Torreano – contrabass (tracks 10, 17)
  • Francis Senger – contrabass (tracks 10, 17)
  • Denise Briese – contrabass (tracks 10, 17)
  • Gary Grant – trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 10, 17)
  • Dan Fornero – trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 10, 17)
  • Andrew Martin – trombone (tracks 10, 17)
  • Stephen Holtman – trombone (tracks 10, 17)
  • Bruce Otto – bass trombone (tracks 10, 17)
  • Rick Todd – French horn (tracks 10, 17)
  • Brad Warnaar – French horn (tracks 10, 17)
  • Ervin "EP" Pope – keyboards (tracks 9, 17)
  • Keenan "Keynote" Holloway – bass (tracks 9, 17)
  • Tom Craskey – keyboards (tracks 13, 20)
  • Dave Tozer – guitar (tracks 13, 20)
  • Michel Gondry – live drums (tracks 13, 20)
  • A-Trak – scratches (track 4)
  • Tony "Penafire" Williams – additional vocals (tracks 2, 6, 8, 9, 14)
  • John Legend – additional vocals (tracks 16, 17)
  • DeRay Davis – additional vocals (track 1)
  • Plain Pat – additional vocals (track 4)
  • Don C. – additional vocals (track 4)
  • Keyshia Cole – additional vocals (track 8)
  • Charlie Wilson – additional vocals (track 8)
  • Patti LaBelle – additional vocals (track 9)[a][25]
  • Strings – additional vocals (track 11)

Production

  • Anthony Kilhoffer – recording (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8–14, 16, 17, 19, 20)
  • Andrew Dawson – recording (tracks 2–4, 6–8, 16, 17, 21), mixing (tracks 8, 16, 17, 19)
  • Tom Biller – recording (tracks 2, 4, 11–14, 16, 17), strings recording (tracks 10, 17, 19, 20)
  • Brian Sumner – recording (tracks 8, 9, 21)
  • Richard Reitz – recording (track 6)
  • Mike Dean – mixing (tracks 2–4, 6, 7)
  • Craig Bauer – mixing (tracks 9–12)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 13, 20)
  • Nate Connelly – assistant engineering (tracks 2–4, 6, 9, 10, 14, 21)
  • Mike Mo – assistant engineering (tracks 2–4, 6, 10, 14)
  • Matt Green – assistant engineering (tracks 3, 4, 8, 10, 16, 17)
  • Taylor Dow – assistant engineering (tracks 2, 7, 16, 17, 19)
  • James Auwarter – assistant engineering (tracks 9–12)
  • Ryan Neuschafer – assistant engineering (tracks 9–12)
  • Jon Brion – string arrangement (tracks 10, 17, 19), brass arrangement (tracks 10, 17)
  • Eric Gorfain – strings orchestration (tracks 10, 17, 19)
  • Vlado Meller – mastering

Design

  • Louis Marino – creative direction
  • Morning Breath, Inc. – art direction, design
  • Sarah A. Friedman – photography
  • Kris Yiengst – photography, art coordination
  • Charlene Roxborough – styling
  • Ibn Jasper – grooming

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Late Registration
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[202] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[153] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[203] Platinum 20,000‡
Ireland (IRMA)[160] 2× Platinum 30,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[204] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[205] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[155] 3× Platinum 852,000[157]
United States (RIAA)[151] 5× Platinum 3,100,000[150]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[206] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Patti LaBelle's vocals on the track are uncredited.

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e Brown 2006, p. 121.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sheffield, Rob (August 25, 2005). "Late Registration". Rolling Stone. from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Perez, Rodrigo (August 12, 2005). "Kanye's Co-Pilot, Jon Brion, Talks About The Making Of Late Registration" MTV. November 5, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 2, 2006.
  4. ^ a b c Brown 2006, pp. 121–122.
  5. ^ Brown 2006, p. 124.
  6. ^ Brown 2006, p. 120.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Late Registration (Media notes). Roc-A-Fella Records. 2005.
  8. ^ Reid, Shaheem (June 22, 2004). "Kanye West's Videos: 'Jesus Walks' ... And Walks ... And Walks" MTV. October 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
  9. ^ Moss, Cory (November 18, 2004) "Kanye West And John Mayer Collaborate But Won't Elaborate" MTV. August 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  10. ^ a b Brown 2006, p. 123.
  11. ^ a b c d . VH1. October 12, 2005. Archived from the original on October 27, 2005. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d Moss, Cory (October 20, 2005). "Kanye, Kids Run Amok In Surreal Macy's For New Clip" MTV. February 18, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
  13. ^ a b c Reid, Shaheem (February 1, 2006). "Road To The Grammys: The Making Of Kanye West's 'Gold Digger'" MTV. August 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
  14. ^ Reid, Shaheem (September 9, 2005). "Paul Wall Puts His Album Aside To Help Hurricane Survivors" MTV. February 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
  15. ^ a b c Collins, Hattie (September 5, 2005). . NME. Archived from the original on October 1, 2005. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  16. ^ Ahmed, Isanul (August 28, 2020). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Kanye West's 'Late Registration'". Complex. from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d Cohen, Jonathan (April 22, 2005). "West Shows Off 'Diamonds' With Jay-Z". Billboard. from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
  18. ^ Baeur, Craig (February 2006). "Recording & Mixing Kanye West". Sound on Sound. from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  19. ^ Boyd, Brian (March 16, 2007). "Taking the rap for bloody bling". The Irish Times. from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  20. ^ a b c Crosley, Hillary (June 14, 2005). "'Diamonds' Remix: Kanye Raps About Rocks, Jay Raps About Roc" MTV. September 30, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  21. ^ Reid, Shaheem (April 20, 2005). "Kanye, Jay-Z Give An Early Peek At West's Late Registration" MTV. January 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
  22. ^ a b Brown 2006, p. 129.
  23. ^ Fleischer, Adam (August 29, 2015). "Kanye West Explains How He Got In The Middle Of The Jay Z And Nas Beef" MTV. August 30, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  24. ^ Patel, Joseph (June 5, 2003). "Producer Kanye West's Debut LP Features Jay-Z, ODB, Mos Def" MTV. May 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  25. ^ a b c Frampton, Scott (February 2006). "What's Playing in Patti LaBelle's Ear?". O. from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g Christgau, Robert (August 30, 2005). . The Village Voice. Archived from the original on October 25, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  27. ^ a b c d e Empire, Kitty (August 28, 2005). "West Ends the Wait" The Observer. September 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 4, 2005.
  28. ^ a b c d Kim, Serena (September 12, 2005). . Vibe. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
  29. ^ a b Cummings, Jozen (August 29, 2005). . PopMatters. Archived from the original on July 15, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  30. ^ a b "Jon Brion". Mixonline. November 1, 2005. from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  31. ^ a b Peters, Micah (August 30, 2016). "A Toast to the Best Song on Kanye West's 'Late Registration'". The Ringer. from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  32. ^ Wossen, Caleb (March 3, 2017). "Tony Williams Is So 'World Famous' It's His Nickname, But You Probably Don't Know Why". Dallas Observer. from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  33. ^ "Kanye West – Heard 'Em Say Review". Virgin Media. December 5, 2005. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  34. ^ Jones, Lucy (June 17, 2013). "Kanye's 'Yeezus' – Why His Sampling Still Sets Him Apart". NME. from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Caramanica, Jon (September 2005). "The Man Who Would Be King". Spin. pp. 99–100. from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2015 – via Google Books.
  36. ^ a b c Weiner, Jonah (September 2005). . Blender. p. 130. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  37. ^ a b Lynskey, Dorian (August 4, 2005). "Natural Born Show-off". The Guardian. from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  38. ^ a b Frere-Jones, Sasha (August 22, 2005). "Overdrive" The New Yorker. December 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  39. ^ Pettie, Andrew (August 13, 2005). "Pop CDs of the Week...". The Daily Telegraph. from the original on April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  40. ^ a b McGovern, Kyle; Jenkins, Craig (October 27, 2014). "All 289 Eminem Songs, Ranked". Spin. from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  41. ^ a b Henderson, Eric (August 31, 2005). "Review: Late Registration" Slant Magazine. February 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  42. ^ a b c Pareles, Jon (August 29, 2005). . The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  43. ^ a b c d Fennessey, Sean (August 25, 2005). "Kanye West: Late Registration". Pitchfork. from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  44. ^ Schaller, Robert C. Jr. (2009). Kanye West: A Biography. ABC-Clio. ISBN 9780313374616. from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2018 – via Google Books.
  45. ^ a b c Tyrangiel, Josh (December 16, 2005). . Time. Archived from the original on September 13, 2006. Retrieved March 14, 2006.
  46. ^ a b Pyon, Kevin (2019). "Towards an African-American Genealogy of Market and Religion in Rap Music". Popular Music and Society. 42 (3): 363–384. doi:10.1080/03007766.2018.1458275. S2CID 194135145. from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  47. ^ Waite, Thom (December 16, 2021). "Kanye West talks capitalism, communes, and staging his own funeral". Dazed. from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  48. ^ a b Hess 2007, p. 573.
  49. ^ a b c Browne, David (August 29, 2005). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 1, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  50. ^ a b Jones, Steve (August 29, 2005). "Kanye West's 'Registration' is right on time". USA Today. from the original on October 14, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  51. ^ a b c d Petridis, Alexis (August 19, 2005). "Kanye West, Late Registration". The Guardian. from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  52. ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (September 7, 2005). "Kanye West: Late Registration". The A.V. Club. from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  53. ^ a b Young, Killian (February 10, 2016). "Ranking: Every Kanye West Album From Worst to Best". Consequence. from the original on April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  54. ^ a b Hess 2007, p. 574.
  55. ^ Reynolds, Pauline J. (2014). Representing "U": Popular Culture, Media, and Higher Education. Wiley. p. 96. ISBN 9781118966235.
  56. ^ Richardson, Chris (2011). "'Can't Tell Me Nothing': Symbolic Violence, Education, and Kanye West". Popular Music and Violence. 34 (1): 97–112. doi:10.1080/03007766.2011.539831. S2CID 56118993. from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  57. ^ a b Beaumont 2015, p. 188.
  58. ^ a b "Late Registration [Japanese Import]". Amazon UK. ASIN B000XTGU5M. from the original on September 7, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  59. ^ Greene, Jayson (July 20, 2006). "Mick Boogie & Kanye West – Second Semester (Kanye Essentials #2) – Review". Stylus Magazine. from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  60. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (June 15, 2005). "New Kanye Disc Bumped To August" Billboard. June 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 17, 2006.
  61. ^ Tyrangiel, Josh (August 21, 2005). . Time. Archived from the original on September 7, 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2006.
  62. ^ Rashaun, Alyssa (September 1, 2005). Run DMC, Kanye West, Cam'Ron All Over iTunes Vibe. November 23, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  63. ^ "Video Makers Celebrate at Cads 06". Music Week. June 6, 2006. from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2006.
  64. ^ Susman, Gary (August 30, 2005). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 18, 2005. Retrieved September 4, 2005.
  65. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Kanye West, Diddy, Snoop Dogg, Jennifer Lopez, Fall Out Boy, Radiohead & More" MTV. October 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. August 23, 2005. Retrieved August 26, 2005
  66. ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (September 14, 2005). "Kanye Announces North American Tour Dates" MTV. July 31, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.Retrieved March 22, 2022
  67. ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (October 12, 2005). "Kanye West Made Sure To Touch The Sky At Tour Launch" MTV. December 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 22, 2022
  68. ^ Beaumont 2015, p. 212.
  69. ^ "Two shot at Kanye West gig". The Guardian. March 1, 2006. from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  70. ^ "Kanye keeps dates for solo shows". The Age. March 10, 2006. from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  71. ^ a b c Pasori, Cesar; McDonald, Leighton (June 17, 2013). "The Design Evolution of Kanye West's Album Artwork". Complex. from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  72. ^ Heffernan, Virginia (August 8, 2008). "Kanye on Keyboards". The New York Times. from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  73. ^ . FMQB. Archived from the original on May 2, 2005. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  74. ^ a b c "Kanye West Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. from the original on September 17, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  75. ^ a b c d "Kanye West | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  76. ^ "Gold & Platinum – Kanye West – Diamonds from Sierra Leone". Recording Industry Association of America. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  77. ^ "Award – Kanye West – Diamonds from Sierra Leone". BPI. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  78. ^ Rashbaum, Alyssa (June 15, 2005). . Vibe. Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  79. ^ Elibert, Mark (August 26, 2019). "Hype Williams' 20 Best Videos: Watch". Billboard. from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  80. ^ "The best use their best" (PDF). Radio & Records: 22. July 1, 2005. (PDF) from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via World Radio History.
  81. ^ Mackie, Drew (October 14, 2015). "10 Things You Didn't Know About Kanye West's 'Gold Digger,' 10 Years Later". People. from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  82. ^ "This Week In... 2005". ARIA. November 6, 2018. from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  83. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Official New Zealand Music Chart. October 24, 2005. from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  84. ^ "Gold & Platinum – Digital singles". Recording Industry Association of America. from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  85. ^ "Award – Kanye West Ft Jamie Foxx – Gold Digger". BPI. from the original on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  86. ^ "Kanye West - Heard em say feat. Adam Levine of Maroon 5 - Vinyl 12" - 2005 - US - Original". HHV. from the original on May 31, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  87. ^ "Gold & Platinum – Kanye West – Heard 'Em Say". Recording Industry Association of America. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  88. ^ Caramanica, Jon (December 18, 2005). "Kanye West: Rapper and Reanimator". The New York Times. from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  89. ^ "Touch The Sky – EP by Kanye West". Apple Music (GB). from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  90. ^ "Gold & Platinum – Kanye West – Touch the Sky". Recording Industry Association of America. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  91. ^ "Award – Kanye West Ft Lupe Fiasco – Touch the Sky". BPI. from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  92. ^ Ryan, Amy (February 21, 2006). "Snap Judgment: Kanye West's 'Touch the Sky' video". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  93. ^ Drive Slow (track listing). Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam. 2006. ROC-1201.
  94. ^ "Gold & Platinum – Kanye West – Drive Slow". Recording Industry Association of America. from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  95. ^ West, Kanye. . MTV. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  96. ^ a b "Reviews for Late Registration by Kanye West". Metacritic. from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  97. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Late Registration – Kanye West". AllMusic. from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  98. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (August 25, 2005). "West connects with heart and sophistication". Los Angeles Times. from the original on October 31, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  99. ^ Ruiz, Eric M. (September 10, 2014). "3 Entrepreneurial Lessons to Learn From Kanye West". NBC News. from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  100. ^ a b Kyles, Kyra (August 26, 2005). "Better with Age". RedEye. from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021 – via Chicago Tribune.
  101. ^ Yates, Steve (July 17, 2005). "The First Ten: Kanye West, Late Registration". The Observer. from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  102. ^ a b Hermes, Will (December 31, 2005). "The 40 Best Albums of 2005" Spin. July 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  103. ^ a b Franzon, Henrik (December 26, 2005). . USA Today. Archived from the original on May 6, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  104. ^ . Rolling Stone. December 15, 2005. Archived from the original on July 18, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  105. ^ a b . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 19, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  106. ^ a b "Pazz & Jop 2005: Critics Poll" The Village Voice. May 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 24, 2022 – via Robert Christgau.
  107. ^ Christgau, Robert (October 4, 2018). "Kanye West Turns the Page". The Village Voice. from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  108. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2005: Dean's List". The Village Voice. February 7, 2006. from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021 – via Robert Christgau.
  109. ^ "Kanye West: Late Registration". Robert Christgau. from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  110. ^ a b . Washington City Paper. January 5, 2006. Archived from the original on June 8, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  111. ^ "Retrospective: XXL Albums". XXL. December 21, 2005.
  112. ^ . MSN Music. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  113. ^ . PopMatters. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  114. ^ a b . Pitchfork. October 2, 2009. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  115. ^ . The Guardian. November 21, 2009. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  116. ^ a b . Consequence. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  117. ^ Massot, Josep (December 27, 2009). ['La Vanguardia' chooses the albums of the decade]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 5, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  118. ^ a b "100 Best Albums of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. July 18, 2011. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  119. ^ a b . Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  120. ^ Collett-White, Mike (April 27, 2012). . MSNBC. Archived from the original on April 29, 2012. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  121. ^ "The Greatest 50 Albums Since '93". Vibe. April 18, 2013. from the original on October 4, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  122. ^ "125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years". Spin. February 15, 2012. from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  123. ^ a b "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)". Spin. May 11, 2015. from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  124. ^ a b "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  125. ^ . Complex. April 2, 2012. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  126. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2005" Pitchfork. December 31, 2005. January 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 1, 2006.
  127. ^ Ihaza, Jeff (June 7, 2022). "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  128. ^ "2005 Rewind: 50 Records of the Year". The Wire (263): 41. January 2006. from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via Exact Editions. (subscription required)
  129. ^ a b c Scaggs, Austin (February 9, 2006). "Q&A: Kanye West on His 8 Grammy Nominations and 'Late Registration'". Rolling Stone. from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  130. ^ a b c d . Grammy. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  131. ^ a b Harris, Chris (December 8, 2005). . MTV. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  132. ^ Ahmed, Insanul (August 28, 2015). . Complex. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  133. ^ a b . Business Wire. January 24, 2006. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  134. ^ Byrne, Ciar (December 29, 2005). "Creative covers: Hard-Fi's stark image wins place in album art top 10". The Independent. from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  135. ^ Hale, Andreas (December 27, 2005). . HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 24, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  136. ^ . Today. October 10, 2005. Archived from the original on February 2, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  137. ^ Faber, Judy (October 12, 2006). . CBS News. Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  138. ^ . Billboard. June 21, 2006. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  139. ^ . Billboard. September 9, 2006. Archived from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  140. ^ . BBC. February 15, 2006. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  141. ^ Nielsen, Thue (January 24, 2006). (in Danish). DJz. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  142. ^ "Nyertesek 2006" [Winners 2006] (in Hungarian). Fonogram. August 12, 2016. from the original on October 23, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  143. ^ . Television Academy. January 21, 2005. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  144. ^ "2006 Nominees for Outstanding Creative Achievement". TEC Awards. from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  145. ^ "West 'Registers' No. 1 Album Debut" Billboard. September 7, 2005. June 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  146. ^ Harris, Chris (September 19, 2007). "Kanye West, 50 Cent Leave Competition in the Dust On Albums Chart". MTV. from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  147. ^ Seabrook III, Robby (March 3, 2020). "20 of the Biggest First-Week Hip-Hop Album Sales". XXL. from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  148. ^ "Kanye, 50 Hold Stones From Chart Top" Billboard. September 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine September 14, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  149. ^ Wilson, H.W. (2006). "Kanye West, Hip-hop artist and record producer". Current Biography Yearbook. p. 591.
  150. ^ a b Wete, Brad (June 14, 2013). "Kanye West: How the Rapper Grew From 'Dropout' to 'Yeezus'". Billboard. from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  151. ^ a b "American album certifications – Kanye West – Late Registration". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
  152. ^ a b "Kanye West Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  153. ^ a b "Canadian album certifications – Kanye West – Late Registration". Music Canada. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  154. ^ "Gorillaz, McFly Lead U.K. Charts" Billboard. September 5, 2005. September 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 5, 2005.
  155. ^ a b "British album certifications – Kanye West – Late Registration". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  156. ^ White, Jack (May 4, 2018). . Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  157. ^ a b Myers, Justin (November 3, 2018). "Pop feuds: What if they were settled on chart success?". Official Charts Company. from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  158. ^ a b . GfK Chart-Track. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  159. ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  160. ^ a b "The Irish Charts - 2005 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  161. ^ a b "Norwegiancharts.com – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  162. ^ a b "Ελληνικό Chart – Top 50 Ξένων Αλμπουμ" [Greek Chart - Top 50 Foreign Albums] (in Greek). IFPI Greece. from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
  163. ^ a b "Swisscharts.com – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  164. ^ a b "レイト・レジストレーション | カニエ・ウェスト" [Late Registration | Kanye West] (in Japanese). Oricon. from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  165. ^ a b "Hits of the World – Eurocharts – Album". Billboard. September 17, 2005. p. 61. from the original on August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via Google Books.
  166. ^ Brown, Preezy (June 29, 2021). "Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter III' Surpasses One Billion Streams On Spotify". Vibe. from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  167. ^ a b c d e Murdock, Logan (August 27, 2020). "Nothing's Ever Promised Tomorrow Today: Revisiting 'Late Registration' and Kanye's Telethon Moment, 15 Years Later". The Ringer. from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  168. ^ a b Serrano, Shea (2005). "'Gold Digger' Kanye West, featuring Jamie Foxx". The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed. ABRAMS. ISBN 9781613128190.
  169. ^ Southern, Nathan (July 28, 2006). "Kanye West: Late Orchestration". MTV. from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2008.
  170. ^ Hussain, Shahzaib (November 23, 2018). "Renegade Man: The Legacy of Kanye West's '808s & Heartbreak'". Highsnobiety. Archived from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  171. ^ "College Kids Listen to Kanye's Late Registration for First Time". XXL. August 28, 2020. from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  172. ^ Willis, Jay (August 30, 2017). "'Late Registration' Was the Last Great Album by the Old Kanye". GQ. from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  173. ^ "Kanye West Late Registration UK CD album (CDLP) (333760)". Mercury Records. 2005. from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2022 – via Eil.com.
  174. ^ "Late Registration". Amazon UK. ASIN B000ERVGX4. from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  175. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  176. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 10th October 2005" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (815): 16. October 10, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Pandora archive.
  177. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Kanye West – Late Registration" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  178. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kanye West – Late Registration" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  179. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  180. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kanye West – Late Registration" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  181. ^ "Kanye West: Late Registration" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  182. ^ "Lescharts.com – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  183. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kanye West – Late Registration" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  184. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  185. ^ "Charts.nz – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  186. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Kanye West – Late Registration". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  187. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  188. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  189. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  190. ^ "Kanye West Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  191. ^ . Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  192. ^ Verkade, Herman (January 21, 2006). UKChartsPlus. (228): 4. at the Wayback Machine (archived February 25, 2009). Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  193. ^ . Billboard. November 26, 2005. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  194. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-end Chart 2005". Billboard. January 2, 2013. from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  195. ^ ch (June 6, 2008). (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  196. ^ . Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  197. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. January 8, 2007. from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  198. ^ . Billboard. Archived from the original on August 19, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  199. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-end Chart 2006". Billboard. from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  200. ^ "Top 50 Urban Albums 2007". Australian Recording Industry Association. from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  201. ^ . Billboard. 2009. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  202. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  203. ^ "Danish album certifications – Kanye West – Late Registration". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved September 22, 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2017 to obtain certification.
  204. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Kanye West – Late Registration" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved September 22, 2019. Select 2005年9月 on the drop-down menu
  205. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Kanye West – Late Registration". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  206. ^ . International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 10, 2020.

Sources

Further reading

External links

  • Late Registration at Discogs (list of releases)
  • Late Registration (Explicit) (Adobe Flash) at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed)

August 23, 2023
late, registration, second, studio, album, american, rapper, producer, kanye, west, released, august, 2005, through, recordings, fella, records, west, recorded, album, over, course, year, during, sessions, held, studios, hollywood, york, city, collaboration, w. Late Registration is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West It was released on August 30 2005 through Def Jam Recordings and Roc A Fella Records West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions held at studios in Hollywood and New York City in collaboration with Jon Brion The album features guest appearances from Adam Levine Jamie Foxx Common Brandy Jay Z and Nas among others Late RegistrationStudio album by Kanye WestReleasedAugust 30 2005 2005 08 30 Recorded2004 2005StudioChalice Hollywood Grandmaster Hollywood Record Plant Hollywood Sony Music New York GenreHip hop pop rap progressive rapLength70 25LabelDef Jam Roc A FellaProducerKanye West Devo Springsteen Jon Brion Just Blaze Warryn Baby Dubb CampbellKanye West chronologyThe College Dropout 2004 Late Registration 2005 Late Orchestration 2006 Singles from Late Registration Diamonds from Sierra Leone Released May 2005 Gold Digger Released July 5 2005 Heard Em Say Released October 24 2005 Touch the Sky Released January 1 2006 Drive Slow Released June 6 2006West s production for Late Registration departed from the sped up soul samples of his debut studio album The College Dropout 2004 moving towards a more elaborate and orchestral style with a 20 piece ensemble Drawing creative inspiration from alternative acts such as Fiona Apple and Portishead he experimented with musical shifts string arrangements and a variety of instruments not usually associated with hip hop including a celesta harpsichord and Chinese bells In an effort to write authentic yet relatable lyrics West engages in storytelling while showcasing his Christian heritage that informed his relationship to the capitalist market economy He critiques multiple issues such as institutional racism higher education health care and the blood diamond trade A widespread critical success Late Registration has often been viewed as a progression from The College Dropout and a pivotal release in hip hop Numerous reviewers praised the former s elegant and ambitious musical direction while some highlighted West s songwriting and performances for their balance of pop and conscious hip hop sensibilities It was named to year end lists for 2005 by multiple publications such as Rolling Stone Time and USA Today The album led to West receiving eight nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Best Rap Album winning the latter Matching The College Dropout s commercial success Late Registration debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and sold 860 000 copies in the first week while reaching the top 10 in nine other countries including the United Kingdom and Ireland It eventually sold more than 3 000 000 copies in the US and received a five times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA as well as sales certifications in several other territories Five accompanying singles were released including the hits Touch the Sky Heard Em Say and Gold Digger the latter of which topped the Billboard Hot 100 Music videos for all five singles were produced while West also promoted the album with the Touch the Sky Tour 2005 06 and his debut live album Late Orchestration 2006 Since then Late Registration has frequently appeared on top albums lists including Rolling Stone s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time on which it ranked 117th in 2020 Contents 1 Background 2 Recording 3 Music and production 4 Themes and lyrics 5 Release and promotion 5 1 Artwork and packaging 5 2 Singles 6 Critical reception 6 1 Rankings 6 2 Industry awards 7 Commercial performance 8 Legacy and influence 9 Track listing 10 Personnel 10 1 Musicians 10 2 Production 10 3 Design 11 Charts 11 1 Weekly charts 11 2 Year end charts 11 3 Decade end charts 12 Certifications 13 See also 14 Notes and references 14 1 Sources 15 Further reading 16 External linksBackground EditLate Registration is the second of Kanye West s planned four education themed studio albums following the major success of his 2004 debut The College Dropout 1 2 The album showcased his signature production style of using sped up vocal samples from soul records known as chipmunk soul 1 However because of its success other hip hop artists widely imitated this sampling style In response to this and fearing his own dependence on the technique West decided to find a new sound and progress in both songwriting and stylistic range 1 2 West enlisted film score composer and record producer Jon Brion for Late Registration resulting in Brion serving as co executive producer for several tracks 3 The rapper heard and liked Brion s score while watching the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and also listened to songs he had produced for singer songwriter Fiona Apple s second album When the Pawn 1999 4 Apple was another one of West s favorite acts and sources of musical inspiration for Late Registration 3 4 whose direction West described as that Coldplay Portishead Fiona Apple style 2 Portishead s 1994 album Dummy was another reference point for West s direction with the album 4 Brion was inexperienced in creating hip hop records when initially collaborating with West yet the two were able to productively work together after only one afternoon in the studio when they discovered that neither confined his musical knowledge and vision to any specific genre 5 Discussing Late Registration differing in direction from standard hip hop Brion said There are colors and ideas that make the album different from average hip hop but Kanye is already different from the average hip hop guy He s got this sense of pop record making which is really solid and he likes tracks with a lot of things going on in them which is not necessarily common for hip hop He was already barking up that tree 3 Recording Edit Film score composer Jon Brion shown in 2006 assisted with the album s production West spent two million USD to produce Late Registration recording it in slightly over a year 6 The majority of the recording sessions for the album took place at Sony Music Studios in New York City and the Record Plant in Hollywood California further sessions were held at other Hollywood locations Chalice Recording Studios and Grandmaster Recording Studios 7 In June 2004 the rapper made plans to begin recording material after finishing his support of R amp B singer Usher s Truth Tour 8 By November West had completed around 75 percent of the album 9 However he felt unsatisfied with the outcome and this led to Brion becoming involved in March 2005 which drastically altered the project s direction 3 The album s recording sessions between West and Brion were largely exploratory as the pair experimented with a broad spectrum of sounds West would construct a song s basic structure bringing in a sample drum beat programming and occasionally unfinished rap verses 1 After thinking through what musical direction to take he would then select from a variety of unique instruments that Brion both provided and played including drums and strings 3 With the instruments West attempted to incorporate a distinctive sound into the song s texture 3 10 West envisioned the recording as the creation of a film visualizing the songs as scenes outlining each in such a way that they efficiently conveyed their respective social or introspective context and ensuring all were synchronized within the fabric of the complete set 1 This sentiment was shared by Brion who said He thinks in frequency ranges I can recognize when someone sees music architecturally which is how I work I see it as a spatial thing left to right front to back up and down It s animated and it s moving in real time Kanye has that He tries things out until it fits until it sits where it is supposed to sit and everything has the correct emotional function 10 For Late Registration West also collaborated with guest artists whom he selected based on the effect each of their voices had on him upon hearing them He cited the serene vocals of pop rock band Maroon 5 s lead vocalist Adam Levine the trademark voice of Brandy the rap skill of his frequent collaborator Jay Z and the lyricism of fellow rapper Paul Wall as primary examples 11 Levine is featured on the album s opening track Heard Em Say The two had previously collaborated on a remix for This Love 2004 that Maroon 5 commissioned West to work on and later became good friends when sitting together on a flight to Rome for the 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards 12 While playing songs from his second album via his iPod for him on the flight West presented the demo for Heard Em Say to which Levine added a hook he had recently written and thought was an ideal fit 12 The song was recorded quickly because the singer only had a couple of hours free for studio time and Brion was able to effectively work with the composition and Levine s vocal track in a few hours 3 West originally produced and recorded Gold Digger at Ludacris s home in Atlanta Georgia for fellow rapper Shawnna s 2004 debut album Worth tha Weight He had written the chorus from a female first person viewpoint though Shawnna ultimately passed the song on to him West then rewrote the two verses from his own point of view and shortly before the release of Gold Digger in 2005 he penned a third verse the final recording and mastering was done at Sony Music Studios in a week 13 After he saw singer Jamie Foxx s portrayal of singer songwriter Ray Charles when watching the 2004 film Ray with his friend John Mayer West decided to have him sing an interpolation of Charles song I Got a Woman 13 Once the track was in place it was layered with additional instruments that Brion contributed 13 Wall appears alongside West and his GOOD Music labelmate GLC on Drive Slow It was recorded in Los Angeles after the two had formed a friendship while posing for a photo shoot for an August 2005 issue of King in a spread titled Coming Kings 14 West had originally wanted British Sri Lankan rapper M I A to appear on the track but she opted out of the appearance due to a busy schedule 15 16 My Way Home is performed solely by West s GOOD Music associate and fellow rapper Common whose sixth studio album Be was being produced and recorded by West alongside Late Registration 7 17 Certain tracks originally produced by West for the former turned into beats for his own work 17 107 tracks were recorded during a Pro Tools session for Bring Me Down 48 of which were solely sang by Brandy and the editing process for the tracks lasted one day 18 West first crafted Diamonds from Sierra Leone as a song about his friendship with his crew until he learned of the civil war in Sierra Leone financed by conflict diamonds and re recorded it 19 While the original version of the song featured West as the sole performer he decided to record a remix with a guest verse provided by Jay Z 20 Both the original and remix versions of Diamonds from Sierra Leone appear on the album with the former included as a bonus track 7 The original contains live drums played by Michel Gondry the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and later the first music video for Heard Em Say he had visited the studio one day when a drum kit was set up by Brion 3 12 According to Jay Z West mixed Diamonds from Sierra Leone about 14 times before he felt comfortable with premiering it 21 The recording was further delayed when West and Brion were required to wait two weeks to rent the harpsichord that they used for the percussion 22 West recorded a verse by fellow rapper Nas for the track We Major even though the rapper was engaged in a feud with Jay Z at the time Despite this West revealed that the song is regarded by Jay Z as his favorite on Late Registration 23 Hey Mama was first recorded by West as early as 2000 24 Brion experienced difficulty conducting a 20 piece orchestra for Celebration as its musicians were distracted when giggling at West s humorous lyrics West and Brion had some minor discord for Roses Brion initially layered it with keyboard arrangements only for West to remove his keys along with the beat and completely reconfigure the entire song so that the verses are built around the rhythm of his vocals while Brion s arrangements arrive during the choruses Brion later lightheartedly compared the indecision surrounding the construction of the track to that of Prince s well known last minute removal of the bassline from When Doves Cry 1984 3 Singer Patti LaBelle recalled having contributed vocals to Roses I was in West s studio one night and he and his mother both asked if I d just sing something on this song 25 The singer further stated that she was not credited because the album s liner notes had already been printed up 25 Music and production EditWest s prize catch audibly enriching at least half the songs is co producer Jon Brion adding an unprecedented third element to West s proven meld of hitbound soul hooks and rhythm tracks made or played There s never been hip hop so complex and subtle musically Robert Christgau 26 The music of Late Registration blends West s primary hip hop production with Brion s elaborate orchestration and experimentally delves into a wide variety of genres 3 including pop 27 R amp B 2 soul 26 and G funk 28 With the presence of Brion who conducted a 20 piece orchestra and played instruments chosen by West the album is largely orchestral in nature featuring string arrangements 29 drums 3 gospel choirs a 360 digital keyboard guitars 30 pianos 28 and brass 31 among other symphonic instrumentation 27 Brion further incorporated authentic instruments such as a celesta Chamberlin 30 harpsichord 2 Chinese bells and berimbau 26 In a piece about Late Registration Serena Kim of Vibe magazine noted how West uses unconventional styles and sudden musical shifts in song structures drawing comparisons to the Beatles experimental era 28 Kim observed a heavy difference between the album and West s previous work stating West ambitiously attempts to depart from the street sensibilities of Dropout by giving Late Registration a shiny quasi alt pop finish 28 Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield concurred with this sentiment analyzing that West claims the whole world of music as hip hop turf taking on a mad quest to explode every cliche about hip hop identity 2 The album has been described as a work of pop rap by Caleb Wossen of the Dallas Observer 32 West played with an extensive orchestra on Bring Me Down Gone and Celebration The first full track on Late Registration Heard Em Say exhibits a cascading piano melody provided by excerpts of Someone That I Used To Love as performed by Natalie Cole embellished over tumbling beats a bass synthesizer and brief plucks of acoustic guitar 7 33 The song s intricately composed outro features the last vocals fading out as various bells and whistles are incorporated succeeded by the bass synthesizer 29 Touch the Sky stands as the sole song on the album not to feature production by West The song was produced by fellow Roc A Fella producer Just Blaze who uses a slowed down sample of Curtis Mayfield s Move On Up 1970 filled with Latin horns 7 34 35 Gold Digger contains an interpolation of I Got a Woman by Charles and a bouncy beat that relies on handclaps 27 36 accompanied by scratches from West s touring DJ A Trak 7 Towards the end the song employs vintage synthesizers which are joined by a honking keyboard 37 38 West s production approach is simplified for Drive Slow a song that contains a looped sample of the alto sax from Hank Crawford s recording of the 1973 track Wildflower by Skylark 39 40 before slowing down the sample towards the end which is antithetical to West s chipmunk soul styled loops 41 The interlude My Way Home contains a sample of Home Is Where The Hatred Is 1971 by Gil Scott Heron Bring Me Down has more orchestration than any other track on Late Registration including string arrangements violins and cello 7 The structure of Addiction contains synths congas 35 strings and elements of Etta James s My Funny Valentine 1937 7 All the while West s vocals go through heavy overdubbing 42 Diamonds from Sierra Leone is built around a sample of Shirley Bassey s theme song for the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever layering it with lush instrumental arrangements that feature drums 7 27 horns strings 35 and a harpsichord 22 Hey Mama source source A 22 second sample of Hey Mama which showcases the influence of Fiona Apple on Late Registration The song also demonstrates Brion s orchestration featuring Tin Pan Alley styled drums 43 Problems playing this file See media help Late Registration s longest track the seven minute long We Major implements exuberant amplified backing vocals and a splashy disco groove featuring a bassline electric piano glissandos and horns 41 44 The melody of Hey Mama is laced with a looped La la la vocal sample from the 1972 track Today Won t Come Again by Donal Leace 2 while its beat contains Tin Pan Alley styled drums Additionally the song features vocoder processed background vocals an xylophone solo and a cascading synth outro 43 Celebration is a cinematic styled song that includes contributions from a 20 piece orchestra and contains a sample of the KayGees s Heavenly Dream 1979 3 7 A columnist for The Guardian described the song as evoking the lavish 1970s psychedelic soul of Rotary Connection 37 Some of the most elaborate orchestral arrangement expressed on the album is contained within its final official track Gone 7 The composition begins with a vocal sample of It s Too Late 1965 by Otis Redding that develops into a two chord piano ostinato followed by a simplistic funk beat As the song progresses its structure gradually morphs and experiences growing musicality The composition later adds a string arrangement from ten violinists four violists and four cellists which initially comes in brief staccato bursts and acts as a counterpoint to the rise and fall of West s voice After its third verse the song enters an instrumental passage 38 Themes and lyrics Edit West spoke about the way he planned raps for Late Registration specifying his aim for them to be understandable According to Time magazine s Josh Tyrangiel Late Registration acts as a demonstration of West s deliberate storytelling mode 45 West stated that his goal for the album was to touch on topics that people from all walks of life could find relatable while remaining true to himself intending his rapping to be just as ill as Jadakiss and just as understandable as Will Smith 11 University of North Carolina scholar Kevin Pyon sees Late Registration as a continuation from The College Dropout in demonstrating how West s Christian heritage has informed his relationship to the capitalist market economy In his analysis the album reaffirms West s paradoxical articulation of market and religion that is his simultaneous sacred critique and secular valorization of capitalism 46 The scholar elaborated that West being an authentic Christian does not replace or merge with his market authenticity as a materialistic rapper but co exists with it in uneasy tension 46 West later told Berlin based artist Tino Sehgal in 2021 that being under capitalist rule is killing us and declared It s time to change that 47 Robert Christgau summed up West s lyrical persona to be mammon in practice Christ in spirit 26 Heard Em Say is told from the perspective of an afflicted impoverished American quietly lamenting the fallacies of society and questioning the ways of the world around him According to rap scholar and author Mickey Hess West s lyrics contemplate being honest with yourself in a world that is not 48 On Touch the Sky West expresses wonder about his good fortune 49 while also admitting that his mistakes helped him with songwriting despite trying to put them right 35 West speaks about women that drain men of the money in their pockets on Gold Digger accompanied by Jamie Foxx s ad libbing 50 However another story arises within the third verse which illustrates a formerly destitute black male who abandons a non gold digger for a white woman 26 Drive Slow acknowledges car culture and features West reflecting on when he was young poor and ambitious 36 42 In West s description Crack Music delves into how crack was placed in the black community 11 West delivers poetry on Roses which sees him criticizing the quality of American health care 2 51 The remix of Diamonds from Sierra Leone references the deaths of many civilians in diamond mines as well as reiterating the tension between criticizing consumerism and failing to resist it 20 49 52 Jay Z appears towards the end of the remix focusing on his ongoing feud with Dame Dash 20 The original version is included as a bonus track featuring West linking Sierra Leone s civil war to the jewellery trade 7 51 The extended raps on We Major are a spiritual exultation of generational and personal success 48 followed by Kanye s dedication to his mother Donda West on Hey Mama In the latter song Kanye West recounts his mother being supportive of him even though he was doing the opposite of what she desired 11 West looks at the idea of abandoning fame on Gone thinking about a simpler life 31 Alpha Phi Alpha board members at a banquet in Washington D C 2006 West critiques institutions such as historically black colleges on the album for not properly helping African Americans Similarly to The College Dropout a series of skits are voiced by comedian DeRay Davis throughout Late Registration 53 They involve a fictional black fraternity called Broke Phi Broke which West s character joins The members pride themselves in living a life without money or worldly possessions despite the clear disadvantages such a lifestyle brings 54 West s character is eventually expelled from the fraternity after the leader discovers that not only has he been making beats for cash on the side but has also broken some of its rules such as eating meals everyday buying new clothes and taking showers According to Hess the skits serve to encapsulate a contradiction at the core of contemporary American life the need to belong to fit in with your fellow humans versus the Darwinistic mad grab at material things success in the latter being the very definition of success in our culture 54 The album s critique of higher education including historically black colleges and universities as a useless institution for African Americans is considered by some scholars to be a variation of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu s theories connecting education to social and cultural reproduction 55 According to academic journalist Chris Richardson West advances a theme critical of institutional education and the broader social distinctions it produces that is specifically connected to Bourdieu s concept of symbolic violence which is defined as the ability to impose meanings while concealing their underlying power relations 56 The fraternity theme is revisited towards the end of the album on the UK edition bonus track We Can Make It Better featuring guest raps from Talib Kweli Q Tip Common and Rhymefest over a sped up sample of Make It Easy on Yourself as covered by the Three Degrees In his lyrics West addresses a girl as a tour guide through her first day on a college campus while trying to alleviate her fears of dating black men in the aftermath of an abusive relationship The guest rappers offer observations on urban threats such as exploitative criminals drug addicts and dangerous police officers concluding with Rhymefest s blame of government tactics in terrorizing African Americans 57 On the Japanese and Australian Tour editions bonus track Back to Basics West explores the materialist conscious rapper contrast 58 59 Release and promotion EditLate Registration was originally set to be released on July 12 2005 but was pushed back to August 16 by West s record labels Roc A Fella and Def Jam 60 The release date was postphoned once more to August 30 2005 for which over 1 600 000 copies were distributed to stores in preparation because the album was expected to be the best selling record of the year 61 On the iTunes Store it became one of the most pre ordered titles in history up to September 2005 62 West performing on U2 s Vertigo Tour in late 2005An advertising campaign for Late Registration was directed by Maggie Rogers and Paul Tuersley while commissioned by Rachel Paley It was produced by Abby Johnson for Mr amp Mrs Smith Design At the 2006 Cads Music Vision Awards the campaign received a nomination for Best Music TV Commercial 63 Late Registration was released for online streaming via AOL Music on August 30 2005 64 That same day West made an in store appearance at the Tower Records location in New York s Lincoln Center to autograph copies of the album for fans 65 In September 2005 Def Jam announced tour dates across North America from October to December of that year for West s Touch the Sky Tour titled after the song 66 West was supported by Common Keyshia Cole and Fantasia on the tour 66 67 Common had cancelled his involvement until he performed with West for the Touch the Sky Tour s kickoff show at the University of Miami Convocation Center on October 11 2005 67 After he finished the tour s first leg West supported Irish rock band U2 for four dates of their Vertigo Tour at the end of 2005 68 West later performed five UK dates on the Touch the Sky tour in 2006 and during the last show at the NEC Arena in Solihull two security guards were shot 69 The rapper was then supposed to support U2 s Australian concerts on their Vertigo Tour in March 2006 but the shows were postponed 70 Artwork and packaging Edit The art direction and music packaging design for Late Registration were both handled by Brooklyn graphic design studio Morning Breath Inc while Louis Marino served as creative director The photography was done by Sarah A Friedman and Kris Yiengst the latter of which also did art coordination Styling and grooming were handled by Charlene Roxborough and Ibn Jasper respectively for the company Partos while Doug Joswick was responsible for package production 7 Similar to the cover art of The College Dropout the artwork features West s Dropout Bear mascot showing it at a child s size and stood in the center of two large wooden doors at Princeton University 53 71 The mascot has goggle eyes perky ears and a collegian outfit wearing a blazer with a school insignia 72 In the album booklet Dropout Bear appears in the university sitting alone in classrooms and reads books before exiting The booklet includes a banner that reads Tardus Subcriptio translated as Late Registration 7 71 West s vision for the style of the pictures was inspired by the works of American satirical painter John Currin one of his favorite artists 71 Singles Edit In a preview of Late Registration on April 20 2005 West appeared on New York radio station Hot 97 and premiered Diamonds from Sierra Leone 17 The following month the song was serviced to US mainstream radio stations as the album s lead single by Roc A Fella and Def Jam 17 73 It charted at number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100 alongside reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart 74 75 Diamonds from Sierra Leone has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA for amassing 1 000 000 certified units while the BPI has awarded it with a silver certification for sales of 200 000 units 76 77 An accompanying music video was debuted on June 15 2005 in which rough scenes of young children mining for diamonds are juxtaposed with shots of West rapping through the streets of Prague 78 79 On July 5 Gold Digger was released to US rhythmic contemporary radio stations as the second single from Late Registration through West s labels 80 The song was a smash hit topping the Hot 100 ARIA Singles Chart and NZ Singles Chart 81 82 83 It experienced similar success on the UK Singles Chart peaking at the second position 75 In September 2020 Gold Digger received an octuple platinum certification from the RIAA for pushing 8 000 000 certified units in the US standing as one of the best selling singles digitally in the country 84 The song was later certified triple platinum by the BPI for selling 1 800 000 units in the UK 85 On October 24 2005 Heard Em Say was issued on a 12 vinyl as the album s third single by Roc A Fella and Def Jam 86 The song peaked at numbers 26 and 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart respectively 74 75 It has been awarded a platinum certification by the RIAA for shelving 1 000 000 certified units in the US 87 The song s first music video depicts a Christmas world in Macy s flagship New York store while the second one utilizes animation and shows West taking on the role of a cab driver in an imaginary city 12 88 Touch the Sky was released on a digital EP in the UK as the fourth single from Late Registration on January 1 2006 through West s labels 89 The song reached number 42 on the Hot 100 while it debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart 74 75 Touch the Sky has been certified platinum by both the RIAA and BPI in the US and UK respectively having amassed 1 000 000 certified units in the former country and pushed 600 000 units in the latter 90 91 The song s music video was debuted in February 2006 and features West portraying the character Evel Kanyevel preparing to travel across the Grand Canyon in homage to Evel Knievel s unsuccessful 1974 jump across the Snake River Canyon 92 On June 6 Drive Slow was released on a 12 vinyl as the album s fifth and final single by Roc A Fella and Def Jam 93 The song was later certified gold by the RIAA for shelving 500 000 certified units in the US 94 An accompanying music video was filmed featuring cameos from Wall and fellow rapper T I 95 Critical reception EditProfessional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingMetacritic85 100 96 Review scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 97 Blender 36 Entertainment WeeklyB 49 The Guardian 51 Los Angeles Times 98 NME8 10 15 Pitchfork9 5 10 43 Rolling Stone 2 SpinB 35 USA Today 50 Late Registration was met with widespread critical acclaim 99 At Metacritic which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications the album received an average score of 85 based on 31 reviews 96 Reviewers generally regarded it as far superior to The College Dropout 100 Writing in Rolling Stone Sheffield deemed Late Registration an undeniable triumph throughout seeing it as expansive enough to make the debut sound like a rough draft and adding that West proves he is a real rapper 2 The Guardian lead critic Alexis Petridis highlighted West s topicality and subversive studio production on the album he noticed the indication of an artist effortlessly outstripping his peers more ideas better lyrics bigger hooks greater depth 51 Andy Kellman from AllMusic said the rapper can be tremendous as a songwriter and noted his production style had gone from unrefined and erratic tempo samples to a more traditionally musical touch contributed by Brion 97 Sean Fennessey of Pitchfork felt West provided a worthy successor to The College Dropout with an expansive imperfect masterpiece that draws on his enthusiastic ambitious and scattered personality 43 Late Registration was hailed by some journalists as a pivotal release in hip hop Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said that with its combination of socially conscious hip hop club and personal reflections the album represents a watershed moment in rap music history 100 while Kitty Empire from The Observer viewed it as an important milestone for the genre declaring West the Brian Wilson of hip hop and observing that he plays up the struggle between conscience and covetousness the pop mainstream and what is achievable within hip hop s traditional boundaries 27 Similarly Steve Yates from the same publication compared West s aspirations in working with Brion to how Stevie Wonder collaborated in his classic 1970s period adding that by being creative intelligent funny and daring he is the only act besides rap group Outkast to walk the tightrope between pop sensibility conscious rap and the outright nihilism of your common or garden variety gangsta 101 In the Los Angeles Times Robert Hilburn compared West s dignified execution of pop crossover to that of the Beatles Johnny Cash and Bob Marley 98 Robert Christgau writing in The Village Voice praised the lyrical and musical exquisite details of the album saying that West may be arrogant only that s not why he always samples 26 He concluded that West is as good as he believes himself calling the rapper a backpacker at heart who like many brilliant nerds before him has accrued precious metal by following his dream 26 Some reviewers were more qualified in their praise In The A V Club Nathan Rabin found Late Registration as ambitious as The College Dropout albeit less successful because of melodramatic lyricism and symphony music without a strong narrative to hold the songs together he finalized that the album plays like a brilliant first draft flawed and uneven but radiating humor and heart 52 The New York Times critic Jon Pareles believed West s elevated status undermined the underdog quality that had accentuated his debut writing that for much of Late Registration the striver has turned into a hip hop V I P with his cool arrogance being prominent on the songs 42 Hattie Collins of NME was highly impressed by the beats in the music which she called pure cranium crushing boom bap at its best but lamented the lack of rubbish lyrics and clumsy charm that made The College Dropout appeal to West s hardcore fans 15 In the eyes of Spin magazine s Jon Caramanica the improved versatility and eccentricity of West s flow still pales in comparison to his sonic ambition 35 Rankings Edit Robert Christgau pictured in 2014 supervised the 2005 Pazz amp Jop critics poll which Late Registration won He also named it the best album of the year on his own list Late Registration appeared on year end best album lists for 2005 by numerous publications including being named the best album of the year by Spin 102 Time 45 and USA Today 103 Rolling Stone also gave the album this accolade with the staff hailing it as a sweepingly generous absurdly virtuosic hip hop classic 104 105 In The Village Voice s 2005 Pazz amp Jop nationwide poll of 795 popular music critics Late Registration finished at number one with 2 525 points 106 It scored a 107 point lead standing as the narrowest margin in the poll s history 107 Christgau the poll s supervisor also ranked Late Registration first on his own list 108 and assigned it an A grade in his Consumer Guide column 109 On the Washington City Paper s list of the top 20 favourite albums of 2005 calculated from points assigned by the magazine s music writers the album finished at number four with 43 points becoming one of the five albums to score over 40 that year 110 Late Registration was West s second consecutive album to be rated XXL by XXL the magazine s highest rank which had been awarded to only 16 other hip hop albums by 2005 111 MSN Music selected the album as the seventh best album of the 2000s decade the staff praised West s work with Brion for expanding his genre range 112 PopMatters ranked Late Registration as the 15th best album of the 2000s 113 while Pitchfork named it the decade s 18th best album 114 Observer Music Monthly listed the album as the 19th best of the decade and the staff noted that West reached his ambition to be bigger than hip hop 115 Consequence named Late Registration the 26th best album of the 2000s 116 whereas La Vanguardia picked it as the 36th best of the decade 117 The album finished at number 40 on Rolling Stone s list of the best albums of the 2000s with the staff highlighting West s decision to work with Brion 118 In 2012 Rolling Stone placed Late Registration at number 118 on their revised list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 119 The album was the highest entry among both recent albums and the three West releases to appear on the list 120 On a 2013 list published by Vibe of the 50 best albums since 1993 it was positioned 16th 121 In 2012 Late Registration was placed at number 100 on Spin s list of the 125 best albums of the past 25 years 122 Three years later the magazine ranked the album at number 104 on its list of the 300 best albums of the past 30 years 123 Late Registration was later listed at number 117 on Rolling Stone s 2020 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 124 Select rankings of Late Registration Publication List Rank Ref Complex The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade 2002 2012 93 125 Consequence The Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 26 116 Pitchfork Top 50 Albums of 2005 2 126 The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s 18 114 Rolling Stone Top 50 Records of 2005 1 105 100 Best Albums of the 2000s 40 118 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2012 118 119 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2020 117 124 The 200 Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time 41 127 Spin The 40 Best Albums of 2005 1 102 The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years 1985 2014 104 123 Time Best Albums of 2005 1 45 USA Today Best Albums of 2005 1 103 The Village Voice The 2005 Pazz amp Jop Critics Poll 1 106 Washington City Paper Music Writers Top 20 Favourite Albums of 2005 4 110 The Wire Top 50 Records of 2005 25 128 Industry awards Edit West performing at the 2006 Brit Awards where he received a nomination for International Album Late Registration was a contender for numerous industry awards In December 2005 prior to the nominations being announced for the 2006 Grammy Awards West complained that he would have a problem with not winning the Album of the Year award 129 Late Registration received a nomination for the award at the ceremony and West recalled himself and Brion saying in the studio We re making the Album of the Year 130 131 At the 2006 Grammys the album won the award of Best Rap Album becoming West s second consecutive album to do so and he delivered an acceptance speech that night 130 132 Gold Digger and Diamonds From Sierra Leone were winners of the awards for Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song respectively at the same ceremony while the former was also nominated for Record of the Year 130 West s nominations for the album were six of the eight awards that he contended for at the 2006 Grammys tying with Mariah Carey and John Legend for the show s most nominations 129 131 Despite West having stating he would have a problem with not winning he was happy with eight nominations 129 However Late Registration won the Best Album award at the 2006 MP3 com Awards 133 Awards and nominations for Late Registration Year Organization Award Result Ref 2005 Best Art Vinyl Awards Best Art Vinyl Nominated 134 HipHopDX Awards Album of the Year Nominated 135 Vibe Awards Album of the Year Nominated 136 2006 BET Hip Hop Awards Hip Hop CD of the Year Nominated 137 Billboard R amp B Hip Hop Awards Top R amp B Hip Hop Album Nominated 138 Top Rap Album Won 139 Brit Awards International Album Nominated 140 Danish Music Awards International Album of the Year Nominated 141 Grammy Awards Best Rap Album Won 130 Album of the Year NominatedHungarian Music Awards Best Foreign Rap or Hip Hop Album of the Year Won 142 MP3 com Awards Best Album Won 133 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Album Nominated 143 TEC Awards Record Production Album Nominated 144 Commercial performance EditIn its first week of release Late Registration debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 860 000 copies selling over 600 000 more copies than Tony Yayo s album Thoughts of a Predicate Felon at number two This stood as West s first chart topping album in the United States and gave him first week sales nearly double those of The College Dropout 145 The album had the highest selling first week sales in the US for two years until West s next album Graduation suprassed it in September 2007 by selling 957 000 copies 146 The former s first week sales also ranked as the seventh largest for a rap album up to March 3 2020 147 In Late Registration s second week it remained atop the Billboard 200 and sold an additional 283 000 copies resulting in more than 1 140 000 copies sold within the first two weeks on the chart 148 In early 2006 the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA awarded the album a triple platinum certification indicating sales of 3 000 000 copies in the US 149 In June 2013 Late Registration reached 3 100 000 copies sold in the US 150 On July 21 2022 it was certified five times platinum by the RIAA for sales of 5 000 000 album equivalent units in the country 151 Late Registration also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart 152 On February 14 2006 it was certified double platinum by Music Canada MC for shipments of 200 000 copies in Canada 153 In the United Kingdom the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number two for the issue date of September 5 2005 being prevented from topping the chart by McFly s album Wonderland 154 The former was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry BPI for sales of 900 000 units in the UK on March 12 2022 155 As of May 2018 Late Registration is the 12th highest selling rap album in the UK in the 21st century 156 By November of that year the album had sold 852 000 copies in the UK ranking as West s highest selling album in the country 157 Late Registration reached numbers two and three on the Irish Albums Chart and Scottish Albums Chart respectively while it received a double platinum certification from the Irish Recorded Music Association IRMA by the end of 2005 for pushing 30 000 units in Ireland 158 159 160 The album also charted within the top 10 in Norway 161 Greece 162 Switzerland 163 and Japan 164 as well as entering the European Top 100 Albums chart at number six 165 In 2021 Vibe reported that Late Registration became one of the rap albums released before 2010 to have been streamed one billion times through Spotify 166 Legacy and influence EditI hate the way they portray us in the media If you see a Black family it says They re looting You see a white family it says They re looking for food George Bush doesn t care about Black people Kanye West A Concert for Hurricane Relief 2005 167 With the album s commercial success West established himself as a recording artist in his own right outside of his earlier success with hip hop productions for other rappers 167 By surpassing the sales and acclaim of The College Dropout Late Registration proved that the Kanye West experiment was no longer an experiment it was a business model according to author Shea Serrano 168 He explained It helped revitalize sampling soul music it stitched together pop music themes generally attributable to the easily ignorable conscious rap quadrant Gold Digger is secretly a clever examination of the effects money has on relationships and it created a precedent for the larger scale gazing he d go on to do Rap followed along right behind him 168 As The Ringer s Logan Murdock chronicles Late Registration proved his unprecedented artistry and relentless ambition with a story to tell an underdog tale that the masses related to particularly the black community 167 The journalist relates his own experience connecting with the music recalling having been a fan of West at 12 years old in Oakland California recognizing the same struggles he spoke about plaguing my own environment Like West I had educated parents and a stable home life but was aware of the world around me Like West I struggled to get acceptance living a double life 167 Released in the wake of Hurricane Katrina s destructive landfall on the US Gulf Coast Late Registration was followed a few days later by West s appearance on the live telethon A Concert for Hurricane Relief In a segment alongside actor Mike Myers he made harsh remarks criticizing the US government s response to the storm and the media for lacking empathy toward black people disproportionately impacted According to Murdock West s remarks were in line with both the criticism then President George W Bush would receive for his handling of Hurricane Katrina and with the defiance that Late Registration displayed through its insight into the systematic racism faced by those in the water 167 A few weeks later West performed tracks from the album at Abbey Road Studios in London for a live record entitled Late Orchestration which was released in April 2006 and also includes accompanying music videos on the home video edition 169 In retrospect Highsnobiety writer Shahzaib Hussain recognized Late Registration in West s opening trilogy of highly successful albums that cemented his role as a progressive rap progenitor 170 Similarly the staff of XXL felt satisfied with the album as the second work of West s education themed trilogy and noted that a sophomore slump was avoided The staff commented that it relied on his production savvy to craft some of the most stellar beats of his career which they felt was equaled by West s lyricism 171 According to Jay Willis of GQ Late Registration marked the last great album by the old Kanye he remembered it being the soundtrack to many of his life activities 172 Track listing EditLate Registration standard editionNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Wake Up Mr West Michael MasserGerry Goffin 0 412 Heard Em Say featuring Adam Levine Kanye WestAdam LevineMasserGoffinWestJon Brion3 233 Touch the Sky featuring Lupe Fiasco WestJustin SmithWasalu JacoCurtis MayfieldJust Blaze3 574 Gold Digger featuring Jamie Foxx WestRay CharlesRenald RichardWestBrion3 285 Skit No 1 0 336 Drive Slow featuring Paul Wall and GLC WestPaul SlaytonLeonard HarrisWest4 327 My Way Home performed by Common WestLonnie LynnGil Scott HeronWest1 438 Crack Music featuring The Game WestWillard MeeksJayceon TaylorWestBrion4 319 Roses WestBill WithersWestBrion4 0510 Bring Me Down featuring Brandy WestAntony WilliamsWestBrion3 1811 Addiction WestRichard RodgersLorenz HartWestBrion4 2712 Skit No 2 0 3113 Diamonds from Sierra Leone Remix featuring Jay Z WestDevon HarrisJohn BarryDon BlackWestDevo SpringsteenBrion3 5314 We Major featuring Nas and Really Doe WestWarren TrotterNasir JonesWilliamsWarryn Baby Dubb CampbellRussell SimmonsLarry SmithMaureen ReidWestBaby DubbBrion7 2815 Skit No 3 0 2416 Hey Mama WestDonal LeaceWestBrion5 0517 Celebration WestWestBrion3 1818 Skit No 4 1 1819 Gone featuring Consequence and Cam ron WestDexter MillsCameron GilesChuck WillisWest5 3320 Diamonds from Sierra Leone bonus track WestHarrisBarryBlackWestDevo SpringsteenBrion3 5821 Late hidden track WestGeorge KerrSylvia RobinsonWest3 50Total length 70 25 UK edition 173 No TitleWriter s Producer s Length21 We Can Make It Better featuring Talib Kweli Q Tip Common and Rhymefest WestLynnKamaal FareedTalib Kweli GreeneChe SmithBurt BacharachHal DavidWestBrion3 5222 Late hidden track WestKerrRobinsonWest3 50Total length 74 17 Japanese and Australian Tour editions 58 174 No TitleWriter s Producer s Length21 Back to Basics with Common WestLynnDuke EllingtonIrving MillsManny KurtWest1 3922 We Can Make It Better featuring Talib Kweli Q Tip Common and Rhymefest WestLynnFareedGreeneSmithBacharachDavidWestBrion3 5223 Late hidden track WestKerrRobinsonWest3 50Total length 75 56 Sample credits 7 Wake Up Mr West and Heard Em Say both contain excerpts of Someone That I Used to Love as performed by Natalie Cole Touch the Sky contains samples of Move On Up as performed by Curtis Mayfield Gold Digger contains samples of I Got a Woman as performed by Ray Charles Drive Slow contains samples of Wildflower as performed by Hank Crawford 40 My Way Home contains samples of Home Is Where The Hatred Is as performed by Gil Scott Heron Crack Music contains samples of Since You Came in My Life as performed by New York Community Choir Roses contains samples of Rosie as performed by Bill Withers Addiction contains elements of My Funny Valentine as performed by Etta James Diamonds from Sierra Leone contains samples of Diamonds Are Forever as performed by Shirley Bassey We Major contains samples of Action as performed by Orange Krush Hey Mama contains samples of Today Won t Come Again as performed by Donal Leace Celebration contains samples of Heavenly Dream as performed by The Kay Gees Gone contains samples of It s Too Late as performed by Otis Redding Late contains samples of I ll Erase Away Your Pain by The Whatnauts We Can Make It Better contains a sample of Make It Easy on Yourself as performed by The Three Degrees 57 Personnel EditCredits are adapted from the album s liner notes 7 Musicians Edit Eric Gorfain violin tracks 10 17 19 Daphne Chen violin tracks 10 17 19 Victoria Lanier violin tracks 10 17 19 Julie Rogers violin tracks 10 17 19 Alyssa Park violin tracks 10 17 19 Audrey Solomon violin tracks 10 17 19 Terry Glenny violin tracks 10 17 19 Susan Chatman violin tracks 10 17 19 Marisa Kuney violin tracks 10 17 19 Amy Wickman violin tracks 10 17 19 Marda Todd viola tracks 10 17 19 Piotr Jandule viola tracks 10 17 19 Tom Tally viola tracks 10 17 19 David Sage viola tracks 10 17 19 Richard Dodd cello tracks 10 17 19 Matt Cooker cello tracks 10 17 19 Armen Ksadjikian cello tracks 10 17 19 Victor Lawrence cello tracks 10 17 19 Jason Torreano contrabass tracks 10 17 Francis Senger contrabass tracks 10 17 Denise Briese contrabass tracks 10 17 Gary Grant trumpet flugelhorn tracks 10 17 Dan Fornero trumpet flugelhorn tracks 10 17 Andrew Martin trombone tracks 10 17 Stephen Holtman trombone tracks 10 17 Bruce Otto bass trombone tracks 10 17 Rick Todd French horn tracks 10 17 Brad Warnaar French horn tracks 10 17 Ervin EP Pope keyboards tracks 9 17 Keenan Keynote Holloway bass tracks 9 17 Tom Craskey keyboards tracks 13 20 Dave Tozer guitar tracks 13 20 Michel Gondry live drums tracks 13 20 A Trak scratches track 4 Tony Penafire Williams additional vocals tracks 2 6 8 9 14 John Legend additional vocals tracks 16 17 DeRay Davis additional vocals track 1 Plain Pat additional vocals track 4 Don C additional vocals track 4 Keyshia Cole additional vocals track 8 Charlie Wilson additional vocals track 8 Patti LaBelle additional vocals track 9 a 25 Strings additional vocals track 11 Production Edit Anthony Kilhoffer recording tracks 3 4 6 8 14 16 17 19 20 Andrew Dawson recording tracks 2 4 6 8 16 17 21 mixing tracks 8 16 17 19 Tom Biller recording tracks 2 4 11 14 16 17 strings recording tracks 10 17 19 20 Brian Sumner recording tracks 8 9 21 Richard Reitz recording track 6 Mike Dean mixing tracks 2 4 6 7 Craig Bauer mixing tracks 9 12 Manny Marroquin mixing tracks 13 20 Nate Connelly assistant engineering tracks 2 4 6 9 10 14 21 Mike Mo assistant engineering tracks 2 4 6 10 14 Matt Green assistant engineering tracks 3 4 8 10 16 17 Taylor Dow assistant engineering tracks 2 7 16 17 19 James Auwarter assistant engineering tracks 9 12 Ryan Neuschafer assistant engineering tracks 9 12 Jon Brion string arrangement tracks 10 17 19 brass arrangement tracks 10 17 Eric Gorfain strings orchestration tracks 10 17 19 Vlado Meller mastering Design Edit Louis Marino creative direction Morning Breath Inc art direction design Sarah A Friedman photography Kris Yiengst photography art coordination Charlene Roxborough styling Ibn Jasper groomingCharts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart performance for Late Registration Chart 2005 Peak positionAustralian Albums ARIA 175 14Australian Urban Albums ARIA 176 3Austrian Albums O3 Austria 177 53Belgian Albums Ultratop Flanders 178 43Canadian Albums Billboard 152 1Danish Albums Hitlisten 179 11Dutch Albums Album Top 100 180 24European Albums Billboard 165 6Finnish Albums Suomen virallinen lista 181 18French Albums SNEP 182 36German Albums Offizielle Top 100 183 14Greek Albums IFPI 162 7Irish Albums IRMA 158 2Italian Albums FIMI 184 75Japanese Albums Oricon 164 10New Zealand Albums RMNZ 185 11Norwegian Albums VG lista 161 4Scottish Albums OCC 159 3Swedish Albums Sverigetopplistan 186 11Swiss Albums Schweizer Hitparade 163 9UK Albums OCC 187 2UK R amp B Albums OCC 188 1US Billboard 200 189 1US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 190 1 Year end charts Edit 2005 year end chart performance for Late Registration Chart 2005 PositionAustralian Albums ARIA 191 83UK Albums OCC 192 43US Billboard 200 193 21US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 194 11Worldwide Charts IFPI 195 142006 year end chart performance for Late Registration Chart 2006 PositionAustralian Albums ARIA 196 89UK Albums OCC 197 93US Billboard 200 198 71US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 199 382007 year end chart performance for Late Registration Chart 2007 PositionAustralian Urban Albums ARIA 200 37Decade end charts Edit Decade end chart performance for Late Registration Chart 2000 2009 PositionUS Billboard 200 201 156Certifications EditCertifications and sales for Late Registration Region Certification Certified units salesAustralia ARIA 202 Platinum 70 000 Canada Music Canada 153 2 Platinum 200 000 Denmark IFPI Danmark 203 Platinum 20 000 Ireland IRMA 160 2 Platinum 30 000 Japan RIAJ 204 Gold 100 000 New Zealand RMNZ 205 Platinum 15 000 United Kingdom BPI 155 3 Platinum 852 000 157 United States RIAA 151 5 Platinum 3 100 000 150 SummariesEurope IFPI 206 Platinum 1 000 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Sales streaming figures based on certification alone See also Edit2005 in hip hop music List of albums containing a hidden track W List of best selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era List of number one albums of 2005 Canada List of UK top ten albums in 2005 List of UK R amp B Albums Chart number ones of 2005 List of Billboard 200 number one albums of 2005 List of number one rap albums of 2005 U S List of Billboard number one R amp B albums of 2005Notes and references EditNotes Patti LaBelle s vocals on the track are uncredited Citations a b c d e Brown 2006 p 121 a b c d e f g h i j Sheffield Rob August 25 2005 Late Registration Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 20 2012 Retrieved April 20 2012 a b c d e f g h i j k l Perez Rodrigo August 12 2005 Kanye s Co Pilot Jon Brion Talks About The Making Of Late Registration MTV Archived November 5 2005 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 2 2006 a b c Brown 2006 pp 121 122 Brown 2006 p 124 Brown 2006 p 120 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Late Registration Media notes Roc A Fella Records 2005 Reid Shaheem June 22 2004 Kanye West s Videos Jesus Walks And Walks And Walks MTV Archived October 25 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 7 2009 Moss Cory November 18 2004 Kanye West And John Mayer Collaborate But Won t Elaborate MTV Archived August 17 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 25 2007 a b Brown 2006 p 123 a b c d Kanye West Greatness Perfection Gucci VH1 October 12 2005 Archived from the original on October 27 2005 Retrieved January 8 2009 a b c d Moss Cory October 20 2005 Kanye Kids Run Amok In Surreal Macy s For New Clip MTV Archived February 18 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 6 2009 a b c Reid Shaheem February 1 2006 Road To The Grammys The Making Of Kanye West s Gold Digger MTV Archived August 9 2007 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 22 2007 Reid Shaheem September 9 2005 Paul Wall Puts His Album Aside To Help Hurricane Survivors MTV Archived February 25 2008 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 17 2006 a b c Collins Hattie September 5 2005 Kanye West Late Registration NME Archived from the original on October 1 2005 Retrieved December 26 2009 Ahmed Isanul August 28 2020 10 Things You Didn t Know About Kanye West s Late Registration Complex Archived from the original on November 12 2020 Retrieved March 9 2022 a b c d Cohen Jonathan April 22 2005 West Shows Off Diamonds With Jay Z Billboard Archived from the original on July 23 2013 Retrieved June 17 2006 Baeur Craig February 2006 Recording amp Mixing Kanye West Sound on Sound Archived from the original on February 17 2018 Retrieved February 16 2018 Boyd Brian March 16 2007 Taking the rap for bloody bling The Irish Times Archived from the original on July 19 2021 Retrieved March 14 2022 a b c Crosley Hillary June 14 2005 Diamonds Remix Kanye Raps About Rocks Jay Raps About Roc MTV Archived September 30 2020 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 20 2011 Reid Shaheem April 20 2005 Kanye Jay Z Give An Early Peek At West s Late Registration MTV Archived January 16 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 17 2006 a b Brown 2006 p 129 Fleischer Adam August 29 2015 Kanye West Explains How He Got In The Middle Of The Jay Z And Nas Beef MTV Archived August 30 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 14 2022 Patel Joseph June 5 2003 Producer Kanye West s Debut LP Features Jay Z ODB Mos Def MTV Archived May 4 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 21 2009 a b c Frampton Scott February 2006 What s Playing in Patti LaBelle s Ear O Archived from the original on September 11 2016 Retrieved August 29 2016 a b c d e f g Christgau Robert August 30 2005 Growing by Degrees Kanye West adds new subtlety complexity and Jon Brion to the idea of sophomoric The Village Voice Archived from the original on October 25 2008 Retrieved October 6 2009 a b c d e Empire Kitty August 28 2005 West Ends the Wait The Observer Archived September 19 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 4 2005 a b c d Kim Serena September 12 2005 Kanye West Late Registration Roc A Fella Vibe Archived from the original on October 19 2006 Retrieved April 12 2007 a b Cummings Jozen August 29 2005 Kanye West Late Registration Music Review PopMatters Archived from the original on July 15 2009 Retrieved March 15 2022 a b Jon Brion Mixonline November 1 2005 Archived from the original on February 16 2018 Retrieved February 15 2018 a b Peters Micah August 30 2016 A Toast to the Best Song on Kanye West s Late Registration The Ringer Archived from the original on February 3 2022 Retrieved March 15 2022 Wossen Caleb March 3 2017 Tony Williams Is So World Famous It s His Nickname But You Probably Don t Know Why Dallas Observer Archived from the original on June 27 2018 Retrieved November 25 2019 Kanye West Heard Em Say Review Virgin Media December 5 2005 Archived from the original on October 11 2007 Retrieved August 20 2011 Jones Lucy June 17 2013 Kanye s Yeezus Why His Sampling Still Sets Him Apart NME Archived from the original on January 2 2019 Retrieved July 7 2019 a b c d e f Caramanica Jon September 2005 The Man Who Would Be King Spin pp 99 100 Archived from the original on June 3 2016 Retrieved November 25 2015 via Google Books a b c Weiner Jonah September 2005 Kanye West Late Registration Blender p 130 Archived from the original on May 4 2006 Retrieved November 4 2016 a b Lynskey Dorian August 4 2005 Natural Born Show off The Guardian Archived from the original on February 17 2018 Retrieved February 16 2018 a b Frere Jones Sasha August 22 2005 Overdrive The New Yorker Archived December 17 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 23 2008 Pettie Andrew August 13 2005 Pop CDs of the Week The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on April 6 2018 Retrieved April 6 2018 a b McGovern Kyle Jenkins Craig October 27 2014 All 289 Eminem Songs Ranked Spin Archived from the original on April 3 2015 Retrieved March 10 2022 a b Henderson Eric August 31 2005 Review Late Registration Slant Magazine Archived February 10 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 5 2011 a b c Pareles Jon August 29 2005 A Producer in Another Star Turn The New York Times Archived from the original on August 20 2011 Retrieved October 6 2009 a b c d Fennessey Sean August 25 2005 Kanye West Late Registration Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 14 2009 Retrieved October 6 2009 Schaller Robert C Jr 2009 Kanye West A Biography ABC Clio ISBN 9780313374616 Archived from the original on September 30 2020 Retrieved February 13 2018 via Google Books a b c Tyrangiel Josh December 16 2005 Best of 2005 Music Time Archived from the original on September 13 2006 Retrieved March 14 2006 a b Pyon Kevin 2019 Towards an African American Genealogy of Market and Religion in Rap Music Popular Music and Society 42 3 363 384 doi 10 1080 03007766 2018 1458275 S2CID 194135145 Archived from the original on July 24 2021 Retrieved July 24 2021 via Taylor amp Francis Online Waite Thom December 16 2021 Kanye West talks capitalism communes and staging his own funeral Dazed Archived from the original on December 20 2021 Retrieved June 25 2022 a b Hess 2007 p 573 a b c Browne David August 29 2005 Late Registration Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on November 1 2009 Retrieved October 6 2009 a b Jones Steve August 29 2005 Kanye West s Registration is right on time USA Today Archived from the original on October 14 2016 Retrieved September 25 2016 a b c d Petridis Alexis August 19 2005 Kanye West Late Registration The Guardian Archived from the original on September 7 2008 Retrieved October 6 2009 a b Rabin Nathan September 7 2005 Kanye West Late Registration The A V Club Archived from the original on March 21 2015 Retrieved January 24 2015 a b Young Killian February 10 2016 Ranking Every Kanye West Album From Worst to Best Consequence Archived from the original on April 27 2018 Retrieved April 26 2018 a b Hess 2007 p 574 Reynolds Pauline J 2014 Representing U Popular Culture Media and Higher Education Wiley p 96 ISBN 9781118966235 Richardson Chris 2011 Can t Tell Me Nothing Symbolic Violence Education and Kanye West Popular Music and Violence 34 1 97 112 doi 10 1080 03007766 2011 539831 S2CID 56118993 Archived from the original on July 24 2021 Retrieved July 24 2021 via Taylor amp Francis Online a b Beaumont 2015 p 188 a b Late Registration Japanese Import Amazon UK ASIN B000XTGU5M Archived from the original on September 7 2010 Retrieved March 18 2022 Greene Jayson July 20 2006 Mick Boogie amp Kanye West Second Semester Kanye Essentials 2 Review Stylus Magazine Archived from the original on May 16 2021 Retrieved May 15 2021 Cohen Jonathan June 15 2005 New Kanye Disc Bumped To August Billboard Archived June 20 2015 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 17 2006 Tyrangiel Josh August 21 2005 Why You Can t Ignore Kanye Time Archived from the original on September 7 2009 Retrieved March 14 2006 Rashaun Alyssa September 1 2005 Run DMC Kanye West Cam Ron All Over iTunes Vibe Archived November 23 2005 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 19 2011 Video Makers Celebrate at Cads 06 Music Week June 6 2006 Archived from the original on July 14 2011 Retrieved September 29 2006 Susman Gary August 30 2005 Trend Watch Streaming Entire Albums Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on October 18 2005 Retrieved September 4 2005 For The Record Quick News On Kanye West Diddy Snoop Dogg Jennifer Lopez Fall Out Boy Radiohead amp More MTV Archived October 29 2009 at the Wayback Machine August 23 2005 Retrieved August 26 2005 a b Reid Shaheem September 14 2005 Kanye Announces North American Tour Dates MTV Archived July 31 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 22 2022 a b Reid Shaheem October 12 2005 Kanye West Made Sure To Touch The Sky At Tour Launch MTV Archived December 7 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 22 2022 Beaumont 2015 p 212 Two shot at Kanye West gig The Guardian March 1 2006 Archived from the original on March 22 2022 Retrieved March 22 2022 Kanye keeps dates for solo shows The Age March 10 2006 Archived from the original on March 22 2022 Retrieved March 22 2022 a b c Pasori Cesar McDonald Leighton June 17 2013 The Design Evolution of Kanye West s Album Artwork Complex Archived from the original on March 19 2022 Retrieved March 19 2022 Heffernan Virginia August 8 2008 Kanye on Keyboards The New York Times Archived from the original on March 6 2014 Retrieved March 17 2009 Available for Airplay FMQB Archived from the original on May 2 2005 Retrieved March 20 2022 a b c Kanye West Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Archived from the original on September 17 2021 Retrieved March 20 2022 a b c d Kanye West full Official Chart History Official Charts Company Archived from the original on December 20 2019 Retrieved March 20 2022 Gold amp Platinum Kanye West Diamonds from Sierra Leone Recording Industry Association of America Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Award Kanye West Diamonds from Sierra Leone BPI Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Rashbaum Alyssa June 15 2005 Kanye Gets Conscious on Diamonds Remix Vibe Archived from the original on May 10 2008 Retrieved March 20 2022 Elibert Mark August 26 2019 Hype Williams 20 Best Videos Watch Billboard Archived from the original on March 1 2021 Retrieved March 20 2022 The best use their best PDF Radio amp Records 22 July 1 2005 Archived PDF from the original on March 9 2021 Retrieved March 20 2022 via World Radio History Mackie Drew October 14 2015 10 Things You Didn t Know About Kanye West s Gold Digger 10 Years Later People Archived from the original on March 23 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 This Week In 2005 ARIA November 6 2018 Archived from the original on December 8 2021 Retrieved March 20 2022 NZ Top 40 Singles Chart Official New Zealand Music Chart October 24 2005 Archived from the original on December 9 2021 Retrieved March 20 2022 Gold amp Platinum Digital singles Recording Industry Association of America Archived from the original on October 17 2020 Retrieved March 20 2022 Award Kanye West Ft Jamie Foxx Gold Digger BPI Archived from the original on March 7 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Kanye West Heard em say feat Adam Levine of Maroon 5 Vinyl 12 2005 US Original HHV Archived from the original on May 31 2013 Retrieved May 5 2022 Gold amp Platinum Kanye West Heard Em Say Recording Industry Association of America Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Caramanica Jon December 18 2005 Kanye West Rapper and Reanimator The New York Times Archived from the original on December 20 2013 Retrieved March 20 2022 Touch The Sky EP by Kanye West Apple Music GB Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Gold amp Platinum Kanye West Touch the Sky Recording Industry Association of America Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Award Kanye West Ft Lupe Fiasco Touch the Sky BPI Archived from the original on July 9 2019 Retrieved March 20 2022 Ryan Amy February 21 2006 Snap Judgment Kanye West s Touch the Sky video Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 Drive Slow track listing Roc A Fella Def Jam 2006 ROC 1201 Gold amp Platinum Kanye West Drive Slow Recording Industry Association of America Archived from the original on March 20 2022 Retrieved March 20 2022 West Kanye Kanye West gt gt Drive Slow MTV Archived from the original on December 3 2013 Retrieved March 20 2022 a b Reviews for Late Registration by Kanye West Metacritic Archived from the original on July 17 2012 Retrieved March 22 2012 a b Kellman Andy Late Registration Kanye West AllMusic Archived from the original on March 26 2019 Retrieved October 6 2009 a b Hilburn Robert August 25 2005 West connects with heart and sophistication Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on October 31 2009 Retrieved October 6 2009 Ruiz Eric M September 10 2014 3 Entrepreneurial Lessons to Learn From Kanye West NBC News Archived from the original on July 27 2022 Retrieved July 27 2022 a b Kyles Kyra August 26 2005 Better with Age RedEye Archived from the original on December 14 2021 Retrieved July 25 2021 via Chicago Tribune Yates Steve July 17 2005 The First Ten Kanye West Late Registration The Observer Archived from the original on November 12 2021 Retrieved July 25 2021 a b Hermes Will December 31 2005 The 40 Best Albums of 2005 Spin Archived July 10 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 26 2008 a b Franzon Henrik December 26 2005 Kanye leads the way USA Today Archived from the original on May 6 2008 Retrieved April 10 2020 1 Kanye West Late Registration Rolling Stone December 15 2005 Archived from the original on July 18 2007 Retrieved August 20 2011 a b Top 50 Records of 2005 Rolling Stone Archived from the original on December 19 2005 Retrieved November 1 2019 a b Pazz amp Jop 2005 Critics Poll The Village Voice Archived May 10 2006 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 24 2022 via Robert Christgau Christgau Robert October 4 2018 Kanye West Turns the Page The Village Voice Archived from the original on March 24 2022 Retrieved March 24 2022 Pazz amp Jop 2005 Dean s List The Village Voice February 7 2006 Archived from the original on July 25 2021 Retrieved July 24 2021 via Robert Christgau Kanye West Late Registration Robert Christgau Archived from the original on November 4 2014 Retrieved January 24 2015 a b Washington City Paper s 2005 Top 20 Washington City Paper January 5 2006 Archived from the original on June 8 2008 Retrieved April 10 2020 Retrospective XXL Albums XXL December 21 2005 Inside Music Photo Gallery Best Albums of the Decade MSN Music October 9 2014 Archived from the original on January 5 2010 Retrieved March 24 2022 The 100 Best Albums of the 2000s 20 1 PopMatters October 9 2014 Archived from the original on November 1 2019 Retrieved November 1 2019 a b The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s Pitchfork October 2 2009 Archived from the original on September 26 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 OMM s Top 50 Albums of the Decade The Guardian November 21 2009 Archived from the original on August 18 2017 Retrieved December 2 2017 a b CoS Top of the Decade The Albums Consequence November 17 2009 Archived from the original on November 16 2018 Retrieved November 1 2019 Massot Josep December 27 2009 La Vanguardia elige los albumes de la decada La Vanguardia chooses the albums of the decade La Vanguardia in Spanish Archived from the original on April 5 2010 Retrieved March 4 2020 a b 100 Best Albums of the 2000s Rolling Stone July 18 2011 Archived from the original on September 30 2020 Retrieved September 29 2020 a b 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone May 31 2012 Archived from the original on March 31 2019 Retrieved March 10 2022 Collett White Mike April 27 2012 Kanye West gets 3 albums on Rolling Stone s revised 500 greatest list MSNBC Archived from the original on April 29 2012 Retrieved March 24 2022 The Greatest 50 Albums Since 93 Vibe April 18 2013 Archived from the original on October 4 2021 Retrieved March 24 2022 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years Spin February 15 2012 Archived from the original on June 8 2015 Retrieved April 10 2020 a b The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years 1985 2014 Spin May 11 2015 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved January 20 2020 a b 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone September 22 2020 Archived from the original on September 22 2020 Retrieved September 22 2020 The 100 Best Albums of The Complex Decade Complex April 2 2012 Archived from the original on November 26 2015 Retrieved September 29 2020 Top 50 Albums of 2005 Pitchfork December 31 2005 Archived January 31 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved May 1 2006 Ihaza Jeff June 7 2022 The 200 Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 8 2022 Retrieved June 7 2022 2005 Rewind 50 Records of the Year The Wire 263 41 January 2006 Archived from the original on July 11 2018 Retrieved July 23 2018 via Exact Editions subscription required a b c Scaggs Austin February 9 2006 Q amp A Kanye West on His 8 Grammy Nominations and Late Registration Rolling Stone Archived from the original on April 11 2020 Retrieved April 11 2020 a b c d Kanye West Artist Grammy Archived from the original on December 8 2018 Retrieved April 11 2020 a b Harris Chris December 8 2005 Mariah Carey Kanye West John Legend Lead Grammy Nominees MTV Archived from the original on October 27 2017 Retrieved April 11 2020 Ahmed Insanul August 28 2015 The Grammy s Created an Awesome Infographic About Kanye West s Late Registration Complex Archived from the original on March 6 2016 Retrieved April 11 2020 a b Kanye West s Late Registration Wins MP3 com s 2005 Readers Choice Award for Best Album Business Wire January 24 2006 Archived from the original on January 2 2018 Retrieved January 8 2019 Byrne Ciar December 29 2005 Creative covers Hard Fi s stark image wins place in album art top 10 The Independent Archived from the original on March 14 2022 Retrieved March 14 2022 Hale Andreas December 27 2005 Best of 2005 HipHopDX Archived from the original on May 24 2017 Retrieved April 11 2020 Ciara leads Vibe Awards nominations Today October 10 2005 Archived from the original on February 2 2018 Retrieved January 8 2019 Faber Judy October 12 2006 T I Tops List of BET Hip Hop Nominees CBS News Archived from the original on December 12 2017 Retrieved January 8 2019 2006 Billboard R amp B Hip Hop Awards Finalists Billboard June 21 2006 Archived from the original on March 24 2017 Retrieved January 8 2019 Mariah Wins Big at Billboard R amp B Hip Hop Awards Billboard September 9 2006 Archived from the original on July 13 2015 Retrieved January 8 2019 Brit Awards 2006 The winners BBC February 15 2006 Archived from the original on January 14 2017 Retrieved January 8 2019 Nielsen Thue January 24 2006 Danish Music Awards 2006 in Danish DJz Archived from the original on December 14 2017 Retrieved January 8 2019 Nyertesek 2006 Winners 2006 in Hungarian Fonogram August 12 2016 Archived from the original on October 23 2017 Retrieved January 8 2019 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards Noms Announced Television Academy January 21 2005 Archived from the original on March 8 2016 Retrieved January 8 2019 2006 Nominees for Outstanding Creative Achievement TEC Awards Archived from the original on September 11 2016 Retrieved January 8 2019 West Registers No 1 Album Debut Billboard September 7 2005 Archived June 13 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved August 19 2011 Harris Chris September 19 2007 Kanye West 50 Cent Leave Competition in the Dust On Albums Chart MTV Archived from the original on March 29 2019 Retrieved March 2 2020 Seabrook III Robby March 3 2020 20 of the Biggest First Week Hip Hop Album Sales XXL Archived from the original on March 22 2022 Retrieved March 22 2022 Kanye 50 Hold Stones From Chart Top Billboard Archived September 18 2014 at the Wayback Machine September 14 2005 Retrieved December 11 2019 Wilson H W 2006 Kanye West Hip hop artist and record producer Current Biography Yearbook p 591 a b Wete Brad June 14 2013 Kanye West How the Rapper Grew From Dropout to Yeezus Billboard Archived from the original on June 17 2013 Retrieved June 14 2013 a b American album certifications Kanye West Late Registration Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved July 22 2022 a b Kanye West Chart History Canadian Albums Billboard Retrieved September 22 2019 a b Canadian album certifications Kanye West Late Registration Music Canada Retrieved September 22 2019 Gorillaz McFly Lead U K Charts Billboard September 5 2005 Archived September 20 2014 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 5 2005 a b British album certifications Kanye West Late Registration British Phonographic Industry Retrieved March 12 2022 White Jack May 4 2018 The UK s Official Top 40 biggest rap albums of the Millennium revealed Official Charts Company Archived from the original on September 6 2018 Retrieved July 10 2019 a b Myers Justin November 3 2018 Pop feuds What if they were settled on chart success Official Charts Company Archived from the original on November 5 2018 Retrieved November 4 2018 a b Top 75 Artist Album Week Ending 1 September 2005 GfK Chart Track Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved July 27 2022 a b Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved September 22 2019 a b The Irish Charts 2005 Certification Awards Multi Platinum Irish Recorded Music Association Retrieved September 22 2019 a b Norwegiancharts com Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 a b Ellhniko Chart Top 50 3enwn Almpoym Greek Chart Top 50 Foreign Albums in Greek IFPI Greece Archived from the original on November 4 2005 Retrieved September 4 2021 a b Swisscharts com Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 a b レイト レジストレーション カニエ ウェスト Late Registration Kanye West in Japanese Oricon Archived from the original on August 8 2021 Retrieved August 8 2021 a b Hits of the World Eurocharts Album Billboard September 17 2005 p 61 Archived from the original on August 8 2021 Retrieved August 8 2021 via Google Books Brown Preezy June 29 2021 Lil Wayne s Tha Carter III Surpasses One Billion Streams On Spotify Vibe Archived from the original on July 12 2021 Retrieved July 25 2021 a b c d e Murdock Logan August 27 2020 Nothing s Ever Promised Tomorrow Today Revisiting Late Registration and Kanye s Telethon Moment 15 Years Later The Ringer Archived from the original on July 24 2021 Retrieved July 24 2021 a b Serrano Shea 2005 Gold Digger Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx The Rap Year Book The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979 Discussed Debated and Deconstructed ABRAMS ISBN 9781613128190 Southern Nathan July 28 2006 Kanye West Late Orchestration MTV Archived from the original on November 2 2012 Retrieved November 4 2008 Hussain Shahzaib November 23 2018 Renegade Man The Legacy of Kanye West s 808s amp Heartbreak Highsnobiety Archived from the original on March 11 2022 Retrieved July 16 2021 College Kids Listen to Kanye s Late Registration for First Time XXL August 28 2020 Archived from the original on August 29 2020 Retrieved March 25 2022 Willis Jay August 30 2017 Late Registration Was the Last Great Album by the Old Kanye GQ Archived from the original on April 10 2019 Retrieved March 25 2022 Kanye West Late Registration UK CD album CDLP 333760 Mercury Records 2005 Archived from the original on November 9 2017 Retrieved March 18 2022 via Eil com Late Registration Amazon UK ASIN B000ERVGX4 Archived from the original on March 18 2022 Retrieved March 18 2022 Australiancharts com Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 ARIA Urban Chart Week Commencing 10th October 2005 PDF Australian Recording Industry Association 815 16 October 10 2005 Archived from the original PDF on February 23 2008 Retrieved April 16 2023 via Pandora archive Austriancharts at Kanye West Late Registration in German Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Ultratop be Kanye West Late Registration in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Danishcharts dk Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Dutchcharts nl Kanye West Late Registration in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Kanye West Late Registration in Finnish Musiikkituottajat IFPI Finland Retrieved September 22 2019 Lescharts com Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Offiziellecharts de Kanye West Late Registration in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved September 22 2019 Italiancharts com Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Charts nz Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Swedishcharts com Kanye West Late Registration Hung Medien Retrieved September 22 2019 Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved September 22 2019 Official R amp B Albums Chart Top 40 Official Charts Company Retrieved September 22 2019 Kanye West Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved September 22 2019 Kanye West Chart History Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard Retrieved September 22 2019 ARIA Charts End Of Year Charts Top 100 Albums 2005 Australian Recording Industry Association Archived from the original on August 19 2011 Retrieved August 19 2011 Verkade Herman January 21 2006 UKChartsPlus 228 4 The Official UK Albums Chart of 2005 at the Wayback Machine archived February 25 2009 Archived from the original on February 25 2009 Retrieved August 19 2011 2005 Year End Charts The Billboard 200 Titles Billboard November 26 2005 Archived from the original on August 19 2011 Retrieved August 19 2011 Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Year end Chart 2005 Billboard January 2 2013 Archived from the original on April 20 2019 Retrieved September 22 2019 ch June 6 2008 Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2005 PDF IFPI Archived from the original on August 19 2011 Retrieved August 19 2011 ARIA Charts End Of Year Charts Top 100 Albums 2006 Australian Recording Industry Association Archived from the original on August 19 2011 Retrieved August 19 2011 End of Year Album Chart Top 100 2006 Official Charts Company January 8 2007 Archived from the original on May 24 2015 Retrieved September 22 2019 Year End Charts Top Billboard 200 Billboard Archived from the original on August 19 2011 Retrieved August 19 2011 Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Year end Chart 2006 Billboard Archived from the original on April 12 2019 Retrieved September 22 2019 Top 50 Urban Albums 2007 Australian Recording Industry Association Archived from the original on April 10 2013 Retrieved September 22 2019 Billboard 200 Albums Decade end Chart Billboard 2009 Archived from the original on February 4 2011 Retrieved December 10 2019 ARIA Charts Accreditations 2006 Albums PDF Australian Recording Industry Association Retrieved September 22 2019 Danish album certifications Kanye West Late Registration IFPI Danmark Retrieved September 22 2019 Scroll through the page list below until year 2017 to obtain certification Japanese album certifications Kanye West Late Registration in Japanese Recording Industry Association of Japan Retrieved September 22 2019 Select 2005年9月 on the drop down menu New Zealand album certifications Kanye West Late Registration Recorded Music NZ Retrieved September 22 2019 IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2008 International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Retrieved April 10 2020 Sources Edit Brown Jake 2006 Kanye West in the Studio Beats Down Money Up 2000 2006 Colossus Books ISBN 0 9767735 6 2 Hess Mickey 2007 Icons of Hip Hop An Encyclopedia of the Movement Music and Culture Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN 978 0 313 33904 2 Beaumont Mark 2015 Kanye West God amp Monster Overlook Omnibus ISBN 9781783233946 Retrieved July 24 2021 via Google Books Further reading EditBailey Julius ed 2014 The Cultural Impact of Kanye West Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 9781137591258 Retrieved July 25 2021 via Google Books Brown Preezy 2020 The 21 Best Hip Hop Sequels of All Time Okayplayer Retrieved July 25 2021 External links EditLate Registration at Discogs list of releases Late Registration Explicit Adobe Flash at Myspace streamed copy where licensed Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Late Registration amp oldid 1168239603, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.