Kanye West wants you to have a mixtape. Really. How do I know? His blog says so. The Graduate is “hosted” by Kanye and produced by Mick Boogie, Terry Urban and 9th Wonder.
Now, I’ve got some serious doubts that Kanye West plants himself in front of his Mac on a daily basis, just so he can post his witticisms and observations. I may be seriously wrong, but we’re probably looking at the product of a relatively lucky intern. I say “relative” because this is the kind of job you can’t easily brag about. “Oh, hey … yeah, I write Kanye’s blog … really.”
Is the mix any good? Apart from being free to download (as in beer) and broken up into its component tracks (as opposed to one long, continuously-mixed mp3) and encoded higher than even the recent Radiohead revolutionary release (224kpbs, instead of 160kpbs), the music is all either unreleased work or remixed versions of known songs. And while I’m only a few tracks in, I’m liking what I’m hearing. The redo of “Never Let Me Down” (from Late Registration) more than makes up for 50 Cent’s obscene mumbling* in Mick Boogie’s remix of “Flashing Lights” (from Graduation). And the unused verse from the Daft Punk-ified “Stronger” is interesting.
Of course, if you’ve availed yourself of freely downloadable mixtapes before, you know the “price” one must pay for a stack of good tracks. As with other mixes, The Graduate is peppered with a whispery woman’s voice audibly oozing the name of producer Terry Urban. Another spectral voice repeats the name of the mixtape after every other track, just in case you forgot. But the most annoying sample, one that must be a Mick Boogie staple, is this giggling girl saying “Mix it up!” — often right in the middle of a break.
All that aside, it’s a free download. It’s decent music. So why not avail yourself? I’d do so quickly, however, as Mr West is depending upon SendSpace for the file hosting. Unless he has some kind of magic arrangement, in only a week more or so, SendSpace will forget the mix ever existed.
* – Note to 50 Cent: Using “CPR” in a forced attempt at innuendo isn’t sexy. It’s creepy.
