The College Dropout, released in 2004, earned a Grammy Award for best Rap Album
Eleven years ago on this date, Kanye West released his debut album The College Dropout on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording began in 1999 and took four years to complete. West originally debuted his talents under the Roc umbrella on Jay-Z’s album The Blueprint, which was released in 2001.
Production for the 21 track five mic-er was done by West himself. Five timeless track were released from this groundbreaking project; the evolving story of his miracle on “Through the Wire”, “Slow Jamz”, “All Falls Down”, the religion propelled “Jesus Walks” and the humorous “The New Workout Plan”. The album had vocal assistance by Jay-Z, Ervin “EP” Pope, Miri Ben-Ari, Jonn Legend, Sylenna Johnson and a host of other artists. Yeezy’s album debuted in the number two slot on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 441,000 copies in its first week. According to Billboard’s year end charts, The College Dropout peaked at number 12.
In April 2004 the album was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America. On June 30, 2004, the album was certified double platinum. As of June 2014, the album is West’s best selling album in the U.S., selling 3,358,000 copies.
The College Dropout receivied 10 Grammy nominations at the 2005 Grammy Awards. It won Best Rap Album, the fourth single Jesus Walks won Best Rap Song.
-Sara D.(@evolaras4real)
