If you listen to music then you know the artist, Kanye West. He is one of the most influential musicians of the 2000’s. He shaped the way how hip-hop, and rap is now.

One of his most popular and famous albums is Graduation. The track consists of 14 songs lasting for, 54 minutes and 29 seconds.  Graduation is a continuation of his first two albums, College Dropout and Late Registration. Graduation is about Kanye now becoming famous and the media starts to criticize him after achieving this fame. I am going to be rating each song on a tier list from F-S. F being absolutely terrible, while S being perfect.

Good Morning

The first song of the album is Good Morning. It is basically the introduction to the album. He welcomes us to the album by saying, “Welcome to Graduation”. Kanye starts to talk about how he made it from the streets and got this fame, now the people start to say that he changed. I think this is a great way to start off the album; it introduces us and starts off the main point of the album, people saying the fame changed him. This song is in the A tier

Champion

The second song is Champion. This the shortest song of the track. Kanye is trying to realize that people see him as a champion in their eyes. He does end up realizing this and lives his life like this. People would rather listen to the college dropout, Kanye, than any other person. Showing the champion Kanye is. It also tells that Graduation is a story about a champion, and that champion is Kanye after gaining all this fame. Compared to “Good Morning”, it is very fast paced. This song is in the A tier.

Stronger

The third song is Stronger. This is the second longest sonsong of the track. All the hate Kanye is getting is not affect him but only making him stronger. He has been telling everyone how all the hard work he is putting in will make him famous. People did not believe him, until it started happening. All the work he is putting in is making him stronger and better. The work never stops. This song is in the A tier.

I Wonder

The fourth song is I Wonder. Kanye has always had this dream of becoming this famous musician. Their is a background character that keeps repeating that if you have ever wondered what it means to have your dream become true. Kanye realized he has to get back on his grind to achieve this dream. At the end Kanye says, “You wonder if you’ll ever find your dreams.” That is the last line of the song. The song starts off very smooth and calm and as the song goes on, the timing starts to become more and more fast paced. This song is in the A tier.

Good Life

The fifth song is Good Life and T-Pain is also a feature artist of this song. Kanye’s new life after gaining this fame is the good life. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. In this song Kanye just lists the things he can do now with no consecutions with his new life. Everyone loves Kanye now. Even the haters are helping Kanye make money. My favorite line from this song is when he tells us what 50 Cent told him, “And if they hate then let ’em hate and watch the money pile up.” This song uses a good amount of rhyming throughout the lyrics. This song is in the S tier.

Can’t Tell Me Nothing

The sixth song is Can’t Tell Me Nothing. It is hard for Kanye to listen to people now whenever they tell him something. He does the opposite of what they say. People are getting mad at Kanye for saying how he feels. Kanye now lives how he wants to live. For example, he is two hours late to a class, but he decides he already graduated. People can not tell him nothing as he lives how he wants. This song is in the S tier.

Barry Bonds

The seventh song is Barry Bonds, and a feature artist is Lil Wayne. People get bored of old things and want something new. That something new is Kanye and his music. Kanye was the underdog his whole life and is the one who could have come up with the ideas for his music. I do not like the Lil Wayne featured as I do not think he fits the vibe of the song and Kanye’s vibe. This is the worst song so far of the album and is in the B tier.

Drunk and Hot Girls

The eighth song is Drunk and Hot Girls, and Mos Def is a feature artist. Kanye is saying he goes through too much to mess with the drunk and hot girls. Kanye basically repeats that line throughout the whole song. In my opinion it gets repetitive. This song is in the B tier

Flashing Lights

The night song is Flashing Lights, and Dwele is a feature artist. Kanye is saying there is flashing lights and life is so easy, he wishes it could be this easy all the time. Kanye found a girl and never though it would get too far, until they start posting each other. This is by far Kanye’s most popular song of this album. This song is in the S tier.

Everything I am

The tenth song is Everything I am, and DJ Premier is a feature artist. Everything that Kanye was not, made him into the person he is now. He gives scenarios that made him into the person he is. One of my favorite lines from this song is, “People talk so much sh’t about me in the barber shop, They forgot to get they haircut.” The song ends with the same line it starts as, “Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” This song is in the A tier.

The Glory

The eleventh song is The Glory. Kanye talks about his journey to his fame and success. With this fame and success, he starts to gain some self-confidence. He even says that he could be in speedo, and people would still see him as a hero. I think this some is very underrated, as not as many people talk about it. This song is in the A tier.

Homecoming

The twelfth song is Homecoming, and Chris Martin is a feature artist. Kanye is saying he is coming back home, and he wonders if people still think about him. He gets this new girl that he likes to show off and bring back into town. This girl taught him what he knows and did things with him for the first time. Him and this girl grow a part. Whenever they talk it seems that she is always referring to him and his life. He is coming home and wonders if she thinks about him. This is my favorite song of the album. This song is in the S tier.

Big Brother

The thirteenth song is Big Brother. Kanye is referring to his big brother as Jay-Z. Jay-Z was a big mentor and believer in Kanye when he first started his music career. But they then to start to have a complicated relationship, as Kanye was jealous of Jay-Z. Kanye was always being overlooked as the little brother. As he gets older Kanye will realize why he is always overlooked. Jay-Z always got the praise over Kanye, but this did not stop Kanye from giving his praise to Jay-Z. This song is in the A tier.

Good Night

The last song of the album is Good Night, and both Mos Def and Albe Black are feature artist. Kanye does not want to say goodbye to us yet, so he says good night instead. It seems just like yesterday before Kanye gained this fame and was on the fields with his grandparents as a little kid. He wishes he could stop time and not let a moment past. He wants to say bye to the people he never got to. He then says we cannot dwell in the past so we should live today like there is no tomorrow. This song is a great way to send off the album. This song is in the A tier.

Graduation is one of Kanye’s most famous albums. It tells a really good story of how he gained all the fame and it is not changing him. He does not deserve the unnecessary hate he used to get from people saying he changed. This is my favorite album, and many other people will say it is a masterpiece.