About

Late Registration is the second studio album by American hip hop producer and rapper Kanye West, released on August 30, 2005, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. It was recorded over the course of a year in sessions held across studios in New York City and Hollywood, with West collaborating with American record producer and composer Jon Brion. The album features guest contributions from Adam Levine, Lupe Fiasco, Jamie Foxx, Common, Jay-Z, Brandy, and Nas, among others. Its production was notably more lush and elaborate than West's 2004 debut album The College Dropout, as he utilized intricate sampling methods and string orchestration with Brion. West's lyrics explore both personal and political themes, including poverty, drug trafficking, racism, healthcare, and the blood diamond trade.

Late Registration received rave reviews from critics and earned West several accolades, including a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards and an Album of the Year nomination. It appeared at the top of several publications year-end lists of top albums. Rolling Stone named it the best album of 2005, and included it at number 118 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012. Late Registration debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 860,000 copies in its first week.

The album has thus far sold over 3.1 million copies in the United States and has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Late Registration produced five singles, including the international hits "Touch the Sky", "Heard 'Em Say" and "Gold Digger", the latter of which topped the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. Music videos for all five singles were produced. West supported the album with a promotional concert tour, and the live album Late Orchestration. – Wiki

“Late Registration is an undeniable triumph, packed front to back, so expansive it makes the debut sound like a rough draft. West has turned into a real MC, earning the right to boast about opening a store for aspiring Kanye wanna-be's: "But if they ever flip sides like Anakin/ You will sell everything, including the mannequin/They got a new bitch, now you're Jennifer Aniston."” – Rolling Stone

“Musically Late Registration is almost just like his debut, but Kanye brought in film composer Jon Brion (who had never worked with hip-hop before) to mix up the writing process. The cinematic vibe to the album gives it a much more cohesive feel, something that The College Dropout desperately needed. Everything here has layers of grandiose strings and horns that make the finished piece a lot more grand and important than it really is. It really injects much needed life into some of these tracks. Imagine the song Crack Music without the “la la la's” and the vicious horns to back up Kanye's aggressive and militant approach to emphasize the political lyrics he spits. Kanye is still very arrogant as most successful rappers are, but he has always had that self-conscious personality that makes him truly unique. But the real highlight of the album is how well Kanye has moved on from the sentimentality and soul of The College Dropout to the much darker material found here.” – Sputnik Music

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