Statik Selektah "Yeezy Duz It: The Sole of Kanye West"

To celebrate the launch of the Yeezy 450 'Utility Black,' Atmos USA enlisted the talented DJ/producer Statik Selektah for this special hour-long mixtape titled, Yeezy Duz It: The Sole of Kanye West. Statik does it proper mixing some classics together with rare versions and unreleased joints! In his own words, "The genius of Ye will be put on full display here and it's an honor, being a fan since the beginning to working with him in Hawaii on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. There will be special moments on this tape. It also brings me back to my mixtape roots when I would do similar style mixes for Nas, John Legend, Akon and many more." An excellent job by Statitk Selektah and the artwork is dope, too. Dig into Yeezy Duz It: The Sole of Kanye West below, and keep in mind, I have NO clue what the Yeezy 450 'Utility Black' are, but definitely cop those if that's your thing?

Pusha T "It's Almost Dry" (Album Stream)

Pusha T's highly anticipated fourth studio album, It's Almost Dry, is another jewel in the long and storied career of the Virginia rapper. It features production split between Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. Pusha has been well-pronounced in his position to not stray from the formula that has garnered him so much success and so many loyal fans over the years, returning with another dose of flourishments and the finest in coke rap and street cinema. It shouldn't surprise fans to see a feature from Jay-Z and his brother Malice, as well as Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert and more. I'm definitely a fan of Push, I think he has a style and brand awareness that is rivaled by very few. Daytona was a phenomenal release, and this is a terrific follow-up with outstanding production that stretches him creatively even when the content doesn't change too much. Dig into Push's It's Almost Dry below...

Kanye West "The College Dropout" (Feb. 10, 2004)

Producer Kanye West's highlight reels were stacking up exponentially when his solo debut for Roc-a-Fella was released, after numerous delays and a handful of suspense-building underground mixes. The week The College Dropout came out, three singles featuring his handiwork were in the Top 20, including his own "Through the Wire." A daring way to introduce himself to the masses as an MC, the enterprising West recorded the song during his recovery from a car wreck that nearly took his life -- while his jaw was wired shut. Heartbreaking and hysterical ("There's been an accident like Geico/They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael"), and wrapped around the helium chirp of the pitched-up chorus from Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," the song and accompanying video couldn't have forged his dual status as underdog and champion any better. All of this momentum keeps rolling through The College Dropout, an album that's nearly as phenomenal as the boastful West has led everyone to believe. From a production standpoint, nothing here tops recent conquests like Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name" or Talib Kweli's "Get By," but he's consistently potent and tempers his familiar characteristics -- high-pitched soul samples, gospel elements -- by tweaking them and not using them as a crutch. Even though those with their ears to the street knew West could excel as an MC, he has used this album as an opportunity to prove his less-known skills to a wider audience. One of the most poignant moments is on "All Falls Down," where the self-effacing West examines self-consciousness in the context of his community: "Rollies and Pashas done drive me crazy/I can't even pronounce nothing, yo pass the Versacey/Then I spent 400 bucks on this just to be like 'N*gga you ain't up on this'." If the notion that the album runs much deeper than the singles isn't enough, there's something of a surprising bonus: rather puzzlingly, a slightly adjusted mix of "Slow Jamz" -- a side-splitting ode to legends of baby-making soul that originally appeared on Twista's Kamikaze, just before that MC received his own Roc-a-Fella chain -- also appears. Prior to this album, we were more than aware that West's stature as a producer was undeniable; now we know that he's also a remarkably versatile lyricist and a valuable MC. - AllMusic.

I'm not the biggest Kanye FAN, but he sure did have some classics!

Kanye West "The College Dropout" (February 10, 2004)

If you need to love yourself before you can inspire others to love themselves, then producer-turned-rapper Kanye West really was 2004's musical savior. His debut album boasts more well-intentioned ego and ambition than Southern Baptists got offering plates. While saving hip-hop has always been an odd preoccupation--from what, exactly? capitalism?--this bling-swinging son of a college professor and Black Panther (and grandson of civil rights marchers) claims to do that and more on The College Dropout. As bumptious beats push up on tenderly melodic samples, West eagerly sells the sort of message--oriented raps that often get tagged as "conscious" (or "self-conscious," as he puts it), preaching fidgety sermons that address life's soulless grind with soulful sass. He is witty (sending up fitness freaks), provocative (getting little kids to sing the chorus, "Drug dealing just to get by / Stack your money til it gets sky-high"), and intensely devoted (the volatile revival march "Jesus Walks"). Never posing as a ghetto sufferhead or G-rated fresh prince, he speaks a universal gospel. So if you're lost and about to put your hopes and dreams on layaway at Wal-Mart, cue up The College Dropout. Kanye's got a plan for you. - Spin. Revisit this LP below...

Photographs by Danny Clinch + Spin review: January, 2005...

A-Trak "Kanye's Soul Mix Show" (Mixtape, 2006)

Released in 2006, A-Trak states that “This was a mixtape Kanye’s team had me do for some Japanese label.” He describes the mixtape as “a collection of songs sampled, flipped my way, of course.” Before A-Track's status as an award winning DJ and successful executive, he was Kanye West's tour DJ. In a 2015 interview with Pitchfork, the Canadian native elaborates on how he gained the trust of Mr. West and became one of his most trusted ears for music and fashion. A-Trak has credits on a few of Kanye's biggest hits, like “Gold Digger”, “Stronger”, and “Robocop”. Narrated by Kanye himself, this mix is stacked Ye-produced classics from the early 2000s. The Fools Gold's founder flexes his scratching abilities over soulful samples from Nina Simone, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and a few others. From “Heart in the City” to “Through the Wire,” take a stroll down memory lane where you'll hear the original cuts from your favorite tracks. This soul mix is a must-listen for any lover of Kanye, samples, or good vibes only. Wish Kanye West a Happy Born Day, and listen below!

Jaguar Skills "College Donuts" (Mini-Mix)

Jaguar Skills brings us this short tribute mix to Kanye West and J Dilla entitled College Donuts. The 12-minute mix features Kanye West's vocals over various Dilla instrumentals and other beats from the late great, James Yancey. If you've been around the music scene, the name Jaguar Skills should already be familiar to you, but with countless mixes and genre-bending influences, he's definitely a DJ I respect and check for, so dig into another of his creative mixes and enjoy the sounds below...

Nas "NASIR" (Album Stream)

Nasir is the twelfth studio album by Nas, released through Mass Appeal Records and Def Jam Recordings. It succeeds Nas' album Life Is Good, released six years prior in 2012. The album features an appearance from executive producer Kanye West, as well as Puff Daddy, 070 Shake, Tony Williams, and The-Dream. When it was announced that Nas would be releasing an album entirely produced by Kanye West, I said I wasn't sure if I was going to listen to it, because Kanye West is a musical genius who trades in f#ckery and I'm not here for it. I skipped the livestream of the premiere in the Queensbridge Projects & kept my head down when people discussed the album, but ultimately I clicked play. It was better than I thought, but not better than it should have been. The vocals from Nas didn't sit in a familiar pocket, which makes me wonder if it was remixed, phoned in or they just didn't sit in on the sessions together. It's been a mixed response, some people do love it, so I'm reserving the right to revisit it, but I suspect this will come and go, with Nas announcing new material shortly. Unrelated, I wanna send a congrats out to Nas for all his recent success with upstarts and investments ... the culture doesn't report enough on that, but keep shining brother.

Pusha T "Daytona" (Album Stream)

Daytona is the third (solo) studio album from Pusha T of the Clipse. While it is comprised of only seven songs - which I'd consider an EP - it's alleged that the album was over a year in the making. Initially, the album was going to be produced by noteworthy beatmakers and producers, but - at Kanye West's request - it was scrapped, and Kanye came aboard to produce the entire project. In light of the ongoing feud with Drake, which was (re)fueled by the last track on Daytona, "Infared," I suspect there will be a lot more eyes on this project, and luckily for Pusha T, he delivered an excellent album. Having watched from afar as Drake battled with Meek Mill and Joe Budden, I'd say Pusha T has his hands full ... however, Pusha T is the superior lyricist and I'd argue Drake has far more to lose and isn't prepared to get down in the dirt, which is a competitive advantage for Push. I don't know if Drake can use his celebrity if Pusha T hits hard enough. Regardless, it'll be entertaining to see how this plays out, and even if my taste in music doesn't lead me to the radio or the mainstream, a good rap beef is critical for hip-hop and I'll gladly watch them slug it out on wax. Hopefully they give me more to talk about. That said, don't let the beef distract you from what he's put together here; it's light on tracks but not on everything else you'd expect from Pusha! Dig in...

Kanye West Beat Tape (September, 1997)

"I miss the old Kanye, straight from the ‘Go Kanye… Well, some of his diehard fans got their wish today (May 23rd), as an enterprising type has liberated what appears to be one of Kanye West‘s very first beat tapes. Dated 1997, they sound exactly as one would expect beats in 1997 to sound: slightly jiggy and piano-heavy like the production of Puff Daddy’s The Hitmen team. Some of the beats were actually used too, for artists such as the Infamous Syndicate and Grav." - via 2DBZ.

!llmind "Beats For Kanye West" (Beat Tape)

This is a beat tape from last year (maybe later) that I decided to dust off today and share with whomever reads this blog. !llmind had this to say about the tape when it was first released in the summer of 2003: “Kanye West is undoubtedly one of the most exciting producer/artists to emerge in the last decade. His music is one of the few I can safely say I whole-heartedly admire (next to the late great J. Dilla). I had the pleasure of producing “The Morning” off of 2012’s highly anticipated “Kanye West Presents: G.O.O.D. Music Cruel Summer” LP. During the creation of that song, and between the months of July 2012 – March 2013, I created a handful of tracks with Kanye West in mind. This is a collection of some of that music. It features collaborations and co-production from my long time friend Symbolyc One (Produced Kanye West’s “Power”, “Murder 2 Excellence” on Watch The Throne and part of Kanye’s “Very G.O.O.D. Beats” entity), Dr. Know Jr, M31RK, Hippie Sabotage, Kailiin Yong and The Frontrunnerz. I had so much fun creating this stuff, and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do.” Click play below and you can D/L it for free HERE.

Kanye West At Fat Beats, August 1996 (Video)

"The original location of Fat Beats launched on July 14, 1994 which means FB just turned 20 years old! Business was doing so well 2 years in that Joseph Abajian decided to move the store from it's small 9th St. basement space into a 2nd floor location on 6th Avenue. August 1996 (day?) was the grand opening of the 406 6th Avenue location. It was also the beginnings of our independent movement which had recently started bubbling about a year before. Yesterday I started converting old Hi8 video tapes to DVD and came across some interesting footage from that day. Now we had a lot of the usual suspects in the place that day such as ILL BILL, Arsonists, Lord Finesse, Adagio, Breeze Brewin, A.L. Skills, Percee P, J-Live, Mr. Live, Chino XL, Al Tariq, Black Attack, Xzibit, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Rawcotiks, Ak Skills, Rob Swift, Roc Raida, DJ Spinna and many, many more. But what took me by surprise was the appearance of this 19 year old kid who at that time nobody knew. Now I've had this person as a guest on my radio show years later, but it's pretty crazy to see this footage in '96 and think "damn, this dude was in my house then?" and not even know. More to come...." - DJ Eclipse // You don't see much Kanye on this site, but watch him flip it back in '96.

Q-Tip "The Needle Drop" (Video, 2009)

This video of Q-Tip, Kanye West and Consequence surfaced back in 2009... aptly titled, "The Needle Drop," because it shows Q-Tip manually dropping the needle on Bobby Rush's "Chicken Heads" record and making a loop without the use of a sampler or other tools. This is some on-the-spot, takin' it back to the essence type shit that Q-Tip displayed. The analog days are not lost and the creatives of this industry - Q-Tip is definitely one of them - continue show how you can create, and share a vision, with next to nothing. If you aren't inspired by this, then check your pulse. From mixing two records to create the loop, to pause tapes, to bangin' on the lunch room table... and all the tricks in between... hip-hop has shown its ingenuity time and time again. One day we'll hear a record from this, I'm sure of it. Pardon the video quality, it is what it is! Much respect to Q-Tip. Watch it below!