G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer compilation album, aka the first dud of Kanye West's career.
Yeah, the guy's an insufferable egoist, but musically speaking, his entire discography has been near-perfect (yes, even 808s). Top-notch sales (beating 50!), Grammy Awards (beating Em!), and critical acclaim. He pushed the limits to what was considered rap music; popularizing the soul sound, doing orchestral chamber pop with Jon Brion, collaborating with all genres, paving the way for both emotional and nerd non-conventional gangsta rappers. Save for Rihanna, he's Jay-Z's only protege to ever hit the heights of his mentor. He is arguably the most influential rap artist that came out in the 21st century - for now.
Then his glorified a*s had to go drop Cruel Summer. Everything about this album was just bad. First off was Kanye's new rapping style. No longer was he the comedic underdog of College Dropout, the heartbroken son of 808s or even the decadent king of MBDTF. Instead we get a typical braggadocio gangster, spitting aggressive rhymes that no one can take seriously. Then there was the horribly uneven production. And a lack of showcases from some of the label's better talents (Mos Def, Common), and instead we get stuck with mediocre rappers like Big Sean and CyHi. There was a lack of a collective vision, and the album is just all over the place, jumping from R&B love songs to A F*CK NI**A, THAT'S THAT SH*T I DON'T LIKE in a second. It was essentially a label sampler, not a real album. Now there were some great bangers in it (New God Flow, Mercy), but the overall project was just crushingly disappointing - especially after the recent successes of Watch the Throne and MBDTF.
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