The College Dropout is released

Why it matters

The College Dropout came out February 10, 2004, on Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam. It is Kanye West's debut solo album. Kanye at this point had been Roc-A-Fella's in-house producer for four years, having built the bulk of The Blueprint, Cam'ron's Come Home with Me, and Beanie Sigel's records. He had been begging Jay-Z and Damon Dash to let him make his own album as an MC. They had been hesitant. He had eventually paid for studio sessions out of his own production fees and forced the issue. The album sold 441,000 copies in its first week. It is the album that introduced the sped-up-soul-sample, chipmunk-vocal aesthetic that would dominate the East Coast for the next four years. "Through the Wire," recorded with Kanye's jaw wired shut after a 2002 car accident. "Jesus Walks." "Slow Jamz" with Twista. "All Falls Down." "Spaceship." The album won the Best Rap Album Grammy in 2005. By the end of 2004, Kanye West the producer was secondary to Kanye West the album-making solo artist. He has been mainly the latter ever since. You should hear the album fresh, as if you do not know what came after. It still works.