The College Dropout Songwriting Credits by Kanye West

The College Dropout is the debut studio album by Kanye West, released in February 2004 on Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Records, produced almost entirely by West himself and the record that established him as the most commercially and critically significant new voice in hip-hop of the decade, introducing a style of soul-sample-based production and autobiographical lyricism that defined mainstream rap's aesthetic direction for the next several years. West wrote all his own lyrics; the production across the album is built primarily on sped-up soul samples, a technique West had developed as a producer for Jay-Z and others before applying it to his own vocal work, with 'Through the Wire' recorded while West's jaw was wired shut following a 2002 car accident, making it one of the more physically improbable rap recordings in history. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, sold 441,000 copies in its first week, and was nominated for ten Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, winning Best Rap Album. 'Jesus Walks,' which addressed Christian faith in terms that were considered commercially risky for mainstream rap, reached the top thirty on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy for Best Rap Song. The College Dropout is widely regarded as one of the most consequential debut albums in hip-hop history and established the template, confessional, sample-driven, emotionally exposed, that West would refine and then dismantle over the following two decades.