Recently, in September, was the 10-year anniversary of arguably one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, Graduation. When this record came out, Kanye West officially took hold of the rap game and did it with style. Kanye, with his confident flow, created an overall triumphant atmosphere on this album.

With this album West reflects on his journey to success and the extreme joy that comes from making it to the top. Although Kanye was bigger than ever, he still acknowledges where it all started, in his home city of Chicago. Specifically on the song Homecoming Kanye speaks on the difficulties  he is faced with resulting from his decision to leave Chicago and pursue his rap career. West is proud of his craft and never forgets the city that made him.

Kanye West made a change in the way he made music on this album. His first two albums were filled with old school soul, but on this album Kanye pushed the boundary and looked to synthesizers to complete this album.  Kanye used the new direction of his music to create fan favorite anthems that could drown out stadiums.

Kanye is known for being  innovative, and this album is really the start of this. Kanye looked to other genres of music to draw inspiration from, including classic rock and dance. Kanye used his creative genius to put something out there that was different but also so familiar. With his unique sampling West created a album that pushed the hip hop genre forward. Kayne proved  with this album that he was here to stay and here to inspire a whole new generation of Hip- Hop artists.