To say that Kanye West has had an impact on hip hop and music in general would be an understatement. With the release of his second solo album, Late Registration (2005), Kanye has once again reassured us that the genre isn't completely repeatative and predictable. Determined to avoid the typical over-sexed, bling wearing, thugged-out rapper stereotype, Kanye relies on his original, incomparable creations to appeal to the masses. This incredible piece of work justifies his intense persona as an egotistical, arrogant genius. Many criticize Kanye for his boastful, conceited behavior, but as the saying goes, "It aint bragging if you can do it."

With the help from co-producer, Jon Brion, the track's beats are just as compelling and provocative as the lyrics. The horns, the bass, the samples of music ( Ray Charles' "Gold Digger", Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever" and Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up") are much more tighter and much more pleasing to the ear than those of the album's predecessor, College Dropout. Kanye has also undergone some obvious improvements in this album in regards to his vocals and lyrics. In Late Registration, Kanye's presentation is seemingly sharper and more battle-tested.

Although the songs' meanings and messages vary and stand-out from one another, the album as a whole flows noticably well. Naturally, Kanye's choices for song topics are wonderfully diverse and thought provoking. Whether he choses to address life battles ("Addiction"), American health care ("Roses"), blood diamonds ("Diamonds from Seirra Leone") or the nation's drug problem ("Crack Music"), Kanye is still able to pull off politcal commentary as well as mainstream approval.

Making room for collaborations with other acclaimed artists such as, Nas, Jay-Z, Jamie Foxx, Brandy, The Game and Maroon 5, Kanye has turned his work into a form of resume padding for other musicians. Though almost every song includes another artist, he still remains the star in each track, something that several recent albums- The Game's "The Documentary"- have failed to do. It's quite difficult to achieve what Kanye has. To have catchy beats as well as deep lyrics is unheard of nowadays, but Kanye's charasmatic voice and controversy opinions break that standard notion.

This album is enough to categorize Kanye as an elite urban artist, along with Common, John Legend, The Neptunes and The Roots. Some say that his work has done nothing but make hip hop look bad, because of the fact that others have yet to do what he has done. Other than a couple pointless skits in between tracks, the album is nothing less than aces. The genre was in desperate need for something like this; something that broke the barriers and created an entirely different style of hip hop. A meaningful, influential hip hop album was way over due. As for Late Registration, it may be late, but we'll get over it.