Finally! After months of waiting Kanye’s sophomore album has arrived. Leaked onto the internet just 24 hours ago, the album has already been downloaded an estimated 100,000 times, showing Kanye’s undying popularity in a new breathtaking way. Last years commercial hit ‘The College Dropout’ was anchored by the amazing soulful singles ‘Through The Wire’, ‘All Falls Down’ and ‘Jesus Walks’ but perhaps the most important factor was that although the album was based around a pop sound, it received critical acclaim from just about everyone except the music snobs. With ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone’ it seems Kanye is going for the same formula again.

‘Touch The Sky’ is held down by a jazzy saxophone loop and obnoxious one liners from Kanye like ‘I felt like Bad Boy’s street team, I couldn’t work the Lox’ ,witty flips such as ‘I’m tryin ta right my wrongs, but it’s funny those same wrongs helped me write this song’ and a verse from Lupe Fiasco who holds his own on this jumpy summertime anthem. ‘Gold Digger’ is a reintroduction to the collaboration with R & B crooner Jamie Foxx who along with rapid-fire chi-town spitter Twista produced last years smash hit ‘Slow Jamz’. The track, once again is based around Kanye’s soul sampling style which fans have come to expect from Chicago’s top producer. ‘Drive Slow’ borrows a very similar jazz loop and Kanye takes on the position of story teller and helped through the four and a half minutes by Paul Wall and GLC and the People’s Champ doesn’t disappoint. ‘My Way Home’ is a home town collaboration with Common and Kanye doesn’t even spit a verse while Common drops knowledge like ‘They say home is where the hate is, my dome is where fate is, I stroll where souls get lost like Vegas’. ‘Crack Music’ has the inevitable collaboration with this year’s hottest The Game with Kanye and his Compton counterpart swapping verses over another excellently soulful soundscape courtesy of Mr. West. ‘Roses’ (the 9^th track) is the first on the album which Kanye goes alone dropping heartfelt lines like ‘If Magic Johnson got a cure for AIDS, and all the broke muthafuckas passed away, wait, you telling me if my grandma was in the NBA, right now she’d be OK’ over a minimal jazz loop. Everyone should of heard the ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone’ remix with Jay-Z by now on which Jigga rhymes ‘How could you falter? When you’re the rock of Gibralter, I had to get off the boat so I could walk on water’ addressing his dramatic split from business partner Dame Dash earlier this year. ‘We Major’ comes next and is one of the most unexpected moments on the album with a verse from Nas, Jay-Z’s foe of 8 years. But the 7 minute epic sounds just as in place on the album as any other track with Nas laying down lines like ‘And it hurts to see these companies be stealing the life, and I love to give my blood, sweat and tears to the mic’. ‘Celebration’ features slightly over the top soul production with the gospel singing and string symphonies becoming overbearing. ‘Gone’ features Consequence and out of favour label mate Cam’Ron. After the #1 single ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone’ the album finishes on hidden track ‘Late’ which features a helium voiced soul sample and some chords from violinist Miri Ben-Ari.

The album was as expected but was also a surprise at the same time. I expected to hear the sound I heard with Kanye obviously sticking to the same formula as his debut but I was surprised at how fresh the music sounds and that Kanye hasn’t fallen into the sophomore slump. All in all, this is probably one of the two best albums this year with the other coming from fellow Chi-towner Common. This album is a must buy come August 30^th.

Overall : 5.5 Out of 6 Shots