"I miss the sweet Kanye, chop up the beats Kanye" - Kanye
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Now a titanic figure in American music, Kanye West first made inroads into the music industry as a producer for Roc-a-Fella records. His talents on the MPC were so immense that he only got his record deal as a rapper so that they label could have access to his production.
Click through the gallery to revisit Kanye West's best productions from 2001-2005, the first stage of his career in which he worked with Jay Z, Ludacris, Talib Kweli, Alicia Keys, The Game, and many others.
This list, whittled down from 25+ to 10, excludes songs from College Dropout and Late Registration.
Jay Z - "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" (2001)
Jay Z's The Blueprint came out on September 11, 2001 and still managed to sell half a million copies in its first week. Lead single "Izzo" came out three weeks before the album (almost exactly 15 years ago) and, with the help of a sample of Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," evoked pure summer euphoria, peace and love, the waterpark and the barbecue. Those were simpler times.
Jay Z - "Heart of the City" (2001)
"Heart of the City" is more upbeat than the song it samples, Bobby Bland's 1974 "Ain't No Love In the Heart of the City." Whereas Bland mourns a lost love -- "The nights are cold, there's a blanket of gloom / Another teardrop falls in my lonely room" -- Kanye's flip inspired Hov to pursue a more braggadocious route. "You niggas all fed up ‘cause I got a little cheddar?"
Scarface - "Guess Who's Back" feat. Jay Z & Beanie Sigel (2002)
FUN FACT -- Kanye co-opted the drums from Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" on both "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Guess Who's Back." (And also Jay Z's 2000 "This Can't Be Life" feat. Scarface & Beanie Sigel.) Let that be a listen to all you up-and-coming producers: go home and chop up the "Xxplosive" drums. Do it today.
Talib Kweli - "Get By" (2003)
On "Get By," Kanye samples multiple sections of Nina Simone's 1965 "Sinnerman" -- the agonized vocal runs, the hand clap backbone, the piano -- like a butcher who utilizes every inch of the pig. Rap game Quinto Quarto.
Ludacris - "Stand Up" (2003)
Luda's 2003 album Chicken-n-Beer has aged like a fine wine (though not as fine as Word of Mouf). "Stand Up" went #1, thanks in large part to Kanye's ability to tailor his soul-based production to Ludacris' outsize personality and witty, depraved one-liners.
Jay Z - "Lucifer" (2003)
The video embedded below is a must-watch, as it shows that Kanye not only cooked up the "Lucifer" beat but showed Jay how he should flow over the beat and came up with the "I'm from the murder capital where we murder for capital" line.
Shoutout to "Encore" and "Takeover," two Hov X Kanye songs we opted to cut from this list for the sake of diversity. Otherwise the list would be half Hov X Kanye.
Alicia Keys - "You Don't Know My Name" (2003)
The best song on Keys' sophomore album The Diary of Alicia Keys, "You Don't Know My Name" demonstrates that soul samples aren't just for rapping. They're also for singing.
Twista - "Overnight Celebrity" (2004)
Kanye made "Overnight Celebrity" at the peak of his bongo 'n' Miri Ben-Ari period. Violin swipes punctuate come-hither piano as Twista attempts to seduce the Amber Roses and Blac Chynas of the future.
Common - "Go" (2005)
Few rappers have better taste in producers than Common, whose music from 2000 to 2005 was almost entirely produced by J Dilla, Questlove, James Poyser, and Kanye West. Special shoutout to "Testify" and the Be intro.
The Game - "Dreams" (2005)
"Dreams" marks the collision of two of the most monumental egos in hip hop history on one amazing track. As Game notes, both he and Kanye survived near-fatal accidents that would become essential parts of their respective mythos.
