15 years ago Kanye West released Graduation, the final piece of the education-themed trilogy that established Kanye as an icon in music. The album outsold 50 Cent’s ‘Curtis’ in its first week by nearly 300,000 units after a publicized sales race between them, moving Kanye to a new level both musically and culturally.
The album includes hits like ”Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Stronger”, the latter of which still stands as the biggest hit of his career. Graduation also features the song “Big Brother”, which was dedicated to Kanye’s mentors JAY-Z and I.D. The song served as a sign of the growing bond between Ye and Jay; four years later, they would release “Watch the Throne” together.
Graduation was also pivotal for Kanye because events afterwards would change him and his music forever. On November 10. 2007 (two months after the album was released) his mother Donda West passed away due to complications from a plastic surgery procedure. The rapper’s next album, 2008’s 808’s and heartbreak turned out to be a radical stylistic departure from his previous work inspired by depression.
A striking anime image by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami featuring a Kanye West-like bear being propelled skywards, serves as an apt analogy for the stratospheric creative ambitions of Graduation.
