#WHATEVERS. drops women on your dash like i used to and skitters away

[lvndri]

girls are real. and they date eachother

[hellsangelsheavensrejects]

Present Day: Recompense Come

Wynonna

Someone in the universe had a mighty big sense of humor with a little hardon of cruelty dashed in. At least that's what it felt like when Wynonna saw him, John Constantine, coming towards the part of the bar she'd parked herself at. He hadn't seen her yet. If she worked it just right she could get away with him none the wiser.

John

Somewhere between leaving the US and the moment he's made his way towards that bar, John Constantine had broken a curse and reacquired the demonic taint he'd deliberately locked away years prior. By sleeping with his friendly neighbourhood succubus Ellie, to regain enough power to ... well, to make sure he'd be strong enough to deal with Mormo the next time she came around.

He'd also gotten in the way when Father Gregor had tried to throw Holy Water (the real deal, it turned out) at the demon they had spent their afternoon fighting and hit John across the arm and jaw, searing his skin.

John would later think that he should be forgiven for not recognizing the familiar curves, the leather jacket, the razor sharp jaw ... the curls that were now just a little longer, when he slid into a chair and gestured for a drink. You know. Given the fact that not two hours earlier, his skin had nearly boiled off.

Wynonna

Her eyes stayed on him as he made his way to a chair. The whole of him looked rough. And not in the usual way that made her want to take his tie and-- Nope. Not going there. But he does look hurt. What happened? The question bounced around in her mind as gave Peacemaker a pat.

She would have made it. If she hadn't zigged when one of the women carrying drinks to tables hadn't zagged and gotten so off balance that she fell backwards. Right towards him. Like she'd thought: Someone had a sense of humour. It just wasn't her.

John

A crash and a clatter drew his attention and his new, quicker reflexes had him reaching out both for whatever large thing he could see falling towards him from the corner of his eyes and magic.

His hand clamped on an arm dressed in soft, wellworn leather and when John pulled up the young woman he had just rescued from a nasty fall with a smirk and a "Careful, luv.", it took him a moment to recognize the eyes staring up him.

Blazing angrily.

When he did recognize them, the narrow, angular face, the defined lips ... his heart tumbled out of his chest, crashed into his stomach and made him feel sick.

"Wynonna...", he muttered and let go of her as if burned. As if touching her caused him pain.

Wynonna

"Oh you remember me?" The remark left her before she could truly think about it. When it caught up with her, she cursed under her breath and looked down for a moment. While it had come out like a dig, she hadn't meant it as such.

Some of her softness left, edged out by quickly returning anger when he released her with the swiftness of someone who had just grabbed something that was white hot. It stung at her, digging deeper into that already there hurt.

(Really she wouldn't be surprised if her heart looked like swiss cheese by now.)

Wy rolled her shoulders back and stood tall, gaze daring him to say something. Anything.

John

John huffed, face twisting into a painful smile. "Clever.", he replied. "Yeah, real clever ...", he swallowed the endearment that wanted to jump from his tongue.

His eyes skittered away from her out of their own volition, scanning the room with a painful sinking feeling.

"He here, too?"

Wynonna

"Didn't mean it like that but if the trench coat fits..." She watched John look for Harry, even then. Wynonna scoffed softly and shook her head. "No. He's not here. I don't know where he is, actually. But my guess is that he wouldn't want to see you even if he was. You have to know that."

John

"Yeah ...", John agreed, voice quiet and toneless as he looked away from her, finding the drink the bartender set in front of him somewhere in the few seconds he'd been dreading (hoping, don't fucking kid yourself, Con Job) to see Harry. "I know tha'.", his lip curled into a sneer. Disgusted with himself. "Don' worry, he won' have t' see me ever again."

Wynonna

Her eyes lingered on him and it took more effort than she'd ever admit to keep from reaching for him. When everything with the three of them had imploded no one had escaped the shrapnel from it. The fallout was still raining down and everything. Still. Hurt. One shoulder rose up in a quick shrug.

"Even if he does you could always just mojo it away no problem." Wynonna pursed her lips before reaching past him and taking his drink for herself. Because why not? Alcohol certainly won't make the pain worse.  "Did you love him?" She asked after drinking down about half the glass.

John

A part of him wished he had the energy left to get angry at her for the accusation. The selfish, self preserving part of him. The rest, however? All the parts that were tender and raw still, they nodded.

"Yeah.", he agreed, loathing and sarcasm dripping of the word and twisting his face into a grimace.

And then, suddenly, she was in his space and the warm scent of coconut wrapped around him, made his fingers twitch with how much he wanted to reach out. Pull her close and into all the cracks of him that losing her along with Harry had left.

Something stopped him. A burn just under his skin, starting where her hip nearly touched his and he looked down. Right there, in its holster, sat Peacemaker. Sigils flaring to life along its barrel. She hadn't seemed to have noticed it. Not yet. Too preoccupied with her anger, maybe.

But he had no time to contemplate that. Not when Wynonna asked that simple little question that hit him in the chest like a bullet from her gun.

It drove hot tears to his eyes and wrenched a painful sob from him. Again, he looked away from her, tried to ignore the nausea that was building slowly. "Wha'ssit ma'er now?", he asked around his tight throat. "I cocked i' up, nothin' to say to make da' right. No' when I knew wha' Justin did to him an' did i' anyway, cause I couldn' ge' over me bloody ego.", now he'd started, the words didn't want to stop. "I thought I was so fuckin' smart. So much fuckin' stronger than 'im. I could take it, I thought. 'e can't. No' when 'e might want fuckin' kids one day. Can' ge' your nice li'le white picket fence American dream with the knowledge a demon will come for your kids, Eh?"

Wynonna

The drink in her hand--what was left of it, anyway--was cold and comforting. It gave her something to hold on to so that she wouldn't lean into Constantine like she wanted to. She nodded along with him. "Could even mojo me too." As if that had just occurred to her...Which it had. "If you haven't already, right?"

Wynonna's gaze dipped down when she realized that the low hum she was hearing wasn't bar related. No, that deep, formerly comforting sound of Peacemaker flaring to life so it could do what it needed to do was real. Was now. Because it was resting against his skin.

Her mind flashed back to that long ago night at the hotel with Harry. When Peacemaker had woken her from heavy sleep because Lash was in his head. To the way the gun would flare to life in reaction to the Mantle. "John what did you--"

Then she fell silent, dread making her heart drop into her stomach when his words caught up to her. Wynonna didn't reach for Peacemaker but she did grab his jacket, yanking him closer. He didn't know. Harry hadn't told him and neither had she. God they were all so fucking stupid. "What the hell do you mean that a demon will come for his kids?"

John

Another snort of pained laughter. "Yeah, if I haven' yet.", he echoed and then, because he was watching her from the corner of his eyes, he saw her face change. He saw the penny hit the ground for the first time and bounce back up in the air.

He expected her question and still, he heard Harry's accusation there, twisting his heart further like barbed wire wrapping tightly around it.

There wasn't really an explanation for what he'd done. Not one he could just lay out there for her in that moment.

And then the penny dropped again.

Ting

And the universe flicked another one in the air.

The world tilted off kilter.

Not because Wynonna nearly dragged him out of his chair, but because he could see the fear in her eyes. Because her question wasn't phrased to relate to a mere possibility. Will. Not would.

John's own penny dropped like a hollow point bullet to his gut.

"He's go' kids…", John whispered tonelessly, blue eyes wide. "You've go' kids. You two … got kids."

Wynonna

Her own curiosity about how far his memory rewrites was completely and utterly forgotten. At that moment she didn't give a damn about herself or what he may or may not have done to her. Her mind had been screwed with before. It could wait.

The grip on his coat tightened as she basically dragged him out of the bar. A bouncer moved toward them, ostensibly to see if any sort of intervention was needed. Wynonna flashed her BBD badge and shook her head at him. "I've got this, thanks."

When they're outside she looks up at him, still not relinquishing her hold on his stupid trench coat. "Guess he never got around to telling you about them." Wy let sharp cruelty edge into her voice because if any kindness slipped in she would fucking break then and there. "He has two. A daughter with Susan. And with me. Two kids, John."

John

He followed along, numb and silent for once. Teeth clenched, breathing hard through his nose, throat working to keep down the threat of being sick. The alcohol he'd consumed even before coming to the bar trying to crawl out of his stomach in a hot wave.

Harry had children.

Harry remembered.

Mormo … was still out there.

"No…", his voice was still toneless. "No … he never told me...", neither had she. Fuck, they'd been together for seven months back then and she hadn't even told him the name of the man who's death had devastated her.

"Two children …", he echoed, staring at the spot below her collarbone. Where the neckline of her shirt revealed a glimpse of a familiar chain. Did that chain still hold the pendant he'd given her?

He sucked in a shuddering breath and looked up at her, a spot right under her left eye. "I go'a go. I go' favours to call in. 's abou' time I drew a final line with tha' bitch."

Wynonna

"Guess maybe he didn't trust you as much as you thought." Even as she spoke the words, she knew that wasn't it at all. Harry had trusted him. Implicitly. It was why everything had cut so deep for him.

Wynonna watched Constantine continue to work through everything, her own mind feeling full while her heart felt heavy. She nodded at the repetition. "Two little girls." She didn't say their names, knowing that was information that could be used against them as well.  His gaze strayed toward her chest and if they'd been in any kind of place for it, she would have called him out on it.

She shook her head. Within seconds Peacemaker was out of its holster and held up to John's forehead. The gun glowed in the dark of the night, humming lowly as she did. "No. You're not goin' anywhere. Not yet. You're going to tell me why my gun's so friendly with you now and explain why your Goddamn ego might get two kids dragged down like Astra."

The magic of the gun tingled against his skin, the demonic blood trying to escape the touch. A cruel smile twisted his mouth and he reached up to curl his hand around hers. Tightening her fingers around the gun and pressing his forehead against the muzzle.

"Don' poin' a gun a' somethin' you don' intend to shoot, luv.", he hissed. "Every moment we stand here, those two li'le girls are in danger. You really wanna play 20 Questions righ' now? Yeah. Then lemme give you a short rundown. And if you think tha's worth riskin your child's life over, you be'er be prepared to pull tha' trigger."

And right there, standing in the dark, his hand holding hers still, the gun to his forehead and searing his skin, he told her everything. Trying to save Astra's soul with their hair brained scheme, Mormo vowing to kill them for the spell they had concocted, going after Harry, nearly killing him, John wanting to save him, but not being strong enough to banish Mormo for good … and then making the hardest decision of his life.

Erasing himself from the memory of the man he loved.

He ended with: "And I fucked a demon. 'parrently tha' leaves a stain tha' your gun don't like."

Wynonna

Wynonna ignored the familiar zip of electricity that went through her when John wrapped his hand around hers and upped the ante by pressing the muzzle flush against his head. If things were different, she'd comment on how that ticked a few boxes for her.

"You think I won't?" Her voice was cold but there was the barest hint of wavering in the question. If she had to she would. But it would break her. She knew it.

But she fell silent, listening to John spin his yarn and explain what had happened. Wynonna pushed back the wave of emotions threatening to breach the calm, cold demeanor she was working to hold onto. Her gun was still pressed to Constantine's head. "Here's what's going to happen. You talk to whatever damned contacts you have. Call in your favors. Say whatever prayers or curses you have before you put up some sort of cloaking bullshit to hide them. If that doesn't work I'll send you to hell myself."

John

He was breathing heavily against the splitting pain radiating from where the gun touched him.

"I will.", he promised her then, jaw tight. "By the end of this, those kids are safe or I'm dead."

And when he found it in himself that he meant it, that he was fully prepared to die in the process of saving his former lovers' children or get on his knees in front of her so she could put a bullet through his head, his gaze moved up from where it had been fixed to her cheek and met her eyes for the first time.

Any resistance he might have put up against a Soulgaze before, he willed away. Laying his dirty, tainted, terrible soul out for her ...

Wynonna

Being drawn into a Soulgaze was something she'd only experienced once before. With Harry. It started out the same way, sensation wise. With Wynonna feeling like she was tumbling down a tunnel with no clear light at the end.

She saw small John Constantine being berated by his father. "Killer." Mucus Membrane. The Newcastle incident with Astra. Every trick and stunt he pulled and the loathing that often laid behind it. Nights with Harry and the love he felt for him. ...Love he felt for her too. Guilt. Fear. Anger. Hope. There was so much in there that it made her breath catch.

John

The world fell away as he let himself be drawn into her, racing through images and emotions.

The gun in his her small hand, the shot, his her father dead, running, running, running from a responsibility too heavy, from the hatred, from the name calling, the gun back in his her hand …

Harry.

Harry, Harry, Harry, the child.

Harry's death.

John.

Both of them.

And all of it, underneath the pain and the guilt … woven into it, drifting through it like the smoke of his cigarettes, love.

Love for her sister.

For her daughter.

For Harry.

…

…

…

For John.

He came out of the Soulgaze gasping for breath, wet asphalt under his knees and palms and tears finally, finally falling.

Wynonna

Overwhelmed didn't even begin to describe how Wynonna felt as the Soulgaze ended. Though it couldn't have been more than a few seconds, it had felt like so much longer. So much shit that Constantine had to wade through. But Goddamn it. Damn him. Damn Harry. Damn her. He was good intentioned.

Peacemaker's light winked out as her hand fell away from him, her other arm wrapping around her midsection as she attempted to catch her breath. Her own eyes blurry with tears. Try as she might, she couldn't hold them back either. "You asshole." She cried with frustration. "I wish I could hate you."

John

His laughter was breathless and bordering on hysterical, just for a moment. Then he looked up at her, brows drawn into a pained frown. "Yeah …", he muttered "Yeah, I wish you would."

The echo of her love for him was still rattling around his chest, the feeling of it making his skin feel raw, as if even his familiar, well worn clothing was chafing him.

"I really, really wish you would.", it would be so much easier to walk away after this. Once he had made it right, once he had made sure the children were safe …  when he would need to leave her.

His hands pressed hard against the pavement, he took a few steadying breaths, before he pushed himself back to his feet. "If you have a way of contactin'im, do so. Make sure the kids are alright. I uh … my promise still stands, bu' if you still don' believe me … if you think I'll bail … you have my name, from my own mouth. Do you still have the amulet?"

Wynonna

"If I could...I would. It would hurt less." Apparently it was far easier to be honest this soon after a Soulgaze, with her defenses down and broken. Her other hand rested on Peacemaker, this time for comfort rather than the need to try and intimidate John.

Wynonna looked back at Constantine. Without a word she unwound her arm from around her middle to bring her necklace out from under her shirt. It swung loose now, the amulet from John and a charm from Harry as telling about her feelings as the damn Soulgaze had been.

"Ma--" She'd almost said her name. "I know one is safe. Hidden away." Anyone would have to be absolutely reckless and stupid to try and breach the defenses that surrounded the Carpenter household.

John

Not only had she kept the amulet, it still hung exactly where Harry had put it after John had given it to Wynonna. Together with Harry's own charm …

It would be shocking if he hadn't seen exactly where her feelings for both of them still stood. A thought nagged at him.

'What does Harry think about that?'

He didn't ask the question, instead, he nodded and pushed a hand into his coat pocket to retrieve a pocket knife. He'd barely flicked it open with a blunt nail before he pressed the sharp tip to the palm of his hand.

"Gimme the amulet."

The fresh wound wasn't deep, but deep enough to weep a few drops of blood that he pressed to the metal, whispering a spell under his breath. He could feel the connection being made, like a silk ribbon being drawn through his veins from his heart to the wound and he wince before he pulled his hand away and pressed his palm to his mouth to watch the blood being sucked into the crevices of the pendant.

The sharp, acidic sting of his own tainted blood on his tongue made him wrinkle his nose before he continued to speak.

"A promise spell. You get one wish from me 'n I'm beholden to carry i' out or suffer consequences. Use it now to compel me to save your daughters or save it to summon me when you need me. Your choice. Either way, should be security tha' I'm no' bout to run."

Wynonna

She handed the necklace over without question, silently watching the process with appraising eyes. It was something she'd seen from him dozens of times. And, just like with Harry, it was always an interesting thing to watch. Let's not get sentimental, Earp. That'll do jack shit for you in the long run, remember?

Any other time she would have laughed at the way he'd used beholden or the notion of a promise spell. As it was she nodded and took back the necklace, resting her hand against it for a moment before slipping it under her shirt once more.

"I don't think I need to compel your already guilty conscience," Wynonna told him. "But it's nice knowing that you won't just..." She trailed off and shook her head. "Whatever." A long moment of silence passed. "You ever fuck with my head, Constantine?"

John

His fingers had started fumbling for his cigarettes in that quiet where both of them seemed to be looking for what to say, while being unwilling to just turn and leave. He'd just put the white stick between his lips when her question hit and he sent her a sad little smile.

"'xcept for tha' time we played strip poker 'n I made you believe I coul' outplay your three Queens?", he tried to joke, but the smile dropped immediately and he shook his head. "Never. No' even once."

Wynonna

Despite everything his not quite landing joke still managed to eek out a whisper of a smile from her, though it was as brief as his had been. "Thanks for that." Which might have been an odd thing to say to your ex...whatever the hell he'd been but when had she ever done things normally?

"Later on I'll have to...See if I can't summon the Winter Knight. Saying his boss' name three times brings her around so maybe it's the same for him." Though Wynonna wasn't in a rush to say his name. It hurt. Far too much.

John

"Mab ...", John muttered, teeth clenching tight enough so he could hear the crackle of it in his ears. The fairy bitch who had been trying to manipulate all three of them. Who had organised that little reunion of theirs and who had made sure that Harry had had a reason to seek John out again afterwards.

"If I never 'ave to 'ear 'er name again, i'll be too soon.", he grumbled and took a drag from his cigarette. Another moment of silence and then, for the second time since they had first met, he presented her with his business card.

John Constantine Warlock Phone 021....

Nothing more than that.

"In case you need to ge' hold of me the mundane way."

Wynonna

"Yeah, good luck with that. It's about as likely as never hearing--" Wynonna stopped short, realizing that the comment she was about to make would have been bordering on cruel.

No need for that, Wynonna. He knows how you feel now.

Instead she looked down at the card fingers tracing over the slightly raised lettering. One eyebrow rose up. "No more 'Master of the Dark Arts'?"

John

"Notice tha', huh?", he replied dully, not quite looking at her. Habit or lingering guilt, he wasn't going to question it. "Was a bit pretentious. Master. Wassnit?"

The hadn that mechanically put the cigarette to his mouth was shaking. The effects of the day, the exorcism, his injury and now ... this, settling into his muscles and making them weak. God he needed sleep.

"I know where to start, who to ask.", he said finally. "I'll find you when I'm done."

Cigarette between his lips he reached up to pull the collar of his coat higher, tighter against his injured neck, before stuffing both hands into his pockets and turning away from her without another word.

Wynonna

There was more she could have said. Wanted to. But her mind was already sliding back toward the drinks behind the bar and the lonely hotel bed she wanted to slip into. Wynonna watched him walk away and she felt her breathing catch.

All because of her stupid heart.

"Be careful, John Constantine. I don't want to kill you but I will for them."

~finis~

[campuslately]

Kanye West left college to pursue his passion in 1996. He attended American Academy of Art briefly and Chicago State University where he majored in English. His mother Donda West worked as a professor at the time. Can you imagine that conversation the nerve he had to work up to tell his mother he was dropping out of college? Many of us have contemplated the same thought, be it quitting college to follow your dreams or quitting your job to do it. That experience did its part in helping to define Kanye West and his music at that time. But what also shaped his early music was #Collegelife, #GreekLife, and #BlackCollegiateLife which in return helped to shape a generation and a culture. Kanye West first album “The College Dropout” was one of the first albums to talk about black collegiate life and greek life on a national level. Walk down memory lane with us as CampusLATELY names Kanye West “The Black Collegiate Wordsmith.”

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10 Reasons We Fell For Kanye West!

1.)He took the job he didn’t want to get closer to the job he did want. He saw producing for other artists merely as his entry point into the music business. Roc-A-Fella chief Damon Dash signed him in 2002 with the idea that he’d produce a compilation album for the label’s roster of talent, which at the time included acts like Cam’ron, Beanie Sigel and the Young Gunz, among others.

2.)Everyone who contributed to his first album was an underdog “at that time.” Kanye West pulled “his people” and a lot of his friends he grew up with in Chicago to help him create “The College Dropout” (GLC, Coodie, Chike, Really Doe, Olskool Ice-Gre, JB Marshall).

3.)He is a Poet!

Also Read: Campus Lately Poetry Jam

4.) Before there was Chance The Rapper incorporating church hymns in his music there was Kanye West with “I’ll Fly Away.”

5.)He worked at the Gap. Who didn’t get a job at the Gap during the Christmas holiday’s or a gap like spot, not making “s#&^” wishing for a spaceship.

6.)He said what we were all thinking during Hurricane Katrina “Bush doesn’t care about Black People” and have thought many times since about our justice system and new representation i.e number 45.

7.)He let my generation rock to “Jesus Walks” in the club. Maybe not breaking it down on the dance floor but definitely body rocking, rapping all the words and people screaming Jesus in the club. Thanks for that @Kanye!

8.)In 2004 he dropped Slow Jamz and it “set so many parties off right”!

9.)School spirit repping the Devine Nine and #greeklife is a one of a kind.

10.)He has an angel he literally got a second chance at life. When he released “Through The Wire” he told us his story of surviving a car crash after which he dropped his first single and blew up! The American Dream.

7 Of Our Favorite Black Collegiate Versus

1.)She was with me before the deal, she’d been tryna be mine She a Delta, so she’d been throwin’ that Dynasty sign

2.)Alpha, step, Omega, step Kappa, step, Sigma, step Gangstas walk, pimps gon’ talk Oh hecky naw that boy is raw AKA, step. Delta, step S G Rho, step, Zeta, step Gangstas walk, pimps gon’ talk Oh hecky naw that boy is raw – School Spirit

3.)Cause ain’t no to tuition for havin’ no ambition And ain’t no loans for sittin’ your ass at home We forced to sell crack rap and get a job You gotta do somethin’ man your ass is grown. – We Don’t Care

4.)Man, I promise, she’s so self-conscious She has no idea what she’s doing in college That major that she majored in don’t make no money But she won’t drop out, her parents will look at her funny.- Alls Falls Down

5.)Saying “We eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast!” Huh! Y’all eat pieces of shit? What’s the basis? We ain’t goin’ nowhere, but got suits and cases. – Jesus Walks

6.)My freshman year I was going through hella problems ‘Til I built up the nerve to drop my ass up outta college My teacher said I’m a loser, I told her why don’t you kill me I give a fuck if you fail me, I’m gonna follow my heart. – Get ‘Em High

7.)And you don’t want to stay there ’cause them your worst cousins Got roaches at their crib like them your first cousins Act like you ain’t took a bath with your cousins Fit three in the bed while six of y’all I’m talkin’ ’bout three by the head and three by the leg But you ain’t have to tell my girl I used to pee in the bed – Family Business

Kanye West’s ‘The College Dropout’ at 10: Classic Track-by-Track Review by Paul Cantor on Billboard.Com

Kanye West popped on the scene with full skits on his album and they were hilarious and relatable. You understood the message behind the joke or just loved the comedy.

“Intro”

DeRay Davis (impersonating Bernie Mac) opens things up and asks Kanye to do something for the kids, on their graduation day. It sets up the concept of the record, which is essentially Kanye speaking to the student body from the standpoint of a dropout who made good on his life without a college degree.

“We Don’t Care”

The celebratory track finds Kanye, like a valedictorian, stating his position to the graduating class — they shouldn’t care what anyone thinks of them. “We forced to sell crack, rap and get a job/ You gotta do something man your ass is grown,” he spits over a steady drum pattern and chopped sample. Elsewhere, children sing, “We wasn’t supposed to make it past twenty-five/ Jokes on you, we still alive.” It’s this idea that people are just trying to get by, and with the odds already stacked against them, they’d never planned to do much with their lives. Survival was their priority. Via Billboard.com

“Graduation Day”

DeRay (as Bernie Mac) returns, incredulous at the song Kanye has just delivered to the students. He calls him the n-word, and tells ‘Ye he’s not graduating, at which point the music takes a much darker tone — minor keystrokes and a sweeping string arrangement — setting up the rest of the LP.

“All Falls Down” feat. Syleena Johnson

Kanye at his confessional best, acknowledging that his addiction his not wealth; rather, it’s consumerism. Over muted guitar licks, he spits: “Then I spent four hundred bucks on this/just to be like ni–a you ain’t up on this!” The original mixtape version features samples of Lauryn Hill’s “Mystery of Iniquity,” from her “MTV Unplugged No. 2.0” album. Via Billboard.com

“I’ll Fly Away”

A short rendition of Albert E. Brumley’s classic gospel hymn, sung by a then-unknown John Legend. It’s more of a skit than a song, but again, sets up the next track, which deals with the themes of escapism. It’s in these early Kanye experiences where you can see his penchant for big conceptual ideas taking shape.

“Spaceship” feat. GLC and Consequence

A sample of Marvin Gaye’s “Distant Lover” provides the backdrop for Kanye and his comrades to detail needing day jobs to finance their rapping dreams: “I’ve been working this graveshift, and I made shit/ I wish I could, buy me a spaceship and fly, past the sky.” ‘Ye melodically croons, while rapping about the hypocrisy of being the only black employee at The Gap. Via Billboard.com

“Jesus Walks”

Over a skittering drumline, Yeezy goes in on organized religion, acknowledging that he needs Jesus, but questioning how helpful he’ll be. He speaks of the American Midwest — a region filled with its fair share of blight, back in 2004, the same as now — and says that it too, needs Jesus, but to what end? He hopes the song will help absolve him of his sins, but he’ll have to report back to us from pearly gates when he gets there.

“Never Let Me Down” feat. Jay-Z and J. Ivy

Perhaps looking to cash in on the slam poetry explosion of the time, J. Ivy — a Chicago native who’d appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam — finds himself sandwiched between Kanye and Jay-Z, kicking the rare poem on a rap album. The results are mixed, and mostly it’s because Jay-Z phones in a verse about making number one albums when the rest of the cut is about overcoming racism and undefeatable odds. Via Billboard.com

“Get ‘Em High” feat. Common and Talib Kweli

Fun fact: before he was famous, Talib Kweli used to take Kanye West on the road with him, and he used to interrupt his shows too. In an attempt to pay him back for that favor, Kanye recruited him and Chi-town hero Common for “Get ‘Em High,” one of the album’s more playful cuts. Rapping about using the Internet to hook up with girls? A very honest and open portrayal of every twenty-something’s real life. Kanye, again, showing that he wasn’t caught up in the fantasy world of being a rapper. He was one of us. Via Billboard.com

“Workout Plan” [Skit]

A simulation of what would ordinarily be a nail salon conversation about what else?: losing weight. It looks to highlight the reasoning many women have for hitting the gym and the honest conversations that surround those efforts.

“The New Workout Plan”

Some critics argue that “The New Workout Plan” doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album, but critics are traditionally anti-fun, so that explains that. This playful jam should be commended as much for its conceptual ingenuity as its arrangement; it effortlessly transitions from juke to four-on-the-floor Chicago house, and in a nod to his forbearers, even includes a soul clap. Miri Ben-Ari’s violin work can be heard all over this track, and sonically you can hear the beginnings of Kanye’s maximalist approach — songs inside of songs — taking shape.Via Billboard.com

“Slow Jamz” feat. Twista and Jamie Foxx

Kanye’s first number one record on the Hot 100, and ultimately the track that put “The College Dropout” over the top. Lyrics like, “Got a light skinned friend looked like Michael Jackson/ Got a dark skinned friend looked like Michael Jackson,” displayed ‘Ye’s infectious lyrical wit. Paired with Jamie Foxx’s surprisingly nimble voice and Twista’s rapid-fire flow, “Slow Jamz” became one of the biggest songs of 2004.

“Breathe In Breathe Out” feat. Ludacris

“Breathe In Breathe Out” looks better than it sounds. Ludacris was one of the hottest rappers out at the time, but for whatever reason, he’s relegated to hook duty here and doesn’t add much. “First ni–a with a Benz and packpack,” Kanye rhymes, over bluesy trumpets. Not a bad song per se, but with its spare arrangement, it just doesn’t live up to the rest of the album. Via Billboard.com

“School Spirit Skit 1”

Davis delivers the first part of a hilarious skit that pokes fun at the post-college experience: the graduate who has to work a menial job even though he/she has a degree. Millennials everywhere know exactly what that’s about.

“School Spirit”

Kanye West is done with the fraternity life. “I’ma get on this TV mama, I’ma put shit down,” he spits, singing a line that would eventually be incorporated in his 2007 hit “Good Life.” A declarative boast about washing his hands of the school experience, complete with ending shots at Omega Psi Phi. (“I feel a ‘woo’ coming on cuz.”).Vicious. Via Billboard.com

“School Spirit Skit 2”

“When I die buddy, you know what’s gonna keep me warm? That’s right, those degrees.” More hilarity from DeRay Davis, who takes shots at the ridiculousness of higher education.

“Lil Jimmy Skit”

A continuation of the “School Spirit” skits, but goes even further and shows how a family that chooses education over finance won’t be able to leave anything of value to their children. Pity.

“Two Words” feat. Mos Def and Freeway

This Mandrill-sampled cut sees Kanye adding live guitars, piano, a string arrangement and the Harlem Boys Choir, making it perhaps the symphonic high point of the record. What’s more, conscious hip-hop and street rap meet on the same track, with Mos Def and Freeway featured. It’s Kanye bridging the gap between the two worlds, as if to say, ‘hey, this is all hip-hop and we’re all not that much different.’

“Through The Wire”

This is the song that started it all. Kanye, post-car accident, rapping with his jaw wired. Though the track is devoid of a hook — ‘Ye even apologizes for not speaking that clearly; such humility! — it’s an endearing cut that displays his passion for the craft. His passion for life, too. Via Billboard.com

“Family Business”

One of the most soulful cuts on the record, “Family Business” finds Kanye waxing poetic about the loving relationships he shares with his family members. If you dig around online, there’s a demo version of this cut with some slight differences in the piano melody and lyric delivery. Worth checking out, just to see how much work went into the final version.

“Last Call”

In Jay-Z’s 2004 retirement movie “Fade to Black,” there’s a scene in which Kanye plays Hova the instrumental to “Last Call,” which should be an indication that it could have wound up as just any other song on “The Black Album.” Luckily, it escaped that fate and became Kanye’s 15-minute rags-to-riches tale about getting signed to Roc-A-Fella. It’s really on this last cut, just hearing Kanye talk over the jazzy instrumental, where the brilliance of “The College Dropout” — and the brilliance of Kanye West, the artist — is fully realized. It never gets boring or dull. The music is dynamic, the story is engaging, and Kanye sounds excited just to be living his dream. We were excited just to be living it along with him, on record Via Billboard.com.

  We respect his growth as it had to occur but we thank him for his history and the stories he shared with the world that connected with a generation. CampusLATELY Names Kanye West “The Black Collegiate Wordsmith.”

CampusLATELY Names Kanye West “The Black Collegiate Wordsmith” Kanye West left college to pursue his passion in 1996. He attended American Academy of Art briefly and Chicago State University where he majored in English.