Late Registration

“Late Registration” is the second studio album by Kanye West, released on August 30, 2005, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings.

The story

Coming off the success of “The College Dropout,” West set out to move beyond the sped-up soul sampling that had defined his early production. He recorded over roughly a year between 2004 and 2005, working in Hollywood studios and at Sony Music Studios in New York, with a reported budget of around $2 million. He brought in film and pop composer Jon Brion as his main collaborator after admiring his scores and his work with artists such as Fiona Apple.

Sound and production

West and Brion co-produced much of the record, with Brion adding string and orchestral arrangements that gave the album a lush, cinematic feel. Additional production came from Just Blaze, Devo Springsteen and Warryn Campbell. Singles included “Diamonds from Sierra Leone,” “Gold Digger,” “Heard ’Em Say,” “Touch the Sky” and “Drive Slow.”

Legacy

The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with about 860,000 copies sold in its first week, and “Gold Digger” topped the Billboard Hot 100. At the 48th Grammy Awards it won Best Rap Album, while “Gold Digger” and “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” also took home awards. It has since been certified multi-platinum by the RIAA and was ranked on Rolling Stone’s 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.