Mr. West complains a lot about how his talent gets overlooked at all the award shows, but, if he doesn’t get some kind of credit for “Graduation,” I’m going to have to agree with him.

This is the type of CD that you can just put in the player and throw the remote across the room. He used a different game plan with “Graduation;” he went with a smaller-than-average supporting cast, but

West’s small lineup is better than most artists’ whole label. T-Pain claims the chorus and bridge on the rags-to-riches “Good Life,” and Lil Wayne does what Lil Wayne does on the mellow “Barry Bonds.”

Another one of the pluses to “Graduation” is that there aren’t any skits. They were funny, but I think not having skits on his latest CD shows West’s maturity.

One of the only downsides to the CD is “Drunk and Hot Girls” featuring Mos Def. It seems out of place on this CD, and you barely even notice Mos Def is on the song. It’s not a horrible song, but it just doesn’t belong on “Graduation.”

“Big Brother” is all about Jay-Z, but it’s not as weird as it sounds. It’s a good song, pretty much telling him “thanks for everything.”

Listen to this CD once, and then listen to it again. Listen to the lyrics, and tell me he doesn’t deserve to perform on the big stage with JT.

Rating: 4.5/5