Over the years, Kanye West has become a household name. Most people who don’t even listen to his music or any rap at all can still point him out and give their opinion about him. On his new album “Graduation,” he analyzes his actions more honestly and succeeds in putting his thoughts out on the songs in a more organized manner than ever before.

West stands out from his contemporaries because he is the only rapper left who is able to give his opinion to everyone across America no matter how honest, unapologetic or arrogant he needs to be. He does this not only on his records, but also through the television. He is to rap what Tupac Shakur was for hip hop.

“Graduation” is a huge difference from West’s last two albums. He is more focused than ever before. Thankfully, there are no skits on this album to waste time, a first for West that is probably influenced by the way Nas set up his album, “Illmatic.”

West has always been known to love all different types of music, but he has never blended those influences into his songs until now. This is shown on the second single “Stronger,” in which he surprisingly samples the Daft Punk song “Harder, Better Faster, Stronger” to make a very catchy, futuristic chorus driven song. He pulls off the same type of technique on “Champion,” where he samples Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” to make another fantastic song.

On “Late Registration,” West had a few deeply personal songs. But most of those are boring or confusing. “Graduation” has the same type of personal songs but with better beats that keep West more focused. Even the type of songs about pride and strength that you would expect to be arrogant like “Barry Bonds” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” isn’t. They are mature and handled with concentration. On this album, there is no “Gold Digger,” signaling West’s growing maturity and realization of his role in hip hop.

West makes “Graduation” his best album by not being afraid to be an eclectic artist, a rule he has adhered to on all the albums and records he has produced and put out in the past. But here, he has another rule: don’t overdo it. On his other two albums, even when he had amazing songs, tracks had to be skipped to get to them. “Graduation” can be listened to from start to finish without getting bored.

“Late Registration” was definitely one of the best albums of 2005. In order to capture its greatness you had to listen to it multiple times to get it, a feature of many great albums. When you got it, you thought West had outdone himself. Once you hear “Graduation,” you will immediately like it after your first listen. It is more diverse than his other albums while being more focused at the same time. You will immediately consider this his best album.

West has continued his streak of amazing albums by doing something new: realizing his limits and working with them slowly by focusing a lot more on each song. By doing this, West makes “Graduation” his best album yet. He is leading rap in an age where it seems like its dying entirely. Hopefully, he will continue to do so.