EP130: Cam O’bi on Kanye West’s “Late Registration” (2005)

Episode notes

When Kanye West first announced the follow-up to his critically acclaimed debut, The College Dropout, the biggest question on everyone’s mind was “can he do it again?” And Kanye proved without a doubt that he can. He enlisted composer/producer Jon Brion to help create a much more lush and dense record. They dug through the crates and flipped some fantastic records and collaborated with some of the biggest artists at the time, like Jay, Nas,  Jamie Foxx, even Adam Levine came into the studio for this one.

Fellow producer-turned-rapper Cam O’bi sits down with us to discuss  Kanye West’s sophomore album, Late Registration. We talk about the prolific use of samples on the album, the changing image of Kanye at the time, and the influence it had on Cam’s own producing techniques.

More on Cam

• Cam’s single “Tenderheaded” featured on NPR
• Beat Break: Cam O’bi Shares the Story Behind His 5 Biggest Songs (DJ Booth)
• Bandcamp | Twitter

More on Late Registration

• Every sample used on Late Registration (Bandstand)
• How Kanye West Handed In A Stone-Cold Classic (uDiscoverMusic)
• Heard ‘Em Say animated by Bill Plympton

Show Tracklisting (all songs from Late Registration unless otherwise indicated):

• Gold Digger (Radio Edit)
• Cam O’bi: Perfect
• Jay-Z: This Can’t Be Life
• Celebration
• Lupe Fiasco: Kick Push
• Diamonds From Sierra Leone (remix)
• Skit #1
• Heard ‘Em Say
• Noname: Yesterday
• Noname: Shadow Man
• Cinderella (1950): Sing Sweet Nightingale
• Noname: Diddy Bop
• Heard ‘Em Say
• Kanye West: Impossible
• We Major
• Orange Krush: Action
• We Major
• Addiction
• Touch the Sky
• Curtis Mayfield: Move On Up
• Touch the Sky
• Drive Slow
• Cowboy Bebop: Tank!
• Akifumi Tada: White Ice
• Late
• Sean Rose: Tomorrow
• Gold Digger
• Gone
• The Whatnauts: I’ll Erase Away the Pain
• Late
• The Kay-Gees: Heavenly Dream
• Celebration
• Diamonds from Sierra Leone (remix)
• Kanye West: Love Lockdown
• Drive Slow
• Jay-Z: Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
• Common: Resurrection
• Pink Floyd: Money

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find on there
If you’re not already subscribed to Heat Rocks in Apple Podcasts, do it here!