By Matthew Etzel, Blake Kim, Anjali Nayak, Adam Sarsfield, Wyatt Spears, Rina Weaver
*Objective: Make the best Kanye playlist using one song from each of its albums.
*Rules: Each person selects one song from each album chronologically. Only one song can be picked from each album; thus, each playlist will have different songs. Each person gets 1 additional song after all 13 albums have been selected…thus, all playlists have 16 songs.
*Draft order: We picked cards! First = Wyatt Spears, Second = Matthew Etzel, Third = Anjali Nayak, Fourth = Blake Kim, Fifth = Rina Weaver, Sixth = Adam Sarsfield. We used a snake draft, so Wyatt went last for the first album and first for the second. FYI: Certified Swiftie Keira De Vita has approved this message and gave us a thumbs up for all of our selections.
*List of albums and selections:
The College Dropout:
- “All Falls Down” – Wyatt
- “Through the Wire” – Matt
- “Family Business” – Anjali
- “Spaceship” – Blake
- “Jesus Walkz” – Rina
- “Slow Jamz” – Adam
Late Registration:
- “Hey Mama” – Adam
- “Heard ‘em Say” – Rina
- “Gold Digger” – Blake
- “We Major” – Anjali
- “Diamonds From Sierra Leone – Remix” – Matt
- “Wake Up Mr West” – Wyatt
Graduation:
- “Barry Bonds” – Wyatt
- “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” – Matt
- “I Wonder” – Anjali
- “Everything I Am” – Blake
- “Champion” – Rina
- “Stronger” – Adam
808s & Heartbreak:
- “Love Lockdown” – Adam
- “Heartless” – Rina
- “Streetlights” – Blake
- “Paranoid” – Anjali
- “See You In My Nightmares – Matt
- “Welcome to Heartbreak” – Wyatt
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy:
- “Devil In A New Dress” – Wyatt
- “Gorgeous” – Matt
- “Runaway” – Anjali
- “POWER” – Blake
- “Hell Of A Life” – Rina
- “Monster” – Adam
Watch The Throne (Deluxe):
- “N****** In Paris” – Adam
- “Otis” – Rina
- “That’s My B****” – Blake
- “No Church In The Wild” – Anjali
- “H.A.M” – Matt
- “Gotta Have It” – Wyatt
Yeezus:
- “Hold My Liquor” – Wyatt
- “Bound 2” – Matt
- “Blood On The Leaves” – Anjali
- “On Sight” – Blake
- “Black Skinhead” – Rina
- “New Slaves” – Adam
The Life of Pablo:
- “No More Parties in LA” – Adam
- “Waves” – Rina
- “Father Stretch My Hands Pt 1” – Blake
- “Saint Pablo” – Anjali
- “Famous” – Matt
- “Wolves” – Wyatt
Ye:
- “Ghost Town” – Wyatt
- “I Thought About Killing You” – Matt
- “Violent Crimes” – Anjali
- “No Mistakes” – Blake
- “All Mine” – Rina
- “Yikes” – Adam
KIDS SEE GHOSTS:
- “Feel The Love” – Adam
- “4th Dimension” – Rina
- “Reborn” – Blake
- “Cudi Montage” – Anjali
- “Kids See Ghosts” – Matt
- “Fire” – Wyatt
JESUS IS KING:
- “Everything We Need” – Wyatt
- “On God” – Matt
- “Closed On Sunday” – Anjali
- “Follow God” – Blake
- “God Is” – Rina
- “Water” – Adam
Donda (Deluxe):
- “Life of The Party” – Adam
- “Moon” – Rina
- “Praise God” – Blake
- “Believe What I Say” – Anjali
- “Pure Souls” – Matt
- “Off The Grid” – Wyatt
VULTURES 1:
- “BURN” – Wyatt
- “STARS” – Matt
- “DO IT” – Anjali
- “BACK TO ME” – Blake
- “VULTURES” – Rina
- “BEG FORGIVENESS” – Adam
Extra Songs:
- “Like That (Remix)” – Adam
- “Someday We’ll All Be Free” – Rina
- “Problematic” – Blake
- “Mercy” – Anjali
- “Two Words” – Matt
- “Don’t Like.1” – Wyatt
Anjali’s thoughts: I have come to a very important conclusion after doing the Kanye draft. He has too many good songs. Though my spot in the draft was not the best—I was constantly getting snaked by either Blake or Matt—I am proud to say that I most definitely came up with the best playlist. It’s full of deep cuts and absolute bangers. I was a tad bit insulted when my sneaky “We Major” pick did not elicit any reaction.
Adam’s thoughts: I read Anjali’s thoughts and very much agree with her statements about how easy it is to make a good playlist. Even with the last pick for half the albums, I made a very good lineup with which I can proudly say I would start a playlist. I especially liked being able to secure “Hey Mama” from Late Registration, as I think it is one of Kanye’s best songs of all time. I was given some flack over my “Like That (remix)” pick, but I still like the song and think it was overshadowed by Kendrick and Drake’s songs aimed at each other.
Matt’s thoughts: As a novice Kanye listener, I felt a little underqualified. Nevertheless, I think I made some decent picks, and overall, this list has lots of heat. If my little brother Nathan reads this list, he’ll probably see a lot of familiar picks because he’s a big influence on my taste in newer music. I will definitely use this playlist as a guide for exploring more Kanye as I venture on from boomer music and weird guitar stuff.
Wyatt’s Thoughts: Fluctuating between the first and the last picks weakened my playlist considerably. Too often, I picked a song so no one else could take it (All Falls Down + Devil In a New Dress) or had to pick from the bottom of the barrel. I would also just pick songs that I liked the most over the “best” songs, most apparent with my “Barry Bonds” and “Hold My Liquor” picks. I like my playlist, it’s just not a very good playlist. It lacks a consistent vibe and tone, just being a mixed bag of songs I like.
Blake’s Thoughts: I know I made some great picks and it might be the best one here. It was never hard to choose songs because every one of his albums is beautifully crafted. “Follow God” was one of my favorite picks, and I’m glad I got to take it from both Rina and Adam. “Father Stretch My Hands” was also a great pick, and l I know my playlist is great overall.
Rina’s Thoughts: The only thing I am unhappy about is the fact that I got fifth pick for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, as that is my favorite Kanye album. However, I was still able to choose one of my favorite songs because that album is just so amazing. Looking back at my playlist right now, I wish I stuck with a theme throughout all my songs because my playlist is all over the place. Nevertheless, I am not mad with my playlist (I still think I made the best one).
See Previous Drafts Here: