On Kanye's debut album one of the many standouts was the epic closing track Last Call, so when his second album dropped a couple of years later I was excited to see how he would close it out.
OK, so Gone isn't actually the last track on Late Registration, but it's the last one that isn't a bonus or hidden track so I consider it the official album closer.
'Ye enlists Cam'ron and Consequence to help him out as he shows off one of the most impressive sample based instrumentals of his career. Employing a trick that he would use again on Watch The Throne, the track opens with a vocal snippet from the legendary Otis Redding, before Mr. West chops up the sample and makes it his own while delivering the kind of braggadocious lines that only he can get away with.
They claim you never know what you got til it's gone,
I know I got it, I don't know what y'all on
As the track continues, the instrumental gets more and more layered and while the guests deliver fine verses, Kanye steals the show with the last verse though as the beat and the song take a slightly darker turn.
If you couldn't already tell, I think this is one of the best examples of the kind of trademark soul sample based production that helped establish Kanye as the hottest producer around early in his career.
Personally I think that Kanye has continued to grow as an artist since then, but there are plenty that yearn for this kind of Kanye West to return. I think this Kanye is long gone and unlikely to return, so for now let's just enjoy this classic track
