Mohith: I was really curious to hear more about the albums that you’ve connected with growing up. I think a lot of times we associate a lot of albums with really good memories and experiences, but I think certain albums can also really influence our mindsets and worldviews. Especially for people like you and me who really connect with the music we listen to and associate it with different parts of our lives.

Like I think it’s one thing to really love and enjoy an album but another thing for an album to shape your development in some way, either big or small.

Sam: I think we’ve both come to love a variety of artists and albums, but a lot of our conversations around music usually had to do with rap and hip-hop. Probably because we have a shared love for hip-hop, but also because we recognize how it’s changed our perspectives and lives.

The one that comes to mind for me is [2004’s] The College Dropout [by Kanye West].

The College Dropout by Kanye West

Sam: It stands out to me for a lot of reasons. I’d say listening to and studying that album actually served as a catalyst for my interest in hip-hop.

Mohith: Was it the first hip-hop album you heard? Or just the first one that really connected with you?

And yeah, The College Dropout is one of those albums that just feels eye opening by nature in both the sound and the topics.

Sam: Hmm it was probably the first rap album that I listened to from start to finish. Before that the rap I would listen to was from whatever popped into the top 40s on the radio and a few well known songs that were floating around YouTube.

Mohith: Mmm I feel. There’s something special about listening to an album in full for the first time.

How old were you? I feel like I couldn’t start conceptualizing albums as a concept till like 10 or 11.

Sam: I was in middle school, probably the 7th grade? I remember Asher Roth’s “I Love College” had come out that year.

Mohith: You must have related to that.

Sam: Who knows, if the first rap album I had listened to was Asher Roth’s debut album my relationship with hip-hop might have been very different today.

Mohith: Woah that’s trippy. There’s another reality where Sam doesn’t listen to hip-hop because of Asher.

What did you feel like connected you with The College Dropout personally? I feel like that album now has such a legacy and narrative associated with it I actually think it’s interesting to reflect on personal connections with it.

Sam: Yeah man, that or a reality where Asher Roth and Lil Dicky are in my top 3 greatest of all time. I wonder what that guy’s up to.

Anyways back to your question.

I think it was the first album I listened to where it made sense to sit down and listen to it in its entirety. The skits, progression of topics he discussed, the 12 minute outro — it made me really appreciate rap as an art form. I think it also just made me much more conscious of issues related to race and class that I might not have thought of on a day to day basis, as well as consumerism, religion, organized crime. There’s a little bit of everything.

One thing I really connected to was the production. I never realized producing hip-hop instrumentals could be such a creative process. Listening to the songs he sampled, and putting myself in his shoes for the work that went into that.

Mohith: Yeah man everything you said is so true. That outro never fails to get me emotional. And the skits are honestly so thought provoking and downright witty/hilarious.

Sam: Like there’s that verse in “Spaceship” where he talks about all the records that had piled up in his house and how he made 5 beats a day for 3 summers. He must have spent so much time studying the artists who came before him, and most of them probably weren’t hip-hop artists.

Mohith: Yeah because he was also making beats that no one was making.

Sam: Yeah, to be able to influence hip-hop by drawing from those different art forms was so amazing to me.

Mohith: I’m such a sucker for soulful hip-hop. It makes me so happy and invigorated and it’s crazy that you can look at this album as this watershed moment for that movement in the 2000s. I totally agree with what you said of reflecting on race, class, religion, etc. That album just overall made me think a lot about questioning the systems we take as unequivocal truth and figuring out what’s right for you. Like I love that it’s not preaching dropping out of college but instead pursuing a path that’s right for you rather than just doing it because other people or systems have told you it’s the only option.

Sam: Yeah I mean I wouldn’t say he dives too deep on any of those subjects, which in retrospect I’m very thankful for. But he does touch on everything and makes us acknowledge that these issues and ideas exist. He kind of shattered my (probably misinformed) understanding of what rap was.

Mohith: Do you think you feel a different connection with albums when you listen to them in retrospect or when you remember the day they came out? Like I feel connections to albums like [2007’s] Graduation or [2010’s] My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy sometimes more because I remember when they came out, but I also feel very influenced and connected to The College Dropout. And there are other albums from the 90s and early 2000’s that have influenced me like [1995’s] Me Against The World by Tupac or [2000’s] The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem. But when I thought of this question a lot of albums that came to mind were albums that I remember when they came out.

But I think at the same time the idea of an album impacting your worldview can come from any time period because a lot of ideas and issues can be timeless or at least relevant for a very long time after release.

Sam: Hmm that’s interesting. I think when I first picked up The College Dropout, there really weren’t any artists who I liked enough to wait for an album release.

So when I first started listening to rap, there was way more to look back on than there was to look forward to. Mostly because I didn’t even know what I liked yet.

Mohith: Damn yeah I really feel that. When I first started getting into hip-hop I’d go through [artists’] whole discographies to see how they evolved.

Sam: To give you some more perspective on how little rap I listened to, I only knew like two Biggie songs and I only knew Eminem from “Smack That” [by Akon]. Kind of crazy to think back on those days.

I probably knew “Lose Yourself” [by Eminem] as well, but still.

Mohith: Yeah I love what you said about The College Dropout changing your idea about the art form. This is kind of a weird question but do you think you’d be a different person without that album? Or maybe even just different mindsets? Going back to the different realities of Sam.

Sam: Hah that’s a question that can get pretty philosophical. It probably would’ve taken me longer to become a fan of hip-hop. And I probably wouldn’t appreciate good hip-hop production as much. I don’t know exactly how different my life would look today, but it would be different for sure. Even between us, there’s a lot we connect on but our mutual love for hip-hop is definitely something I really appreciate.

Mohith: Yeah it’s definitely made us a lot closer which is crazy to think about.

Sam: So maybe our friendship would look different if I had never put down “I Love College” for The College Dropout. Who knows man. Considering all of those things, I’m grateful that I did in fact choose to listen to [that album].

Mohith: It’s so wild that just listening to a piece of music can direct a trajectory of your life in some ways. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about that fact.

Sam: Agreed.

How about you? If you had to choose one album that you connected with while growing up which would it be?

Mohith: When I was thinking of this question, The College Dropout definitely came up for me too. The one that came up the most though was [2011’s] Section.80 [by Kendrick Lamar].

Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar

I was like 14 [when] it came out. And by that point I had been following a lot of music websites and YouTube channels, and everyone was talking about this album. I think the general [sound] definitely drew me in because it had soulful and jazzy production, but also a lot of electronic and atmospheric instrumentation that was really cool.

But most of all, it was Kendrick’s rapping and pure subject matter. He went so in-depth about race, gender, class, government policies, generational trauma, adulthood, drug addiction, activism, and hip-hop itself. Just how thoughtful he was about society in general was so inspiring. I remember listening to it but also reading the lyrics a lot and almost trying to decipher what he was talking about as if I was trying to analyze a textbook for an English class. But it was like a textbook that slapped.

Sam: Truly. I was tempted to mention Kendrick too. I think they’re both amazing story tellers, in their own ways.

Mohith: I think Kendrick just had this quality to distill the patterns of society without judgement and honestly show so many different angles of the same issue. Also what I loved about this album, especially the “HiiiPower” closer, was that he seemed like he was trying to push past simply being a great rapper and musician, but also someone who was trying to make society/the world a better place. And it was acknowledging how difficult it is to create actual change but that the purpose is in the attempt.

I definitely don’t consider myself an activist or even super knowledgeable about a lot of topics, but I think that has influenced me to think about the world at large and attracted me to projects, communities, and careers that can make a wider impact in some way. Which by itself isn’t a very unique value or anything but I actually think this album really influenced that for me.

Sam: Hmm I mean I’d say that’s a really important thing to acknowledge. It shows how powerful music and art in general can be. I can’t think of too many pieces of art that instilled in me a drive to make an impact on issues I hadn’t been focusing on before.

Mohith: And I think also I’m just an over thinker by nature and was very reflective in middle school about society and this album actually gave me validation to lean into the quality more.

Even for me I always love when artists are super personal. But I actually almost prefer when Kendrick in particular is more societal-focused than personal because he’s just so good at it. And even then when he’s analyzing society he does a good job of incorporating his own story, personality, and imperfections into the music. Which is why I absolutely loved [2015’s] To Pimp a Butterfly because it felt like a worldwide expansion of Section.80, whereas [2012’s] good kid, m.A.A.d city and [2017’s] DAMN. are more personal (which I also love too don’t get me wrong).

Sam: Yeah I think especially at a young age, it’s really helpful to have a few role models who are able to validate your interests. Whether those role models are people you know in person or through their art. It’s really easy to feel lost in the things you’re interested in if you don’t have any idea of what those interests can amount to.

Mohith: Yeah in the same way parents, teachers, and friends can do that, artists can give that validation and a change in perspective in a lot of ways.

Similar to what you were saying, I also feel really grateful to have stumbled upon these albums as a kid because there is like this window of childhood and adolescence where you’re starting to individualize and music can really provide a sense of direction, meaning, and even values.

Just knowing I heard these albums like The College Dropout or Section.80 during that window makes me really happy. And I also feel happy you discovered albums like this during your window of growing up. It is a mutual bond and happiness [we share] like you said.

Let me know if you disagree but I do think it’s harder to have your worldview changed by music at 24 than at 14 which is something that’s starting to dawn on me.

Sam: I think that’s definitely possible. I’ve seen a lot of people who seem to stop expanding their taste in music after a certain age. Not that it’s a bad thing to do that.

I’m curious as to how long we’ll be able to discuss and possibly enjoy new and upcoming artists.

Mohith: I think it’s almost biological. Our brains stop changing in major ways and I even read a study that showed that we have less emotional peaks from new music in later age than in younger age.

I think hopefully since we are actively engaged in the music / hip-hop world I feel like we will be more open to new artists. But also there’s just a certain thing of being young and listening to an artist who’s 24 or 25 and being inspired by them. But when you’re 30, it may be hard to be inspired by the up and coming 22 year old rapper even if he or she is really good. Just because you’re past that life stage. And we may naturally still lean on artists we grew up listening to still give us wisdom.

Sam: Hmm yeah that’s true.

Mohith: Like [2019’s] The Lost Boy by YBN Cordae really inspired me but because we are the same age I almost feel a connection to him as a peer in life rather than looking to him as a role model, purely based off our age. But if I was a few years younger he may have been a role model to me.

Sam: I do think relative age is something that’s impacted how receptive I am to an artist. I guess I’m not really worried about running out of artists/music to discover together, because there will always be music from during and before our childhood that we can discuss and connect to. But it’d be cool if we can stay open minded to the artists who will inevitably be much younger than us at some point.

Mohith: Yeah definitely and I think a big part of aging gracefully is being open to being inspired and even have our worldviews changed by those younger than us. If the ideas or the songs are timeless and eye opening, then at the end of the day it can still shape us in some way.

Regardless I’m glad I’ll have those albums from childhood to hold on to as these big developmental shifts. And just be grateful if and when more happen.

Sam: Agree 100%.