Kanye West Explains Original “College Dropout” Title, Jay Z Denying Collaborations In Rare 2002 Interview

RARE 2002 INTERVIEW WITH KANYE WEST IS REVEALED ON “COLLEGE DROPOUT” 10TH ANNIVERSARY

(AllHipHop News) Kanye West has been spouting out opinions and proclamations to anyone in ear shot for over 10 years and a rare interview surfaces to give a deeper insight to who Kanye West was prior to his fame. In a 2002 interview with former Mass Appeal writer Noah Callahan-Bever, Kanye West speaks on what he originally was going to originally going to title College Dropout, how Jay Z denied him collaborations on a few songs and more.

According to Kanye, Jay Z denied him when approached about appearing on both Jay’s first two singles off Blueprint 2, “Excuse Me Miss” and “03 Bonnie & Clyde”. Half of Kanye’s verse for “Excuse Me Miss” Was released on his Freshman Adjustment 2 mixtape on his “Excuse Me Miss Remix” song and he released a freestyle on “03 Bonnie & Clyde”. However, in the interview, Kanye raps a completely different verse intended for “03 Bonnie & Clyde” than the one that appeared on his freestyle:

Kanye’s Unreleased “03 Bonnie & Clyde” 

Ayo, planes, trains, automobiles
The G500 with the auto-roll wheels
The Pinot Grigio got ‘em on chill
See now, see me hoe, I got that deal
If you trying to build, I bet you’d like that
My father was a Black Panther with Geronimo Pratt
And back in college I ain’t run with no frat
I just ran with the track that put the Chi on the map [1]
Now the Roc in the building UIC Pavillion
Two years ago I was just a civilian
Now every chickenhead swear I got millions
In area codes with unidentified children…
I used to want the Jordans that’s most recent
Now I throw Jordans on the whip just to look decent
Just to get pulled over by the precinct, so frequent
It’s like I’m back being a delinquent
They want to know where I live, stay and work
How a young black n*gga get all these perks
How I stack my paper, got adidas in every flavor
Excuse me officer, I don’t know Rod Laver
Or Stan Smith
What they don’t understand is, how I got that color in canvas.

One prominently poignant part of the interview is Kanye West’s idea of what his at-the-time unfinished debut album College Dropout meant. Kanye has said in numerous interviews and on College Dropout first single “Through The Wire” that the car accident changed his view on how he makes music, however he still had the same idea of what the album would be and even had a different title originally:

That’s exactly what I want people to think with that title: “I’m right there with you.” I’ve thought about calling my sh*t I’m Good, because that’s a “cool” title, like just having a title that’s like, “Yo, you can’t criticize that.” But for me to try and put on the facade of being the coolest m########### ever, it’s not going to come across like that. I’m not saying I’m the coolest m########### ever, I’m just saying I’m just a f###### smart-a*s. I got to put it in raps.”

[ALSO CHECK OUT: Eight Little Known Facts About pre-College Dropout Kanye West]

Kanye’s early struggles attaining a record deal have been well documented over the past decade by journalists as well as himself on College Dropout outro “Last Call”. However, Kanye delves into the “catch-22” that Def Jam’s lack of appreciation for him placed his young career in and elucidates why some record labels avoided signing Kanye West in 2002:

Capitol, they offered me like a half million or something like that, then right before, I think one of the people at Capitol said, “Nah, I don’t f*ck with Kanye because if he could really rap, Def Jam would’ve signed him or he’d be on the Roc.” So it was a catch-22.

Check out the full interview here.