Kanye West Then & Now On The 10th Anniversary Of 'The College Dropout'

Today, Monday, Feb. 10, marks the 10th anniversary of Kanye West's hugely successful breakout studio album, "The College Dropout." Released in 2004, the project featured West's first hit singles, including "All Falls Down," "Through the Wire," "Jesus Walks," and "Slow Jamz." "College Dropout," which showcased collaborations with artists such as Jay Z, Common, and Jamie Foxx, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It went on to sell a total of more than 3 million copies, getting certified multi-platinum.
In recognition of the anniversary of "The College Dropout," we've collected pearls of West's wisdom from the album on everything from love to race to money, and contrasted his stance then with his words on the subjects in recent months. Bump some "New Workout Plan" in celebration and take a look in the table below.

On the 10th anniversary of West's "College Dropout" album

	Kanye at "College Dropout"	Kanye Today
On love and money:	"And ladies. if you follow these instructions exactly / You might be able to pull you a rapper, a NBA player / Man, at least a dude with a car!"	"She was in a powerful enough situation, where she could love me without asking me for my money, which is really hard for me to find."
On Jesus:	"God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down / (Jesus walks with me) / The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now / (Jesus walks) / And I don't think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs / (Jesus walks with me) / I want to talk to God but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long."	"I just talked to Jesus / He said, "What up, Yeezus?" / I said, "Shit I'm chillin' Trying to stack these millions" / I know he the most high / but I am a close high."
On race relations:	"Racism's still alive, they just be concealin' it / But I know they don't want me in the damn club / They even made me show I.D to get inside of Sam's Club."	"It’s not about racism anymore, it’s classism. Like Paula Deen, she was old school with it. They like, 'we don’t do it like that anymore, that’s racist. We classist now.' Classism is when they try to say, ‘You’re a rapper…your girl is on a reality show so you’re not up here with us. We’re old money.’ It’s snobbery."
On work ethic:	"Cause ain't no tuition for having no ambition / And ain't no loans for sittin' your ass at home / So we forced to sell crack, rap, and get a job / You gotta do somethin' man, your ass is grown."	"If you can focus the energy into something valuable, put that into work ethic... I wasn't just born the best lyricist in the world. Not saying I'm that today, but I'm pretty good. I'm amongst the top ever."
On confidence:	"Man I promise, I'm so self-conscious / That's why you always see me with at least one of my watches / Rollies and Pasha's done drove me crazy / I can't even pronounce nothing, pass that ver-say-see."	"My mother made me believe in myself. No matter how many people tell me, 'Stop believing in yourself. Stop saying what you can do. Stop affirming what you're gonna do and then completing that in real life. That's the improper way of doing it.' I refuse to follow those rules that society has set up in the way that they control people with low self-esteem, with improper information, with branding, with marketing. I refuse to follow those rules. It's about truth. It's about information. It's about awesomeness."
On outer space:	"I've been workin' this graveshift and I ain't made shit / I wish I could buy me a spaceship and fly past the sky."	"Well, I’ve got my astronaut family. You know, becoming famous is like being catapulted into space—sometimes without a space suit. We’ve seen so many people combust, suffocate, get lost in all these different things. But to have an anchor of other astronauts and to make a little space family... I wanted a family.
On drugs:	"And I don't, usually smoke / But pass the dro."	"My ego is my drug. My drug is, ‘I’m better than all you other motherfuckers."
On his female companions:	"Bring some friends you cool with / I'mma bring the Cool Whip / Then I want you to strip / See you is my new chick / So we get our grind on."	"I felt like our love story is like, a love story for the ages. I felt like when we first got together, it was like a Romeo and Juliet kind of thing, where it’s like... she’s a reality star, and I’m a rapper."
On spending:	"What'cha gon' buy next / Whatever new trend it is / I'm tryin' to spend my stacks / And I'm so broke I look back like 'Damn, was I on crack?' / I mean twelve platinum chains, was I on that?"	"They probably all in the Hamptons / Braggin' 'bout what they made / Fuck you and your Hampton house."
On Chicago:	"Chi-town, Southside, worldwide / Cause I rep that 'til I fuckin' die."	"Never think that I'm not from Chicago for one second and think you can walk up and disrespect me and my family constantly."
On death:	"There's been an accident like GEICO / They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael / I must got a angel / Cause look how death missed his ass"	"After I lost my mother there were times I felt like I would put my life at risk, I felt like sometimes I didn't have something to live for."
On family:	"And this is for the family that can't be with us / And this is for my cousin locked down, know the answer's in us / That's why I spit it in my songs so sweet / Like a photo of your granny's picture / Now that you're gone it hit us."	"All I care about is my family, I care about protecting my girl, protecting my baby, and protecting my ideas and my dreams."