Graduation (album) - Legacy and Influence

Legacy and Influence

Rock band U2 has asserted that touring with West on their Vertigo Tour had a significant effect on their own music as well in regards to No Line on the Horizon. Bono elaborated that West's rapping inspired him to utilize more percussive consonants for his songwriting and vocal performance. The album, particularly with the singles "Stronger" and "Flashing Lights", has been accredited to not only encouraging hip hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music, but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the late 2000s. West also received praise for his ability to appeal to diverse audiences such as indie rock listeners and rave enthusiasts without alienating hip hop audiences.

Ben Detrick of XXL cited the outcome of the sales competition with 50 Cent as being responsible for altering the direction of hip hop and paving the way for new rappers who didn't follow the hardcore-gangster mold, writing, "If there was ever a watershed moment to indicate hip hop's changing direction, it may have come when 50 Cent competed with Kanye in 2007 to see whose album would claim superior sales. 50 lost handily, and it was made clear that excellent songcrafting trumped a lack of street-life experience. Kanye led a wave of new artists—Kid Cudi, Wale, Lupe Fiasco, Kidz in the Hall, Drake—who lacked the interest or ability to create narratives about any past gunplay or drug-dealing. Similarly, in a retrospective article, Rosie Swash of The Guardian viewed the album's sales competition with 50 Cent's Curtis as a historical moment in hip hop, writing that it "highlighted the diverging facets of hip-hop in the last decade; the former was gangsta rap for the noughties, while West was the thinking man's alternative.