#117 Kanye West, 'Late Registration' (2005)

The lyrics on this record explore poverty, drug trafficking, racism, healthcare and the blood diamond trade. West collaborated with film composer, Jon Brion on the production. As usual, the record is packed with samples, but most notably Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Move On Up’ on ‘Touch The Sky,’ Shirley Bassey’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ on ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone’ and Ray Charles’s ‘I Got A Woman’ on ‘Gold Digger,’ which actually opens with Jamie Foxx’s Oscar-winning impersonation of Charles (side note, West got the idea when he went to see ‘Ray’ with friend, John Mayer.)