The College Dropout

Throwaway from The College Dropout era. Would later morph into the verses found on "Gold Digger" similar to how "Home" became "Homecoming". Features alternate lyrics and an entirely different instrumental. Was performed by Kanye a handful of times and is on an early tracklist for the album, however no snippets of a studio recording have surfaced.

OG Filename: We on Fire(kanye) Early version, first previewed in jeen-yuhs. Features a different beat and hook from Ye.

Track 5 of the 2002 album Diamond Princess. Also track 14 from Kanye West's 2002 mixtape Get Well Soon... Also track 21 from Kanye West's 2002 Akademiks (Jeanius Level Musik). Mixed by Manny Marroquin. Engineered by Ray Seay. Interpolates the song "Big Pimpin'" by JAY-Z.

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has a completely new first verse, and lyrics reused from "Dream Come True". Has a completely alternate beat that was not used in later versions.

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has a better mix and a longer outro. Lyrics would later be used for "Homecoming" on Graduation.

Has an alternate J'Nan verse and unused GLC vocals.

Track 14 from the soundtrack to the 2002 movie Brown Sugar. Also track 15 from Kanye West's 2002 mixtape Get Well Soon... Also track 13 from Kanye West's 2003 mixtape Akademiks (Jeanius Level Musik Vol 2). Samples the song "Invitation" by Norman Connors.

Original version which features rougher vocals, additional vocals by Keyshia Cole and a verse from GLC.

Later version which was featured on early versions of The College Dropout. Sounds more finished than the previous version. Shares some lines with "Together They're Tens". Has a line that would later be reused on "Late". Samples "It Will Never Be The Same Again" by Zulema, and interpolates Eminem's flow from his verse on "Dead Wrong" by The Notorious B.I.G.

Consequence has said he "helped Kanye write" the freestyle. Can be assumed to be a reference track.

Later version that is similar to the released single version, however it has a different mix and the applause used for the outro is longer. The guitar is also mono unlike in the released version and is mixed quieter, while Syleena's vocals are at a less consistent volume. Featured in album samplers for The College Dropout that were sent to DJs, but were not intended for public release.

Track 11 of the 2002 album The Lost Tapes. Also track 21 from Kanye West's 2002 mixtape Get Well Soon... Samples the song "The Newness Is Gone" by Eddie Kendricks.

Original version with an entirely new skit.

Song that was featured on early versions of The College Dropout. Commonly known as "Apologize" due to it being named that on the popular unofficial mixtape Freshmen Adjustment. Kanye would later reuse this beat on "Knock Knock" by Monica. Samples "It's A Terrible Thing To Waste Your Love" by The Masqueraders.

Track 12 of the soundtrack to the 2002 movie Paid In Full. Also track 8 from Kanye West's 2002 mixtape Get Well Soon... A snippet of the song was also featured as track 7 from Kanye West's 2002 mixtape Akademiks (Jeanius Level Musik). Samples "We Are The Champions" by Queen.

Solo version. Snippet posted September 8th, 2020. Was sold by Iceman. Clean. Full version found by [yetapes] on January 18th, 2025.

Used on the Entertainment Weekly review copy of The College Dropout. Is uncensored, unlike release where the song had to be censored due to the creator of the sample (Aretha Franklin) wanting the song to have no profanity or she would not clear the sample.

Featured on early versions of The College Dropout. In the song Kanye mentions that "this only part 1". Samples "In The Hour" by Melanie. Was included on the popular unofficial mixtape Freshmen Adjustment.