10 Most Underrated Kanye West Songs
2. Late
Technically a "hidden track" on Late Registration, it's not hard to see how this song may have been overlooked by some. But make no mistake, this is Kanye at the peak of his powers. The song is not particularly experimental, hard hitting or even lyrically moving. It's just utterly charming.
The sample of "I'll Erase Away Your Pain" by The Whatnauts is the perfect backdrop for Kanye's witty musings on his tendencies for being late. Late also contains some of his funniest bars to date. "I'll be there in five minutes, five hours later? I'll be there in five minutes" is such a simple bar but it remains so funny for some reason.
He also uses the song to reference the fact that The College Dropout and Late Registration were both late releases. The former was delayed by almost 6 months, whilst the latter was pushed back a total of 49 times. Kanye simply says " You can stop complainin' cause I'm finally here". Regardless of how late he is, the end product is always worth the wait. Simply because it has the Kanye brand guarantee of quality. It's such an efficiently subtle way to assert your confidence.
Late is easily one of the most laid back, fun and playful songs Kanye has written.