Genre-blending hip-hop proved commercially and critically triumphant by 2004

Evidence

The production on his debut album The College Dropout reflected an omnivorous approach to music that expanded upon the Neptunes’ template. He pulled from the entire history of Black music as well as the latest international sounds, such as auto-tuned vocals and the house music of French act Daft Punk. The College Dropout ends with nine minutes of spoken word about Kanye’s long struggles to be respected as a rapper. But the haters were wrong, and he was right: The College Dropout sold over two million copies in 2004 and received best album of the year accolades in The Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop poll of music critics. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 108