The College Dropout

prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy as the intro. Samples the song "Can't Nobody Love Me Like You Do" by The Masquerders. Beat was later given to rappers Sentino and Gravy before finally ending up with Apathy.

with Kanye West, Clipse · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Song by Taura Stinton (as Aura Jackson) made in 2002 featuring Kanye and Clipse. Samples the song "River" by Joni Mitchell. Was supposed to be released as Aura's first single, but Joni Mitchell wouldn't clear the sample and it ended up never releasing.

with GLC, Keyshia Cole · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Original version which features rougher Kanye takes, additional vocals from Keyshia Cole, and a verse from GLC. Has Kanye's third verse on release placed first.

prod. Kanye West · Lossless

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.

prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

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.

with Newz, ??? · prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has Newz background vocals and an unknown female artist on the chorus. Samples "Don't Burn Down The Bridge" by Gladys Knight & the Pips and "Make It Last" by The Stylistics.

with John Legend · prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has a better mix and a longer outro. Is censored. Lyrics would later be used for "Homecoming" on Graduation. Samples "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Patti LaBelle and the Bluebells.

with ??? · prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

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" and 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.

prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

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.

prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Samples "Me and You" by Belle Epoques and "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" by Ol' Dirty Bastard. Has lines that would later be reused for "School Spirit" and "New Slaves". The beat was also used on the intro for the Behind The Beats mixtape.

prod. Evidence, Kanye West, Porse · Not Available

Mentioned by Kanye in TheSmifsonian Podcast in 2004 that the song was cut down by 10 minutes, making it to be around 20 minutes in length originally. Most likely, this is the original cut of the talking outro, before it was shortened.

with John Legend · Recording

Throwaway from The College Dropout sessions. 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.

prod. 88-Keys · Not Available

In February 2022, 88-Keys said the beat for Pusha T's "Diet Coke" was made "18 years ago", as an "interlude...for my beat tape, the name of [which] was The Makings Of Crack-Cocaine".

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Seen on an early The College Dropout tracklist found in jeen-yuhsAct II.

prod. DJ Premier · Not Available

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

with Tarrey Torae, John Legend, Syleena Johnson · prod. Kanye West, E-Bass, Ken Lewis · High Quality · 2025

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has the Lauryn Hill sample, alternate instrumentation, and an alternate vocal take. According to Shalik Berry, Lauryn Hill cleared the sample, then last minute wouldn't allow it to be used, as "she didn't actually write the record".

with John Legend · prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

Version that was included on the unofficial mixtape Freshmen Adjustment under the name "Out Of Your Mind". Very similar to the previous version however there are John Legend vocals over the Martin Lawrence sample.

with Kanye West, Clipse · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Version of the song where Kanye changed the line "I know that Joni Mitchell never lied" to "I know my homie Aura never lied". Still has the Joni Mitchell sample.

with Ludacris · prod. Kanye West, AllDay · CD Quality · 2022

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Includes an intro that was scrapped from the final version, which samples "It’s All About The Benjamins (Remix)" by Diddy.Kanye does the hook instead of Ludacris on this version. Has a different vocal take compared to release. The beat pause on the "But now, I'm rapping 'bout money, hoes, and rims again" happens later compared to release.

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

On an early The College Dropout tracklist. Probably a version of the song featured on the Paid In Full soundtrack and Get Well Soon..., but it's unclear how different the version intended for the album was if at all.

CD Quality

CDQ version of a 2004 Tim Westwood show freestyle.

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

A "dope beat" Kanye made for the Clipse, that had a "fire sample", but "didn't end up being cleared", was said to exist by Consequence.

prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Kanye-produced track by Dead Prez that appeared on the unofficial version of Revolutionary But Gangsta, presumably therefore a leak.

with Kanye West, Keyshia Cole · prod. Kanye West · Not Available

In an interview with Dilated Peoples via 247HH.COM, it was said that Keyshia Cole originally did the vocals that John Legend would perform in the final song.

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Seen on an early The College Dropout tracklist found in jeen-yuhsAct II.

prod. Kanye West · Recording

Version previewed in an interview from before The College Dropout released, with a different Kanye vocal take & alternate lyrics. Also has vocals from an unknown background vocalist.

with Kanye West · prod. Kanye West · Not Available

A scrapped track from the cancelled soundtrack for the movie Never Die Alone, starring DMX. Possibly made during the same session as the song "D12 World". Referenced by an Eminem insider who accurately predicted several things about D12 World on a message board from January 2004.

with Thomasina Atkins, Linda Petty, Beverly McCargo, Lavel Mena, Thai Jones, Kevin Shannon, Tarey Torae · High Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has a rougher mix and a different vocal take on the third verse.

with ???, Thomasina Atkins, Linda Petty, Beverly McCargo, Lavel Mena, Thai Jones, Kevin Shannon, Tarey Torae · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. First known version with the vocal sample found in the release version of the song. Has 1:37 of vocals, the rest is open verse.

with Common, Talib Kweli · prod. Kanye West · CD Quality

Version with only a Common feature, apparently made before Talib Kweli recorded his verse. Seems to have open section for Talib.

prod. Troyton Rami, Roger Mackenzie · High Quality

Remix of Sean Paul's song "Gimme The Light". Leaked in a bootleg mixtape.

with Kanye West, Consequence · prod. Kanye West · Not Available · 2003

Was originally a solo GLC track, before being given to Kanye. Made in December 2003.

prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Later released on I'm Good... with a verse from Murphy Lee. Interpolates "Dead Wrong" by The Notorious B.I.G. and samples "Doggone" by Love. No relation to the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy song of the same name.

prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Solo demo version with an entirely different vocal take. Has alternate lyrics compared to later versions. Found on the Chicago's Finest bootleg mixtape.

with John Legend · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Alternate mix of the version found on the 2001 demo tape.

with Tarrey Torae · prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Unreleased song said to exist by Tarrey Torae. Was recorded in the same session as her contributions for "My Way" and "Spaceship".

prod. 88-Keys · Not Available · 2003

Track mentioned by 88-Keys on Instagram. Nothing else is known, but it could be an early version of "I Got A Love" by MC Jin, which features Kanye.

with ??? · prod. Kanye West · Low Quality

Version that contains elements of the version of the demo tape and the version used in the unofficial mixtape Freshmen Adjustment. Uses a different vocal take than both versions. Features an unknown female artist doing back vocals on the chorus. Was likely included in some mixtape as the beginning has a DJ talking and at the end it seems to transition into another song. Unknown if the unedited version is in circulation.

prod. 9th Wonder · High Quality

Original solo version before Kanye gave the track to Little Brother.

with Deray Davis, The WRLDFMS Tony Williams · Lossless

Used on the Entertainment Weekly review copy of The College Dropout. Has Deray Davis doing a skit over the track.

with Deray Davis, John Legend · prod. Kanye West, John Legend, Miri Ben-Ari · Lossless · 2020

Used on the Entertainment Weekly review copy of The College Dropout.Longer than the released version.

with Kanye West, GLC · High Quality · 2011

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

prod. Kanye West, E-Bass · Not Available

Reworked version of the beat made after JAŸ-Z asked Kanye to do "the best beat you ever made." Kanye said he "programmed the drums in 10 minutes, and then [E-Bass] played all the different parts. This version is all live bass, live guitars, [live] chords on it."

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

In interviews, Consequence has stated that he "ghostwrote" the chorus on "Encore". In 2016, he said that "me and Kanye kinda was on the phone and we actually kinda came up with the chorus back and forth".

with Kanye West · prod. Kanye West · Recording · 2004

Early version with a Kanye freestyle verse and a different third JAŸ-Z verse. Contains the Kanye line "I'm from the capital where we murder for capital" which was reused for the hook on release. Samples "I Chase the Devil" by Max Romeo. Showcased in the JAŸ-Z documentary Fade To Black.

with Kanye West · prod. Timbaland · Not Available

Original version of the song with a slightly different name and two verses from Kanye instead of one, likely being why his verse is at the end of the song. Confirmed to exist by an Interview with Greg Lewis via 247HH.COM.

with Kanye West · prod. Major Seven · CD Quality · 2025

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

with Rhymefest · prod. Kanye West · High Quality · 2024

Has Rhymefest's verse rerecorded. The intro verse about the story of him giving the song to Kanye is just an addition for the mixtape. Has a slightly different beat. Snippet comes from Rhymefest's 2005 mixtape A Star Is Born, Vol.1.

prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Song from an early copy of The College Dropout.

with Kanye West · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Unreleased song on a 2004 mixtape. Was on John Legend's original demo CD before it officially turned and released as "Get Lifted". Originally track 17 before being scrapped.

with Ol' Dirty Bastard · prod. Kanye West · High Quality · 2023

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Has a slightly longer outro. Samples "Bells" by Billy Preston.

with John Legend, Ken Lewis, The WRLDFMS Tony Williams · prod. Evidence, Kanye West, Porse · Lossless

Used on the Entertainment Weekly review copy of The College Dropout. JAŸ-Z is missing from the intro, has louder synths and "here's to the Roc" part of the sample is replaced with another "Mr. Rocafella".

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

In a VladTV interview, Consequence says he "wrote a joint for her...she kept the chorus and she just...reworded it".

with Kanye West · prod. 9th Wonder · Not Available

In a interview with 247HH.COM, Little Brother confirms this song originally had adlibs from Phonte in his verse that were removed.

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Seen on an early The College Dropout tracklist from June 2003 posted by MTV.

with Twista, Jamie Foxx · prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Seen on an early The College Dropout tracklist found in jeen-yuhsAct II.

prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Was on a The College Dropout tracklist, but didn't release for 5 years afterwards on Malik Yusef's album. It is unknown if this version is different from the released version.

with Kanye West · prod. Kanye West · Not Available

Miri Ben-Ari said that the "first version was recorded for my album. We recorded that song, just me and him, in his apartment in Hoboken. Universal decided to go with a different single [for me]."

with Tarrey Torae · prod. Kanye West · High Quality

Used on an early The College Dropout copy. Interpolates "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, and samples "My Way" by Irene Reid.

with Kanye West, Sharpp · prod. Kanye West · CD Quality · 2013

Unreleased Myleka song featuring Kanye and Sharpp, intended to be released as a single. Reuses the same beat as "B R Right" by Trina. According to Myleka, "B R Right" came out first and the beat inspired her to make "Candy".