He would then make adjustments to the tracks based on feedback he received, repeating the process as many times as necessary. Stronger" contains a sample of " Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" performed by Daft Punk and master use of "Cola Bottle Baby" performed by Edwin Birdsong. The fact that Graduation was both the bigger commercial and critical success was the death knell for thug rap, and correspondingly the Modernist movement of hip-hop.

The six awards that the album led to West contending for at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards were among his total of eight nominations for the ceremony, making West the most nominated music artist of that show. In West's attempt to accomplish this "stadium-status" endeavor, West incorporated layered electronic synthesizers into his hip-hop production, which also finds him utilizing slower tempos, being influenced by the music of the 1980s, and experimenting with electronic music. After seeing the 2004 biographical film Ray together, West and blues-rock musician John Mayer decided to collaborate on a record and immediately went back to a recording studio to compose the song "Bittersweet" with the help of Keyshia Cole. Rather than rap, West instead slowly sings along to the sinister song's dreary original melody with warbled vocals.

West claimed that while listening to their song, he heard the words "drunk and hot girls" rather than the actual "drunken hot ghost" lyrics. In a statement released to the Associated Press, he said, "I am very excited to have participated in one of the biggest album release weeks in the last two years. Lead singer Bono elaborated that West's rapping inspired him to utilize more percussive consonants for his songwriting and vocal performance.

West elaborated that it was a fully conscious decision to keep his guest vocalists at a minimum, saying that, "When I hear the records of my favorite bands – The Killers or Coldplay – you only hear one voice from start to finish".West has earned praise for his ability to appeal to diverse music audiences such as indie-rock listeners and rave enthusiasts without alienating his core hip-hop audiences. But most retailers and radio programmers interviewed picked West, whose single, "Stronger", was Number Six on Billboard's Hot 100 -while none of 50's four singles climbed higher than the thirty-second spot. During his brief stay in Sweden, West sent through sixteen different mixes of "Good Life" over to their recording studio for the audio mastering process.

On January 10, 2008, the album was certified double platinum by Music Canada for sales of 200,000 copies. West debuted the album's lead single "Can't Tell Me Nothing" on the New York radio station Hot 97 on May 15. According to West's cousin, soul singer Tony Williams, Jay-Z became quite emotional after West played a part of "Big Brother" for him in the studio for the first time.He delivers witty, smart, sometimes absurd rhymes (he seems to take more lyrical chances on GRADUATION) that fit nicely with the overall feel of his tracks. Though this stands as one of the multiple times that West has given an award of his to someone else, West also has a frequent history of complaining when he does not win an award. After West had played the demo for "Everything I Am" over the phone for DJ Premier and asked him what he thought of it, DJ Premier then replied that he enjoyed the lyrics and the innovative beat and offered to scratch over it. Graduation' day arrives: Kanye West exploits his growing pains Archived May 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.