Going back on his rule to be the sole rapper on Graduation, Kanye invites rap's 2007 MVP Lil' Wayne on late addition "Barry Bonds", a decidely old-school/ street-rooted number in which West, at usual, wipes his own self down ("I've been a very good sport/ Haven't I this year?/ Say 'He going crazy/ And we seen this before'/ But I'm doin' pretty good far as geniuses go") in light of his recent MTV-anointed honor of being one of the Top 5 MC's in the Game Right Now.

Based in low rumbling decor with organ waves that build on "Can't Hold Me Down"'s dark & dramatic recipe, "Barry Bonds" (it's title preceded by the predictable line "Here's another hit") is filler at best, even with the the appeal of both West and Weezy side-by-side in the credit tags. Wayne is more miss-than-hit here on another auto-pilot cameo, sleeping his way through okay one-liners ("Ice in my teeth so refridgerated") but mostly an un-memorable verse that highlights what happens when freestyling goes bad.

If West was smart, he would leave this one to the mixtape circuit and go back to his original promise to keep the mic focus on himself for the new album. This one is barely worth the disc space.



DL: "Barry Bonds" (YFH)