Even with extended skits and lots of filler, West’s debut stands as the smartest, funniest and most important rap album of the new century. The pink Polo-wearing son of an ex-Black Panther and a college English professor, West wasn’t the first to bring a buppie sensibility to hip hop, but he infused “Jesus Walks,” “All falls Down” and “Never Let Me Down” (which featured a tremendous guest verse from his mentor and record company president, Jay-Z) with wit, intelligence and most of all, complexity.