KANYE'S 'DROPOUT' IS EW'S ALBUM OF THE DECADE: 'I was most inspired by "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," rapper says in accepting the honor.

      “Wow, this is really flattering. I’ve had some ups and downs this year, we’ll actually this decade. Just seeing this cover takes me back to that time of my life,” said the rapper, who has chosen to take a break from the spotlight in the wake of his Taylor Swift incident at the MTV Video Music Awards.

      “I remember how much pain and love went into this album," he said. "No one saw it coming. This project wasn’t about me, it was about a time in people’s lives where people force opinions on you and you have to make choices for yourself. We loved 50 Cent but we wanted to be the yang. We wanted to wear pink polos and rap about being hurt on this album everyday.”

      Other hip hop albums behind "College Dropout" on the magazine's Album of Decade list include Outkast’s "The Love Below/Speakerboxxx," 50 Cent’s "Get Rich or Die Tryin’," and Jay-Z’s "Blueprint."

      “I was most inspired by "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" and I listened to that album everyday while working on my debut,” West revealed. “Thank you for the acknowledgement and for putting 'Blueprint' on the list also. I loved 'The Love Below' and 'Get Rich or Die Tryin’,' also. They equally deserved the number one spot in my eyes but there can only be one number one!”

      Kanye's award appears in the magazine's upcoming issue.