You not listening close enough then. College dropout had some of his most creative subject matter. It isnt just the production alone that made it a classic. Again, you dont have to be Nas to be a respectful lyricist. Two Words, Never Let Me Down, Slow Jamz, We Dont Care, Spaceship, Jesus Walks, New Work Out Plan, School Spirit are all very creative (extra emphasis) and witty with a few of those listed being honest and introspective.
Then you got songs like My Way Home, Touch the Sky, Hey Mama, Diamonds are Forever, Roses, Heard Em Say & Bring Me Down on Late Registration. All songs with respectable lyrics but creative and honest more than anything. Problem is after those albums he had nothing else to talk about and started getting away from his roots, he went the superficial route. Even then you still got some of my fav Ye tracks off Graduation, Homecoming and Big Brother was 2 of his best penned songs to date IMO.
Ye will never be confused with Rakim or K-Rino but his earlier albums were decent from a lyrical standpoint and most certainly creative.