808’s & Heartbreak: Kanye West goes alternative… sorta

Friday, 28 November 2008 08:12

Kanye West has become a staple not only in the hip-hop scene, but in the music industry in general. He has had three successful albums and quite a prolific career filled with many #1 singles, memorable collaborations, killer rhymes, and an enviable swag. West is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, and this time around is no exception. With an unfortunate year behind him, he ditched plans for releasing “Good Ass Job”, the follow-up and continuation to his previous albums.  Instead Kanye West delivers “808’s & Heartbreak”, an album that reflects his current state of mind. You can sense Kanye’s sadness and desperation throughout through the lyrics, the music, and even the execution.  West drops all the sampling (!), hip-hop beats (!!!), and rapping (!!!!).   

For “808’s & Heartbreak”, Kanye West decided to experiment with new sounds and new techniques--- the usage of the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the use of the Auto-Tune throughout the whole album. As if it weren’t enough, Kanye keeps the rapping to a minimum, and venture into singing. 

808’s & Heartbreak

Throughout the album, Kanye West keeps his voice hollow and robotic thanks to the use of the vocoder, his vocals are an emotionally void thread that strings together 808 drums in despair.

While pop artists use and abuse the Auto-Tune vocal effect to cover up their shortcomings in the voice department, Kanye West effectively utilizes Auto-Tune to channel his feelings that rang from anger to doubt to extreme sadness. Surprisingly enough, the Auto-Tune works to his advantage thanks to his well-crafted lyrics. 

When Kanye unveiled the first single “Love Lockdown” at the 2008 VMA’s, dejó a muchos con la boca abierta y con cara de WTF?! “Love Lockdown” sounds like nothing Kanye West has done before: starting with the pounding and ever-present heartbeat, followed by West in singing mode, trailed by a piano, orgasmically exploding with what sounds like a gazillion drums.  It was Kanye’s way of preparing people for what was to come.
The album opener “Say You Will” cleverly paves the way and sets the mood for the rest of the album. 

There are a couple of featured artists in “808’s & Heartbreak”.  The collaborators also go through the vocoder and their rapping is also kept to a minimum. Guests include: Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr. Hudson, and Lil’ Wayne. 

“808’s & Heartbreak” is filled with many surprises- both musically and lyrically. 

{sidebar id=188}It is still too early to see if this album will become a major best selling album like West’s previous efforts; however, regardless of its possible sales or popularity, “808’s & Heartbreak” proves to be an over-the-top genre-bending gem. 

808’s & Heartbreak Outstanding Traxx: Say You Will, Bad News, Coldest Winter, Amazing, See You In My Nightmares, RoboCop.