Kanye West returns to the spotlight with the most unexpected release of the year entitled 808’s and Heartbreak. 808’s and Heartbreak chronicles the devastating loss of his mother Donda West, and a failed shot at romance with his one time fiancé Alexis Phifer, while also paying homage to one of the most rootsy, minimalist electronic instruments ever designed, the “Roland TR-808” drum machine, and believe me, the 808’s and heartbreak are sure to be found everywhere throughout the entire album.
Opening with “Say You Will,” West introduces the listener to the impending downfall of a relationship that is going nowhere quickly all over a looped, two key rhythm, and simplistic drum pattern.Simplicity is the name of the game for 808’s and Heartbreak, while also clearly showing the broad influences that have grown to inspire Kanye West as a musician, ranging from Phil Collins all the way to Thom Yorke.
The following track “Welcome to Heartbreak” is Mr. West coming to realization that all is lost, and leaves him questioning whether his priorities have always been in place, singing “Chased the good life my whole life long, look back on my life and my life gone. Where did I go wrong?” Cleveland up and coming rapper Kid Cudi dominates the chorus on this track, making it one of the best songs on the album.
West is maturing in front of very eyes, growing from the slaphappy, comedic college dropout, to the serious, mature musician that he has grown to become, while releasing four consistent albums.“Heartless” is a song dominated by West’s newfound love for the auto-tuner, where West raps over emulated wooden wind pipes, while “Amazing” proves to be the weakest track on the album, with a lackluster feature from fellow rapper Young Jeezy.
“Love Lockdown” is the most solid track on 808’s, and an understandable selection as being the introductory piece into the reincarnation of Kanye West. “Paranoid” once again features Kid Cudi, and is the closest song to a club hit that can be found on the album.
808’s and Heartbreaks has a direction, and is clearly a conceptual piece that exposes the process of heartbreak, denial, misery, and eventually acceptance. On the closing track “Coldest Winter” West honestly sings, “Memories made in the coldest winter… Goodbye my friend, will I ever love again?” Where West officially closes this chapter of his life.
West has caught a lot of flack with the release of 808’s and Heartbreaks for his transformation from a thoughtful rapper to an heartbroken R&B singer, but 808’s does a wonderful job in proving that West is capable of succeeding in anything that he does. The auto-tuner is too heavily ridden at times, but 808’s comes together as a complete package. Try having a failed marriage, losing your mother, and releasing one of the best albums of the year. Most likely not the easiest task to achieve.
**** / ***** 4 out of 5
(Archived from 12/1/08)
Posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Tags: Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Reviews, Young Jeezy
Posted in Reviews |
