-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Author’s Note: I understand that this review is inexcusably late, but I’ve been short on free time, so deal with it. I still had to write it, if anything, for myself. Not to mention the album merited multiple listens before rushing out a review. But since you’ve all surely heard it by now, it will be more conceptual, and less of an objective song-by-song breakdown. Enjoy!
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Outside of one dreadlocked Southern rapper, Kanye West (aka “The Voice Of This Generation Of This Decade”) has rapidly become the most polarizing figure in hip-hop. Initially known for his trademark sped-up soul samples and lighthearted, sarcastic lyrics, Mr. West has delighted fans over the past five years with a timeless classic album (The College Dropout) and two other standout, innovative hip-hop releases (Late Registration, Graduation). Recently, he irritated fans by hastily creating a predominantly sample-free, predominantly rap-free, “emo” recording, 808s and Heartbreak.
But who could blame him? In the past year, Kanye has experienced some legitimately heartbreaking turning points in his life. His mother tragically passed away due to complications from a plastic surgery operation, and he broke up with his long-term fiancé. 808s is West’s emotional response to those events.
Gone on this album are Ye’s trademark celebratory laments about “The Good Life.” Instead, his lyrics, sung completely in auto-tune (yes, that auto-tune), touch on topics of self-loathing, despair, hate, frustration, and loss. Also gone on 808s is the luscious production that isolated Kanye as one of hip-hop’s premier beatmakers. In substitution is an often cold and robotic musical backdrop, characterized by West’s sole use of the Roland 808 drum programmer.
That is not to say that the production on 808s is lacking. In fact, the production is the unifying factor of the album. Auto-tune or no auto-tune, Kanye is, by any means, a poor singer. It is his evidently perfectionist approach to the beats on 808s that hold the album together. Songs like “Welcome To Heartbreak,” “Heartless,” and “Paranoid,” are highlights because, although entirely synthesized, they have thick, layered beats. Another strong point of 808s is the infectious hook and groove of “Amazing,” a last standout song.
The album also has an intriguing progression to it. The album begins with “Say You Will,” on which Kanye seems to be in disbelief about his romantic break-up. “Welcome To Heartbreak” exhibits Kanye’s distress about not having a consistent love in his life. Then he begins to cope and move on. The jaded side of Kanye is exposed on “Love Lockdown,” while he sounds accusatory on “Paranoid” and “RoboCop.” (On a side note, the term “RoboCop” is sure to begin to be used by men with demanding girlfriends everywhere.) On “See You In My Nightmares,” Kanye belts, “Tell everybody that you know / That I don’t love you no more!” Then, on the closing track, “Coldest Winter,” Kanye questions whether he will ever love again. Kanye has claimed that the creation of 808s was “therapeutic” for him. This full circle of themes and emotions summarizes Kanye’s coping process.
The real issue regarding the success of 808s is simply asking: “Did it work?” The answer is both yes and no. One of the overall lessons to be learned from 808s is that Kanye could have made this album by rapping, which he is far better at than singing. Kanye’s lyrical abilities are often criticized, but the reality is that he is not that bad of a rapper. In the past, he has been able to successfully tackle weighty topics in his songs (“Through The Wire,” “Family Business,” “Hey Mama,” among many other tracks). With his decision to sing, Kanye was not able to utilize clever metaphors and allusions (“Homecoming”); alternatively, on 808s Kanye sounds vengeful at times, ruthlessly attacking and criticizing his ex, who has no celebrity status with which to mount a response, let alone defend herself.
The production, assessed as a whole, is good — nothing more, nothing less. Kanye, once again, chose to step out of his comfort zone, and craft an entirely foreign-sounding record with 808s. Though admirable, and somewhat innovative at times, the music on this album is not typically superb Kanye material. There is no reason to believe that a relatively experienced producer with Logic Studio and a keyboard couldn’t craft similar beats.
808s and Heartbreak will be heralded by many as another classic album from Kanye West. Others claim that it is, to put it delicately, a “shit sandwich.” The truth is that it is neither. 808s was an album that Kanye was bound to make sooner or later. It is neither groundbreaking nor boring. It is neither phenomenal nor terrible. It is a solid non-hip-hop album from a hip-hop artist who commendably chose to do what he wanted to do. And if you really hated it that much, don’t worry, Ye has claimed he’ll be back to rapping for another album to be released in the summer of 2009.
Rating: 7/10
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