Hunger4More

‘808s and Heartbreak’; otherwise known as Kanye West’s ‘Kid A’.

Within the world of hip-hop, few subjects are considered taboo. Whilst misogyny and crude bragging are actively encouraged, dealing with tacit emotions is all but outlawed. Anything beyond chatting shit over some perceived infidelity sees you labelled a right old pejorative. As such, Kanye West's decision to spill his emotional load is about as rebellious as you can get in what has become a bafflingly conformist genre. Gone are the trademarked neon boasts and sample rich compositions that have characterised his first three albums to be replaced by a bleak treatise on the nature of heartbreak and loss.
Yet for all its honesty, ‘808s & Heartbreak’ must still be judged on broader terms; chiefly whether it holds together as an album. The answer, since you ask, is a resounding yes. Given the reduced palette with which Kanye is working, it’s amazing there is such a spectrum of styles and influences covered. The haters will point to the predominance of ‘auto-croon’ and West’s unswerving reliance on an electro skeleton; but fuck me, they’re relatively minor gripes when compared with the portmanteau on offer. Whether it’s ‘Say You Will’’s Bola / Enya collision, the Basic Channel fingerprints throughout ‘Coldest Winter’ (dedicated to his mother) or the gorgeous Moroder flourishes on ‘Street Lights’, West has distilled an astonishing amount of ideas down into such a concise package. Parenthesis has no place here. Elsewhere, the jack-knifed beats and epic strings of ‘Robocop’ are the perfect juxtaposition to West’s ranty pants; ‘Amazing’ grafts clicking rhythms to a fuzzy vocal of “I’m a monster, I’m amazing”, whilst ‘Paranoid’ leans heavily on the Kanye of yore - proving that being miserable doesn’t necessitate an embargo on instantly catchy pop songs.
All of which brings us back round to the ‘Kid A’ comparison. Just as Radiohead found themselves feted by both the mainstream and cliquey elite, so West is courted by all areas of the media and scattered wide across our culture. Just as Radiohead chose their fourth album to begin exploring a rich seam of experimentation that escaped the straightjacket of a claustrophobic genre, so West has shirked hip-hop’s prevailing wind and sailed boldly off into thrilling new waters. And just as Radiohead sacrificed a modicum of commercial success to become one of our greatest musical exports, so Kanye has seen that an artist’s role is to do more than fill arenas and flog branded glowsticks. It is to articulate human emotions in a way that allows us all fresh insight - a rare goal, but one achieved here. Pretentious as fuck maybe; but that’s why we love him...

http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/kanye-west

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R3LAPS3

jondoejondoe195

WHOEVER WROTE THIS SHOULD SHOOT THEMSELVES!!! No rapper should ever be compared to RADIOHEAD!!!!! (probably no band either) Plus Radiohead changed and took a chance ever album, also Kid A is some crazy shit, so much based on jazz!

Anyone can make some simple 808 tracks and sing with a vocoder. Thom is an amazing vocalist. I really like Kanye but this album is crap, he should pay me to listen to it. I hate the vocoder!!!!

I wish I could choke the life out of T-Pain with my bare hands!!!

TheMadWriter

It's an okay review, but the pseudo-intelligent tone and cliche 'rap is all bitches and hoes' perception put it down a few notches. Overall it's a more positive, and legitimate, side of the album of heard in the (user made) reviews i've read.

EDIT: One more thing, although some people do manage to use the vocoder well; Kanye simply can't sing. I don't know if i'm the only person who notices but damn..I coulda made that album.

xPaperPlanes78x

THERE IS NO CLOTHES I CAN BUY THAT CAN TURN BACK THE TIME!!

REAL LIFE....WHAT DOES FEEL LIKE....this album is dope

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If you rep me ill do the same...

jdubz711

Then make an album jus like this an become popular as kanye

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"Hated on so much, "The Passion of Christ" need a sequel"
-The Game

Drink

On a creative level, this album is pretty good but I'm a fan of hip hop so I'm not feelin it. You just gotta be either in the mood for this, or feel R&B enough. Personally I prefer just straight up hip hop so give this a 6/10 overall but for an R&B album 8/10.

TheMadWriter

This stuff isn't what made Kanye popular, Kanye emerged to fame as a rap artist with occasional hooks. The synthesizer mess is something new he's fallen into, and personally I feel he just doesn't have the vocal talent to be an R&B artist.

EDIT: Oh yes, and he also emerged to fame that way through producing music before he even started rapping..so yeah. No singing.

anzee11

I'm a little hesitant on buying this album. I'm afraid that if I buy it, I'll play it for a couple weeks and it'll never be played again. I just can't get past the fact that Ludacris is the down south version of Redman when it comes to creativity.

anzee11

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konkwest2009

Lyrically, it's there. I'm not diggin the singin. Just get Pain to drop the hook. But I like the use of the 808s and toms. That's creative as hell.

aisha

I think its there with the lyrics and the rthymn as well

philzbilz

i personally thinks this album is great.. for a while when it first came out i was like every other g-unit fan not wanting to hear it but i heard it by accident then i had to get it on da pod.. this whole album is about real shit ppl gotta deal with.. da lyrics and stories that are being told makes up for dat voice shit.. if you are only stuck on rap then maybe thats why yall dont like this album or maybe you just a follower with a blinded mind... I RESPECT GOOD MUSIC..

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ITS DA UNIT.........

DON'T STEP TO ME WITH YOUR TITTIES LOW..

Kidss

No Kanye's new album is garbage this motherfucker needs to stop rapping