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Album Review: Kanye West's "808's & Heartbreak"
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The album cover of "808's & Heartbreak" in stores 11.24.08
Have I told you how much I love the internet? Earlier this morning, Kanye West streamed his album 808’s & Heartbreak on his blog for us to have a listen for free! It all went down at 12:01 AM. If you visited my blog yesterday (where I dropped the secret info) and are a die hard Kanye fan, you too were listening to the new album, heavy eyed and all; I know mine were I was tired! 808’s & Heartbreak is a remarkable album.
You see, I am a tough little lady to please when it comes to music. I was raised on good music so I expect nothing but the best. I believe for a song or album to be a hit, it must embody the total list of musical ingredients to fulfill the music recipe to feed the soul. But enough about my admiration, lets talk about the album.
This album has to be the first album from Kanye that allowed us as fans and those of us who aren’t to get a look at the real Kanye. The “Louis Vuitton Don” did not show himself in this album: for once, Kanye’s ego was put on hold and he displayed the characteristic of a person that had a huge slice of humble pie.
It all started with “Say You Will” a hypnotic pop infused track that allowed Kanye to toy with the Auto-Tunes software which was a theme throughout the album. I can definitely play this song to assist me in falling asleep as well as starting my day, its so captivating and mind blowing. “Welcome to Heartbreak” is a track that has Kanye explaining how it’s lonely at the top. He raps, "My friend showed me pictures of his kids/and all I could show him were pictures of my crib". What I like about this song is the fact that he speaks about the reality of the so called “super star world”; in a sense, he describes the all too familiar saying “all that glitters isn’t gold”.
“Amazing” which features Young Jeezy, was the most hip hop track on the album. A little dark and suspenseful, it pulls you into the world of Kanye. Young Jeezy’s voice as always is attention grabbing; he should really consider copyrighting his voice. “Love Lockdown” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. The drum pattern and the beat as a whole reminded me of African music. Kanye’s delivery is insane and aw inspiring, I definitely felt him on this song.
The beat for “Paranoid” reminds me of the theme song for the opening credits of the Michael Myers flick Halloween and also has an 80’s pop feel. I can also see that the track was inspired by Evelyn Champagne King’s song “Love Come Down”. “Robocop” is another 80’s inspired track that has a little humor in the lyrics. The violins add a nice touch and the beat sounds like something Cold Play would write to and perform. I wonder who he’s talking about; could it be his ex?
“Street Lights” reminds me of easy listening music. It’s a very motivating song that holds a lot of meaning. The song that had me in tears was “Pinocchio Story”. Kanye pours his heart out on this track that happens to be a freestyle. It really did touch my heart. Kanye raps “What it feels like/to live a real life/ I just want to be a real boy”. Not too many rappers can make me cry, kudos Kanye.
This album is a break through for Kanye. I believe it will open the door for other artist to get ultra personal with their fan base and to show their ultimate potential through their music. Once again, Kanye has showed that he is not afraid to step out the box, be creative, and do something opposite of what others are doing. Granted it isn’t the same ol’ hip hop album, it does stay true to the art form. The Auto-Tunes were easy on the ears as appose to T-Pain’s latest effort “Thr33 Ringz” which is kind of funny because Kanye had to ask T-Pain to use the Auto-Tunes software, but I digress. In my opinion, the 12 track album is one of Kanye’s best albums yet to date, and I believe it deserves every nomination it will get.
On a scale of 1-5, I give 808's & Heartbreak 3 ½ Examiner Globes.
You can still check out the 808’s & Heartbreak album before it hits stores on Monday, November 24th by clicking here.
Check out his video “Heartless” off of the new album.
For more info: visit kanyeuniversecity.com, www.myspace.com/kanyewest
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