Album Review: Kanye West – 808′s and Heartbreak
With all the anticipation leading up to 808’s and Heartbreak, many avid Kanye fans were disappointed with the new release. This album is unlike all his other albums by featuring Ye in a more melodic form in which he drifts away from his energetic, free-flowing MC-ing. At first I was a little upset because I’d rather hear a new album with him spitting fire, but then I began to listen to 808’s and went on a ride. He brings out such great emotion in every song both from him and out of the listener. All of the songs have a similar premise of being heartbroken after losing a loved one. This emotion is most likely built up from him and his fiancé breaking up and the loss of his mother.
In the opening song, “Say You Will,” Ye talks about how people can say they’ll do something and then not. He blames this on the person’s heart being ill, which you could also likely say about his. In the second song “Welcome to Heartbreak” Kanye compares himself to his friends saying, “My friend show me pictures of his kids, and all I could show him was pictures of my cribs.” He discusses how he has all these items such as cars, houses, and jets, but not a child since the girl he was supposed to have kids with left him. He does a great job bringing out his pain and questions himself when he says, “Where did I go wrong,” which shows that he knows, some where along the rode, he made a mistake.
In the album’s first single, “Love Lockdown,” Kanye talks about how he loves a girl but he can’t be with her for various reasons. He’s heartbroken and devastated.
One of my favorite songs on the album is “Robocop” which Kanye talks about not being able to be stopped or patrolled by a woman. “Up late night like she on patrol, checking everything like I’m on parole/I told her there’s some things she don’t need to know, she never let it go.” He refers to women as Robocops who try to control everything in his life and watch his every step. He portrays them as machines both in the way they move and act in an overseeing manner.
Other songs that stand out to me are “Paranoid,” which he discusses how girls can be overly paranoid, and “Coldest Winter,” which he talks about being cold and lonely during the season that is typically known to be the most depressive of the four.
Overall, 808’s and Heartbreak is an exceptionally fine work of art. He brings out the emotion of the listener throughout the entire album. Everyone can relate to his words because we’ve all had our heart broken or lost a loved one. With this album Kanye continues to utilize his lyricist skills and is able to express his thoughts by using semantics throughout.
Can we discuss Heartless, and how it’s one of my top five songs right now?
K, thanks.
… i’ve been humbled
how good are the strings in robocop?
this is a solid album.
I don’t think that anyone out there is going to fight you on the fact that Kanye West is a ridiculous individual. He is an egotistical maniac who is so hyped up on himself that he lacks any and all tact that is required to substantiate his own talent. He is a very adventurous and visionary musician and his talent is unquestionable, but it is hard to really enjoy his work when you are constantly reminded of how horrible he is. That said, I have never really been one to label a person’s artistic contributions based on their personal lives. So I purchased `808s & Heartbreak’ based on the fact that `Heartless’ is one of the best songs of the decade. I really wanted to love this album. I wanted to be able to spout, once again, on the fact that artistic merit is in no way related to one’s social habits. Sadly, `808s & Heartbreak’ is so far outside of Kanye’s comfort zone that it becomes an admirable mess. It is awkward, uneven (at times even uninteresting) and underwhelming across the board really. I really feel that Kanye has courage as an artist, and he really tried some commendable things here, but in the end it is only really commendable if it is pulled off right; and Kanye doesn’t pull this off. It’s a conceptual album, but the concept seems to get lost somewhere along the way. I’ll start by saying that `Pinocchio Story’ is totally unnecessary. It doesn’t belong here; it is basically inaudible and just painful to listen to. I don’t even consider it a part of the album. It’s just, awkward. I’ll start from the bottom and work my way up. The two-star tracks… The opening song `Say You Will’ should have been a great kick start to the album. It had some elements of technical excitement going for it, but in the end it winds up far too long and far too underwhelming. There is no `pop’, no `bang for my buck’ so-to-speak. It just falls flat instead of stirring my attention. `Street Lights’ is just rather boring, and `RoboCop’ is campy. `RoboCop’ may be the worst track on the album. It’s just really cheesy and that’s not just the horribly written dialog present, but the actual musical arrangement is just cringe worthy. So far we have: 11) RoboCop 10) Say You Will 09) Street Lights Next, the three-star tracks… I really don’t like `Welcome to Heartbreak’ as a whole, but in parts I find something there to at least admire. The whole auto-tune facet of the entire album has been ridiculed to death, so I’m trying to stay away from that part of the equation. I really felt that lyrically, this is the strongest track on the album. Musically I also felt that it really had a nice structure. Sadly, the way Kanye delivers each word is so void of any emotion it basically does away with any impact that song could have had. `Amazing’ and `Bad News’ are really muddy, but they are at least entertaining for the most part. `Amazing’ is completely owned by Young Jeezy, so much so that Kayne is completely overshadowed. So, we have: 08) Bad News 07) Welcome to Heartbreak 06) Amazing Now, the four-star tracks… Yes, `Love Lockdown’ is a good song. It was the first single off the album and one that I enjoyed. It showed a new side to Kanye and one that was unexpected yet intriguing. If only the rest of the album could have lived up to this standard (and this isn’t even that `amazing’ after repeated listens). The drumming is instantly recognizable and memorable and just, well, very intriguing. The song makes you want to hear more. I really want to love `See You In My Nightmares’, and for the most part I do. Lil Wayne makes everything better, and he OWNS this song. If this was just his solo effort it may very well be the best thing on the album, but Kanye drags it down a tad here. His aggressive spewing in parts (“that and you know”) is awkward and unflattering. It’s funny because usually I find Kanye to be the best part of the songs he guest raps in. `Coldest Winter’ is well done, but it is a tad boring. I still rank it pretty high because it is one of Kanye’s better vocal efforts. So: 05) Coldest Winter 04) Love Lockdown 03) See You in My Nightmares And now, the five-star tracks… As I mentioned, `Heartless’ is basically one of the best songs of the past decade (see, I am not against Kanye). The song is new, fresh and very imaginative. I only wish that the rest of the album had achieved such greatness. The only song that comes close is `Paranoid’. There is a life to this track that is not found on any of the other songs. It is far from boring. It is fun, funky and exciting. I found myself thoroughly entertained. Sure, it is not your typical Kanye (then again, none of this album is typical for him) but it just captures such energy. In the end, I’m very disappointed with this album. I give it a low C. He could have had a brilliant masterpiece on his hands had he really honed this, but maybe this is so far beyond him that he would have been best to walk away from it. It is an admirable attempt, but I cannot commend him on the finished product.
Andrew Ellington