Kanye West is fresh off his two exclusive shows at the Hollywood Bowl in California where he performed his 2008 album, "808s & Heartbreak," front to back. 'Ye performed all the hits exclusively while turning the stage into a work of art with dancers, music, and special guests.
Bringing out three out of the four guests on the album in Kid Cudi, Mr. Hudson, and Young Jeezy to perform, the fans at the Hollywood Bowl received one hell of a show.
After the show, I, being a huge Kanye fan, started to listen to the album again (I wasn't actually at the shows). I slept on the album at first and wasn't a huge fan. When it came out in '08, I took it for what it was. I enjoyed the radio hits like "Heartless" and "Love Lockdown," but I didn't realize how artistic and beautiful the album truly was. Now listening to the entire album for the past month on loop, I've come to realize "808s & Heartbreak" is one of Kanye's strongest and most classic albums.
We'll start with track one, "Say You Will." The album enters with this almost robotic beat that makes you nod your head back and forth. Enter Mr. West crooning over the beat with his auto-tuned voice saying, "Just say you will, I pray you will" and you have the majority of the track. Nonetheless, it is still one of my favorites off the LP.
The record sets the tone for the rest of album forthcoming. 'Ye wastes no time proving he has creativity when it comes to mixing up his old harder bars from "The College Dropout" to the new synthesized pop sound he's creating on this album.
"Welcome to Heartbreak" comes as track two and gets help on the hook from (now former) G.O.O.D. Music artist Kid Cudi. Cudi melodizes, "And my head keeps spinning..." over another synthesized beat, while Kanye takes care of three verses and an outro.
This song is one of the top tracks off the album. Making for arguably one of Kid Cudi's best hooks of all time, Kanye did a great job of finding a voice that would perfectly match the vision of the track.
Next comes three tracks back-to-back-to-back that are the biggest radio tracks off the album. First is "Heartless," a staple in West's discography that is played at almost every show. The "in the night, I hear them talk the coldest story ever told..." chorus is one of Kanye's most recognizable and his most classic.
Then comes "Amazing" featuring a verse from Young Jeezy. A song where Kanye is just being Kanye, Mr. West raps about how successful his career has been, and how that success isn't stopping anytime soon (remember this was 2008. I suppose he was kind of right).
After that comes "Love Lockdown," one of my favorite songs off the album. Another auto-tuned song with an 808 drum machine beat over the top, West raps about love in an upbeat yet dark track.
Track six, "Paranoid," is the closest thing to old 'Ye on this album. Although it still has more of a pop feel rather than hard hip-hop, the Mr. Hudson-assisted song is one of the most slept on records on "808s."
Next comes "RoboCop," which seems like it would be the theme song to some kind of arcade game. The instrumental is very upbeat and peppy, giving the impression that 'Ye is the superhero. "Street Lights," track eight, is one of West's more emotional songs. He sings in auto-tune about how life isn't fair and about his depression after his mother, Donda, passed.
Next, "Bad News" is musically one of the most classic and important songs on the entire LP. The song's first two and half minutes or so are synthesized sounds with Kanye's vocals layered over the top. Only three quarters through the song does 'Ye declare he's "heard some real bad news."
The last three tracks, "See You in My Nightmares" with Lil Wayne, "Coldest Winter," and "Pinocchio Story" are much more of the same, beautiful instrumentals with 808 drums doing the rest. Ending the album with a live freestyle is a head-scratcher to some. The six-minute long track was debuted in Singapore and made the final cut of the album. Performed only on rare occasion, like at the two Hollywood Bowl shows, 'Ye spits more bars about his depression as he describes how his life is being torn apart.
"808s" is a classic because Kanye straight up changed his sound. Everyone knows 'Ye has the talent and the bars to compete with any rapper in the game, but "808s" attests to more than that -- it attests to his creativity.
Instead of making another standard hip-hop album, Kanye had a vision to make a different sound. Using the synthesizer and 808 drums, he had a vision for what he wanted to do. And it was pure genius. He gathered the right people to help him, in Cudi, Hudson, and others, and he truly made a classic.
It truly does show the diversity and creativity he is capable of. So next time you and you are friends are ranking Kanye's album, make sure to think long and hard about "808s." Just remember the change he initiated with his career. Instead of being just another rapper whose lyrics and songs all sound the same, Kanye made a diverse piece of art that is "808s."
Oh and by the way, Mr. West himself said recently he thinks "808s" is better than "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (everyone's favorite), so just do yourself a favor and listen.
