Kanye is in a dark place, emotional and feeling down. Could his music be going down too? 

Thankfully, surprisingly even, no. 808’s & Heartbreak, West’s fourth studio album, not only pours his heart out, but his talent, his genius and his depth as an artist…after ignoring what I thought I knew about Kanye West hip-hop.

“An R&B album though? I know you love you some you and your style is high & mighty and all that, but clearly you’ve lost it.”

Then, Love Lockdown premiered and I was damn near convinced Kanye West is DONE. If he’s continuing down THIS road and style and etc, then he’s entered hip-hop irrelevance.  

But, you have to look at the bigger picture; past cookie-cutter fit music categories with this album. I sat back, had it playing straight through with a focus on production over vocals. American Virgin film

Well, uh…I feel dirty saying it, but two weeks later I still haven’t put it down. Ah, I said it…there….disgusting! Kanye West is the one and only Kanye West this review and album is why:

Some notes you need

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 to know:Yes, West is singing or ‘Ja-Rule “harmonizing”’Yes, all via auto-tune.And no, THIS IS not quite HIP-HOP/RAP. Welcome to the Kanye West Experiment… 

(Yes, I 

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said it. Direct all hate to Chegge@indi-arts.com. I may post the best argument.)

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 The first track Say You Will, serves as your host, like the female on ATCQ’s Midnight Marauders,showing you to your seat at table 808’s & HB download Mirrors dvd . From the jump, you hear the darker mood, cool-ass almost tribal drum loop and the symbolic heartbeat like a musical ECG machine alternating the left and right speaker each blip, and lets you know this IS the album. Period. Just accept the fact and roll with it to make the trip more enjoyable. A Life Less Ordinary psp

Say You Will became a favorite track for the first few listens. The synth really carries the drama along with ‘Ye singing like he just got stood up on prom night. He puts it all out there with his hi-tech toys of the great ‘80’s like the synth and auto-tune breathing his life’s ills over Roland TR-808 drum patterns.

‘Ye is multi-platinum proven and floats way above the stereotypical hip-hop/rap, allowing him to break off into such an experimental approach to an album that’s all his own. Who else could you see pulling it off??

Common “experimented” up an album, Electric Circus…and uh, three years later he releases a classic called Be Permanent Vacation film

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 and the damage from EC was thankfully wiped clean.

Dead & Buried move The Lawless movie Maybe Lil Wayne, but he’d be riding a real artist’s coattails…once again. However, I’m sad to admit thatWayne is featured on track 10, See You in My Knightmares. I know, I know, but he actually does a good job; intoxicated mumble over auto-tune and all.

Back to music: West provides super 80’s feel through insecure-girl-problem tracks Love Lockdown,Paranoid (featuring Mr. Hudson) and the only-thing-I-could-really-call-it-is-ridiculously-original, with a smile, Robocop. He threw just about everything into Robocop; great harmony, synth, robot/machine sounds, classic Kanye-violins, feedback and way too many original sounds and levels to count. From the reluctance of Love Lockdown, to Paranoid where he jokingly references the insecure girlfriend and extreme insecurity when your mate turns Robocop checking on you.

The last two are fun, funny and reminiscent of the old West sense of humor.

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The laughter stops and moves on to Street Lights

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, a summary of life’s up and downs and the events we pass through (ah, like street lights!). This is a stand-out track, piano involved also, leading to another standout, the dark, drum-heavy Coldest Winter. “Memories made in the coldest winter”, is the repeated line in this echo-filled poem of a song:

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“If spring can take the snow awayCan it melt away all our mistakesCan it melt away all our mistakes”

Kanye took a bold approach with album and it paid off. Deep hooks and piano play really carry the album, not only auto-tune and a young Phil Collins demeanor. Tracks like Amazing (featuring Young Jeezy), Pinocchio Story, Love Lockdown, especially

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 Street lights and Welcome to Heartbreak (featuring new signee, Kid Cudi) serve as proof to the piano testament. Jeezy provides the only rapping on any track, though I’d consider Heartless spit by West.  

Overall, 808’s is an experience through music that everyone needs to go through or might have already. The classic tools really express the majority of the emotion, piano especially, with West’s vocals there to translate. The irony is in how this album all about relationships actually redefines West as an artist in relation to hip-hop; the one relationship not discussed.

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Did I lose you yet? 

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