Review of 808s and Heartbreak

I should probably start this by saying that I decided to write this review a while ago with a pretty good idea of what I was going to say but I ended up procastinating for a week or two and in that time I gave the album a couple more spins which has caused my opinion of the album to skyrocket.

I’ve been saying for years that Kanye West and Noel Gallagher are two of the most deservedly arrogant men in popular music but with the new oasis album coming out in the same year as Kanyes I would have to say that Kanye has taken the crown. If you’ve heard anything about the album at all you probably know that he uses auto-tune throughout the whole thing which has received a lot of criticism and I’ll say this in Kanyes defence he’s the Bob Dylan of my generation in the sense that hes an extremely talented lyricist with wisdom beyond his years who can’t sing for shit. The auto-tune didn’t bother me at all in fact I kind of liked it the real problem with Kanye singing instead of rapping is that he cuts back dramatically on the puns and wordplay that were so prevalent in his first three albums and were one of the major reasons I consider Kanye so highly but his strength as a lyricist makes his new style work.

The album allegedly deals with the recent death of Kanyes mother and the breaking off of his engagement as well as the fact that the lifestyle Kanye has strived for his entire life has left him lonely and disallusioned. The album has a real honest emotional intensity but at the same time it’s obvious this isn’t a pity party despite all his trials and tribulations there is still enough swagger and bravado to remind you who your listening to. Originally after listening to the album I was ready to say that it was Kanyes second best album after late registration but after listening to it a couple more times I would have to say its his best and the beginning of something new for Kanye in fact the thing I like most about this album is that it makes me really excited about his next album and maybe I’m biased but I predict Kanye going from strength to strength in the future.

I would recomend street lights and amazing as the top tracks on the album but to be perfectly honest you really can’t go wrong.