Art pop kanye 808s and heartbreak
His lyrics explore themes of loss, alienated fame, and heartache, while the album's production abandons conventional hip hop sounds in favor of a minimalist sonic palette, which includes prominent use of the titular Roland TR-808 drum machine.Ĩ08s & Heartbreak debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 450,145 copies in its first week. The album features guest appearances from Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr Hudson, and Lil Wayne.Ĭonceived in the wake of several distressing personal events, 808s & Heartbreak marked a major musical departure from West's previous rap records, instead featuring a sparse, electronic sound and West singing through an Auto-Tune vocal processor. West recorded the album during September and October 2008 at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the help of producers No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and others. It was released on November 24, 2008, by Roc-A-Fella Records. Without “ 808s & Heartbreak ,” the club would never go up on a Tuesday, Cudi would never go on his pursuit of happiness, The Weeknd would not be calling anybody when it’s half past five, Drake’s hotline would never bling and hip-hop music just wouldn’t be the same.808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop producer and vocalist Kanye West. 9, 2009 Entertainment Weekly article praised the record, saying Drake is “crooning Auto-Tune love songs one moment, spitting clever bars the next.” One of West’s protégés, Kid Cudi, also advanced the “808s & Heartbreak” appeal through his wildly popular projects “ Man on the Moon” (2009) and “ Man on the Moon II” (2010), which were essentially spinoffs of Kanye’s album in terms of thematic elements and general sound.ĭrake himself burst onto the scene in 2009 with “ So Far Gone,” his third mixtape.
It took a monumental Kanye record to prove that rappers could bear their soul and sing about heartbreak. The beat is too pop, the material too emotional, the delivery too corny and the video too silly. While that sound hasn’t gone out of style, the success of a song like “Hotline Bling” would have been unthinkable in 2008. The “Dirty South” sub-genre, gangster rap with Southern crunk flair, was still incredibly popular as Lil Wayne, TI, Young Jeezy and Rick Ross released among the top-selling albums of the year. In 2008, the rap scene looked a whole lot different than it does today. These three elements are staples of Drake’s and The Weeknd’s catalogs today, which dominate popular hip-hop music. The album didn’t shy away from being vulnerable or emotional aspects but instead chose to feature those themes of self-doubt, personal misery and romantic failure. It featured beats that were silky smooth, almost futuristic, sounding and auto-tuned rapping that flowed over the synthetic, mellow and charismatic production.
In fact, a great chunk of modern popular hip-hop can be traced back to the album that gave us “Heartless” and “Love Lockdown.” “ 808s & Heartbreak” would seem so commonplace in today’s hip-hop scene, but, i n 2008, it was revolutionary. Drake’s entire sound feels like an extension of Kanye’s influential record. West was always ahead of the curve, but, with the ascension of Drake and his OVO Sound label mates, among others, the importance of “808s & Heartbreak” becomes even clearer. Frankly, artists like Kid Cudi, The Weeknd, ILoveMakonnen, PartyNextDoor, Dej Loaf and Fetty Wap should probably also invest in sending Kanye a fruit basket. Yes, Aubrey Drake Graham has Yeezy to thank for his success. In addition, the Toronto superstar already has two of 2015’s biggest albums (“ If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” and “ What A Time to be Alive” ) and is seemingly physically unable to make anything other than a hit.Īll of these successes, however, wouldn’t have been possible if Kanye West had never released “ 808s & Heartbreak” back in 2008. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and could become Drake’s first track to hit number one. The catchy song has, so far, peaked at No.
19, so he’s going to get some love from this column. The 29 year-old Canadian rapper and bona fide cultural phenomenon broke the internet once again with the release of his “Hotline Bling” music video on Oct.