Sunday, May 6, 2012

808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella, 2008) by Kanye West


Okay, Kanye West can't sing and auto-tune had been played out since Cher put out "Believe" ten years earlier.  However, Kanye is honest and open to a fault and that is why this album is a true piece of art that has and will continue to hold up.  After I heard Kanye's first verse on the album's second cut, "Welcome to Heartbreak," I was in.  Not surprisingly, the album's best-produced tracks find Kanye getting assistance from his mentor and fellow Chicago musical genius No I.D. ("Heartless", "See You in My Nightmares", and "Coldest Winter").  The only thing that I wish this album had that it doesn't is a studio version of "Pinocchio Story".  This album is kind of weird, but really cool at the same time.  In my opinion, Kanye is the only artist in hip-hop who could pull something like 808s & Heartbreak off.  It is a real rarity, especially in the modern marketplace, where art and commerce can combine successfully.  However, this is an example of something that achieved that feat.

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