Album Review: Kanye West "808's and Heartbreak"

Heartbreak, something we've all been through, and have learned to cope with and we still continue to cope with. In this record, Kanye West opens himself up to the world and shows everyone something he hasn't particularly shown ever before, his vulnerability. Most people think West is egotistical, self-centered, and cocky, and he definitely is those things but as someone has gone through a lot in the past year, from elation to heartache, he let's us see his human side. It's been said that 10 of the 11 tracks are about his ex-fiance' whom West split with about a year ago, and the last track "Coldest Winter" is about his late mother Donda West, who passed away in a freak accident while getting cosmetic surgery. I admire that West went in a completely different direction for this record, rather than stick to what made him successful. I've always admired musicians that can still keep artistic integrity and aren't afraid to try something different even if they fail miserably at it. Though the auto-tune act is getting a bit old, I'd rather hear him in auto-tune because angelic is definitely what his actual singing voice isn't. And I could respect that he wanted to try doing a record all in auto-tune because it reminds him of his childhood.

So let's go track by track...
1. “Say You Will” – A real mellow track, it has the feel of “Good Morning” (the intro track off of West’s “Graduation” album). Lots of synth and very repetitive lyrics. Clocks in just over 6 minutes long as well, a bit too long for my liking. The instrumental goes on for an extra 2 minutes with an epic choral solo somewhere in there. All in all, pretty lukewarm feelings about this track.
2. “Welcome to Heartbreak” – Violin intro and I must say I’m a sucker for violin, then it picks up real nice after that. “My friend shows me pictures of his kids, and all I can show him is pictures of my cribs.” Just from that first line you know this song is all about heartache, loss, and that lonely feeling I’m sure we’ve all felt at some point in our lives. Kanye makes this point clear; he is unable empathize with his loved ones who seem to be so happy in love.
3. “Heartless” – A track I’m sure most people that have listened to the radio in the past month are very familiar with. The new mastered version has more harmonies and all around fuller sound, definitely my favorite track that leaked and still is one of my favorite songs on this record.
4. “Amazing” featuring Young Jeezy – I’ve never heard the word “Amazing” so many times in my life, other than in between the sheets. Wasn’t a huge fan when the un-mastered version of this song leaked, and still not a big fan. I like repetitive, but this song takes repetition to a new level.
5. “Love Lockdown” – Call me crazy but I still love this song. Most people are downright sick of it, but I still can’t get enough. Once again, the mastered version is much fuller and the drums sound really good. I believe that if you don’t like this song that much, you won’t be a fan of the album. It too is repetitive, but I think it’s a good type of repetitive.
6. “Paranoid” featuring Mr. Hudson – When this song first leaked I definitely wasn’t a big fan of it, then it grew on me. It’s got a real “feel good” vibe about it, more than anything it feels like a 80’s New Edition R&B pop song.
7. “Robocop”- I think of all the songs that leaked on the internet this song was the one that I hated on the most. Though I hate to admit it, the post-production that Kanye did to this song made it sound leaps and bounds better than the original version. “You spoiled ‘lil L.A. girl, you’re just an L.A. girl,” I think every guy in Southern California can identify with that.
8. “Streetlights” – From the day I heard this song it was one of my most anticipated tracks to hear on the album. It’s a real mature song for Kanye to have written. It’s really pretty at some points in the song, and it definitely makes me want to drive around at night with the window down and feel the breeze while admiring the beauty of city lights. “I know my destination, I’m just not there,” story of my life.
9. “Bad News” – This is the only track on the album that I didn’t get the chance to hear a demo or un-mastered version of. And I can honestly see why, because the song is so boring, nothing special about it at all. Definitely a track I’d skip.
10. “See You in My Nightmares” featuring Lil Wayne – Big fan of this song, the beat is hot, Lil Wayne’s verse is fire, and Kanye tears it up. This song is obviously a “goodbye, I’m ready to move on with my life” song. “Tell everybody that you know, that I don’t love you no more,” doesn’t get anymore blunt then that. Well maybe when Weezy exclaims “Baby girl I’m finished, I thought we were committed.” Something tells me a lot of bitter people are going to have this song up on their page when their relationships go awry.
11. “Coldest Winter” – A somber closing song. I’ve been partial to the line “Goodbye my friends, will I ever love again?” for quite sometime now, and it still cuts like a knife. You can’t help but get goosebumps from how emotional Kanye is on this song. A great song to end this album on.

Final Verdict: 8 out of 10
Kanye has matured, this record is a testament to that (though he may have a run-in or two with the paparazzi, but who doesn't hate the paparazzi?). I don't think it's as solid as "The College Dropout" or "Graduation" but it's a solid record. Make sure to listen to it with an open-mind, it isn't anything like those aforementioned records. It wasn't as groundbreaking as I thought it would be, especially with stellar albums by T.I. and Lil Wayne this year, but it definitely is still worth a listen.

Standout tracks:Heartless, Love Lockdown, Streetlights, and See You in My Nightmares

-Juicy Justin.