808s & Heartbreak

Kanye West

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 24, 2008)
• Original Release Date: November 24, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Roc-A-Fella Records
• ASIN: B001FBIPFA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (352 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #308 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The ten-time Grammy Award® winning musical phenomenon, rapper, producer, and now singer embarks on a new musical journey taking his audience to new heights. Kanye West returns with his fourth album 808s & HEARTBREAK. His highly anticipated new album set for release on November 25th, featuring the heart pounding first single LOVE LOCKDOWN which premiered live for the first time on the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. LOVE LOCKDOWN quickly exploded at radio with the video premiering nationwide on the Ellen Degeneres show. "Heartless," the second single, is next up to hit the airwaves further amplifying the story behind the musical direction for 808s & HEARTBREAK.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Different Kanye - Haunting, Minimalist, and Raw, November 24, 2008

By	Ian Leue - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 808s & Heartbreak (MP3 Download)

This is very different Kanye. You'll know that within the first two seconds, and if you've heard Love Lockdown, you've already got the basic idea. Kanye sings, using heavy Auto-Tune, often with a vocoded or heavily distorted slap-back echo. The sound of the classic (and very distinctive) Roland TR-808 features very prominently on the album, backed by minimal keyboard-synth sounds.

Subjectwise, the album deals prominently with loss, specifically of his mother and his long-time girlfriend. The Auto-Tuned vocals and minimalist beats underscore the painful lyrics, creating a haunting, soul-wrenching soundscape.

It all adds up to a painfully honest Kanye, sad and alone - a Kanye we haven't seen on his previous 3 albums. Both lyrically and musically, Kanye strips off his flash and shows us the part of the man who can't always live "The Good Life."

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only listen to hip hop promptly move your cursor to the top left of this screen and click the arrow pointing left., December 12, 2008

By	Ronald L. Tucker - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This album will not be fully appreciated until it is rediscovered 15 years from now by kids that have never heard College Dropout, Late Registration, or Graduation. They will be impressed by the primal sounding drums, mixed with the deep bass of the TR-808, haunting keyboards and Kanye's vocals channeled through the autotune program. They will notice how he uses this effect to turn his voice into that of a brooding android, as apposed to the Happybot that T-Pain conjures out of the program, which when added to the sonic backdrop gives the album a post-apocalyptic feel.

I can't wait until this album does get the respect it most certainly deserves. I believe that is the most daring album to come out in my life time and I've been around the block a time or two. It is extremely ugly and amazingly beautiful all at once. Bravo Kanye!

Favorites (in no particular order):
Say you will
Welcome to heartbreak
Heartless
Amazing
Love Lockdown
Paranoid
Robocop
Street Lights
Bad News
See you in my nightmares
Coldest Winter

Yes it's THAT GOOD!!!!!

Remove all prejudices and biases and give this album an honest listen. You will love it!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your mommy's Kanye, November 24, 2008

By	Travis M. Owens (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 808s & Heartbreak (MP3 Download)

Kanye fans are in for a big surprise with this album. Most importantly you should know this is NOT a rap album. Kanye sings every song using heavy vocoding on his voice. Alot of the songs have heavy bass and a grinding aspect of them.

In a nutshell I'd say this album is a mix of Kanye beats /w a somewhat Neo like singing and even some old prince mixed in.

At first I didn't really get the album, but by my third listen the composition started to catch my attention. Despite, I expect a large part of his fan base not to be into this album, and if you're only a fan of Kanye as a rapper you might want to skip this album, but if you can get into more electronic compositions and some 80s spin, this album might be for you.