808s & Heartbreak

[zerophase]

I wasn't a big fan of Kanye's new techno voice but he got me. I'm addicted to his new album. (Yes, I have it already) Your opinions?

[shookones99]

I like that one song Love Lockdown.  I thought it was cool and interesting for Kanye.  But I was not expecting his entire album to be with that voice machine.  I was extremely dissapointed  mostly because I was really excited for this album.  Every album he's made so far I have really liked and in this one he is hardly even rapping.  I am worried that his ego has gotten the best of him.

[Truck Lewis]

i will be gettin it first thing tomorrow and i am a little nervous about the autophone......hows everyone get it early?

[celticmaestro]

Superb album. Kanye West always pushes the boundaries and he's done it again here. I think the album is ingenious and rivals everything else for album of the year (all genres).

For me personally, I'm very into music and like to relate the music to myself. I listen out for the lyrics and pay attention to the production. What picks this apart for me is that I have never, ever been able to relate to an album quite like this one.

I read this review in The Times and think it hit the nail on the head:

This so should not work: an album by a rap superstar that features almost no rapping at all; whose sonic tones (pulsing electro beats, synth bass, minor keys) are, barring two exceptions, of a sombre hue; on which West, autotuned and Vocodered, elects to sing; and whose limited palette is bound to strike some as samey to the point of tedium. Yet 808s & Heartbreak is a triumph, recklessly departing from the commercially copper-bottomed script and venturing far beyond West’s comfort zone. The death, last year, of his mother and his break-up with his fiancée seem to have unlocked an emotional candour of such a personal nature that listening to songs such as Street Lights and Love Lockdown can seem almost voyeuristic. On the latter, West combines a childlike piano motif with hurtling, tribal drums and a chorus whose spryness cannot obscure the bleakness at its heart. One of the album’s most fascinating aspects is that, no matter how deep West delves into the dark heart of his state of mind, his sharp ear for hooks cannot help but assert itself. Bad News’s funereal northern-soul two-step might be strange, but it lodges in the head. And the sheer mad fun of Paranoid’s nods to Blue Monday and Van Halen’s Jump is evidence that, amid the heartbreak, West is reconnecting with his mischievous side, too. A bizarre, brave and brilliant album.

Also, although very basic I think the album cover is brilliant and speaks a thousand words:

[indeedproceed]

I didn't wanna like this album...but I recently downloaded the Kanye Discography..and I just thought "well lets listen"..

One of the most personal albums I've seen in years. Innovative, honest, painful, lonesome, brave...these are words I'd use to describe this album. I gained a large amount of respect for the Diva known as Kanye.

[Greenbean]

While I respect Kanye for putting out an unbelievably personal album, I really wish he didn't have to use the latest gimmick in Hip Hop as a vehicle for it. Kanye could have produced the same album using his ACTUAL voice. In my opinion, the listener is seperated from the artist to a degree wehen the artist digitizes his voice. It is more a gripe with mainsrteam music in general but I always have respected Kanye for being an original. His concept for 808 was one of  kind and timeless, but the delivery will leave the album as an afterthought for me.

[indeedproceed]

While I respect Kanye for putting out an unbelievably personal album, I really wish he didn't have to use the latest gimmick in Hip Hop as a vehicle for it. Kanye could have produced the same album using his ACTUAL voice. In my opinion, the listener is seperated from the artist to a degree wehen the artist digitizes his voice. It is more a gripe with mainsrteam music in general but I always have respected Kanye for being an original. His concept for 808 was one of  kind and timeless, but the delivery will leave the album as an afterthought for me.

If he woulda just produced the album, having John Legend sing the lyrics this album might have been amazing...but it might also have been much less personal.

[Greenbean]

Yeah by produced I meant put out...I didnt mean he just should have done the beats and had someone else sing. Actually I would have liked John Legend more because hearing digital Kanye is like hearing a different person anyway.

[GroverTheClover]

While I dig the album, Apathy put out a remix of Love Lockdown which is hilarious, criticizing the use of auto-tune.

http://www.imeem.com/thevibe/playlist/um9QJn8b/kanye-west-love-lockdown-remixes-music-playlist/

It's #13 in the player. Also, it's NSFW.

[Truck Lewis]

this album just showed me that kanye can do whatever he wants and make great art...what other artists could do this

also,,,the negative backlash that he has received is only gonna make him go back to his roots on his next album and drop his hottest album yet,,,which is sayin at tonnnn

[indeedproceed]

this album just showed me that kanye can do whatever he wants and make great art...what other artists could do this

also,,,the negative backlash that he has received is only gonna make him go back to his roots on his next album and drop his hottest album yet,,,which is sayin at tonnnn

It really did make me realize he's more than what I'd thought he'd become (another craptastic rapper so self absorbed he lost the perspective that gave his actual lyrics insight(See: Cam'ron, Ma$e, 50 Cent, Puff Daddy..)), and that he is a true artist.

[celticmaestro]

this album just showed me that kanye can do whatever he wants and make great art...what other artists could do this

also,,,the negative backlash that he has received is only gonna make him go back to his roots on his next album and drop his hottest album yet,,,which is sayin at tonnnn

It really did make me realize he's more than what I'd thought he'd become (another craptastic rapper so self absorbed he lost the perspective that gave his actual lyrics insight(See: Cam'ron, Ma$e, 50 Cent, Puff Daddy..)), and that he is a true artist.

Well said, IP. I agree.

[MattG12]

Kanye likes fish sticks.

[ToppersBsktball10]

i love amazing but thats about it i hate everyone that uses the autotune.

[Tnerb02]

i love amazing but thats about it i hate everyone that uses the autotune.

Auto-tune killed the music industry.