By Erum Rizvi
<[email protected]>

West’s latest album, “808s & Heartbreak,” contains 12 songs in which Kanye mourns the loss of his mother who passed away, as well as the recent loss of his ex-fiancé. Although a lot of talk has come of how this new album is drastically unlike West’s three previous albums, there are some signs of musical permanence. Unlike in the album “Graduation,” the synthesizer does not serve as the primary element of the album’s production, yet instead is created at the base of the layers of instrumentation. The Auto-Tone vocals are a perfect fit here, especially with an album whose sonic stomp is already so mechanized.

“808s & Heartbreak” begins with an aura of gospel called “Say You Will,” while the second song, “Welcome to Heartbreak,” features one of West’s simplest, yet most effective allusions to his feelings of despair. (Dad cracked a joke, all the kids laughed, but I couldn’t hear him all the way in first-class/Chased the good-life, my whole life long, look back on my life, all my life gone, where did I go wrong?”) In this deep track, West realizes that although he seems to have it all, he is missing out on the simple and more fulfilling joys of life.

The album offers an ingenious turn of events all the way through as West ensures fans still get the chance to hear some rapping. The track “Amazing” features Young Jeezy who drops a few lines with his delivery as passionate as always.

The much reworked version of “Love Lockdown,” which is muffled and trapped on its original inception, changes the initially head-scratching lead single into one of the entire album’s finest tracks. West’s vocals are particularly cleaned up and the tribal drums play triumphantly over the blend of piano and synthesizer.

Lil’ Wayne makes his guest appearance on the battle-like song “See You in My Nightmares.” Wayne and West vent about how a fairytale became a nightmare and ultimately express bitterness. This song is not one of the best–Lil’ Wayne’s vocals didn’t complement West’s whatsoever, as his hoarse voice didn’t fit in with the song.

At the end of the album, West pours his heart out on the track titled “Coldest Winter,” which displays an array of musical instruments used to form the melody and background of the music.  It is one of the most creative tracks on the album both lyrically and musically.

Although I enjoy the new sound that West used throughout the entire album, the best song is “Robocop.” This track offers a base of drums and orchestra, which mix to form a catchy and melodic tune.

In the end, “808s & Heartbreak” serves as another example of West playing to his strengths. The precise, sweeping production serves as the highlight, with the individual songs working off anthem-worthy hooks and generally straight-forward lyrics.

As many artists tend to regurgitate the cliché that their albums are their most personal efforts, for Kanye West, this truly is a deep and personal album. Even with appearances from hip-hop notables Lil’ Wayne, Young Jeezy and Kid Cudi, “808s & Heartbreak” is undeniably all about West. With the new “pop art” genre he has mastered and his outlook that hip-hop is over for him, perhaps he has opened a new chapter in his life as an artist. This album shows how the multi-faceted West continues to evolve as an artist, leaving no musical stone unturned. Not all of West’s fans will likely warm to the chilly album, but even if it’s destined to be an acquired taste, it’s worth sampling. The imaginative direction West took on this album was risky, but it was a risk worth taking that came out as purely brilliant.

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“808s & HEARTBREAK”

Tone: A-
Rhythm: B+
Lyrics: A
Best Tracks: “Robocop” and “Welcome to Heartbreak”
Overall: A-