I have usually strayed from the outputs of Mr. West because of his fondness for cursing. It’s just my personal beliefs that find the use of cursing where it’s not necessary rather annoying. But in 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye strays from that and gives us a product that is unlike any I’ve ever heard before. There’s more singing than rapping, even in the guest appearances.

            “Say You Will” reminds me of the Foreigner track of the same title lyrically, but the production is outstanding and odd and gives the listener a real taste of what’s to come on the album. The song is very haunting and a nice segway is given into the second track, “Welcome to Heartbreak.” This number, featuring West find Kid Cudi, is well-produced and well-written, describing the singer’s life falling apart.

            My favorite two songs are two of the next three. “Heartless” is my favorite song off the record. The production, coupled with the excellent songwriting, makes this a memorable track that held the #1 spot on the iTunes chart at its release. This was featured at #10 on my top songs of the year. Skip a track and you’ll find another #1 iTunes track, “Love Lockdown.” The keyboard, drums and lyrics mix well to make another great song.

            Shoved in between those two is “Amazing.” Featuring rapper Young Jeezy, this is the weakest song on the album.

            Following “Love Lockdown” are two more good songs about females being too nosy or worrying too much. “Paranoid,” featuring Mr. Hudson, is a snappy, catchy tune dedicated to those girls who are paranoid about what their man is doing when they’re not with him. “Robocop” is probably the third best track on this album. With a nice bass beat, this track is filled with catchy lyrics and a great string arrangement. Throw in some mechanical sounds during the end of the chorus, and you’ve got a great song.

            “Street Lights” and “Bad News” are two slower songs with piano intrusions that make for nice slow-downs after the upbeat “Paranoid” and “Robocop.”

            The last two songs are two more potential hits for Kanye. “See You in My Nightmares,” featuring rapper Lil’ Wayne, sounds great and the singing, the actual singing of both West and Wayne, are surprisingly good. “Coldest Winter” is another great track with synth creeping in on Kanye’s smooth vocals about missing someone special.

            Kanye West seems to have turned a new page with this album. Transforming his music from gangsta (haha) rap to more electronic hip-hop which involved singing. 808s & Heartbreak was another #1, with 450,145 units sold in the first week. I’m personally not a fan of his older stuff, but if West continues on this pattern, and loses a bit of his ego (I saw his acceptance speech at the 2008 AMAs) then he might be worth something.

 

Grade: A-