808s & Heartbreak by Kanye West
- ️@metacritic
User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
- Record Label: Roc-A-Fella
- Release Date: Nov 25, 2008
- Summary: The fourth album for the Grammy-winning rapper features Young Jezzy, Lil Wayne, Mr. Hudason, and Kid Cudi.
- Record Label: Roc-A-Fella
- Genre(s): Rap
- More Details and Credits »
Top Track
| Heartless | |
|---|---|
| In the night, I hear 'em talk, The coldest story ever told Somewhere far along this road, he lost his soul to a woman so heartless How could you be... | See the rest of the song lyrics |
Powered by
Score distribution:
-
Negative: 0 out of 36
-
It’s with his latest masterpiece, 808s & Heartbreak, that he has demonstrated, with impeccable skill, that he is supreme, yet again.
-
It is his most facinating, and bewildering, record to date. [Jan 2008, p.104]
-
Kanye is after a very specific sound on this release, the dead-eyed, auto-tuned vocals and canned pianos contributing to a harrowing vision of emotional shellshock. The songs bleed into one another; only 'Love Lockdown,' with its magnificent drum breakdown, really grabs you by the throat.
-
Perfect album, I feel like Kanye is going on a journey, that is relatable and compassionate, I feel like I am following in his footstepsPerfect album, I feel like Kanye is going on a journey, that is relatable and compassionate, I feel like I am following in his footsteps through his albums, Street lights is basic, yet the way he sings with so much emotion, it makes it meaningful and important and seem so deep.… Expand
-
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Esse álbum mudou minha vida e minha visão da música. As Batidas de 808 encontradas em Say You Will, Além de Robocop(Minha Favorita), Heartless, Love Lockdown, Bad news, Coldest Winter dentre outras. Nada a reclamar.… Expand
-
I think it sounds great, to me very much one of the most interesting and bold releases of 2008; very original & unique. I like it a lot.
-
Just absolutely terrific. Kanye shows us his creative side once again. Such an absolutely cohesive effort. On this album, we see Kanye showingJust absolutely terrific. Kanye shows us his creative side once again. Such an absolutely cohesive effort. On this album, we see Kanye showing us his emotional side like never before. By singing, not rapping, he adds a different angle to the pain we have witnessed in previous albums. The production is top-notch and the lyrics/melodies fitting. Bravo Kanye! The only drag-down for me is that some songs just linger on without much going on. Cut this down to 9 songs and nothing essential will be missing.
BEST- Say You Will, Love Lockdown, RoboCop
… Expand
WORST- None really. -
Only a year after the great 'Graduation' Kanye goes back to work to produce '808s Heartbreak' which totally varies by its style, the themesOnly a year after the great 'Graduation' Kanye goes back to work to produce '808s Heartbreak' which totally varies by its style, the themes adressed and its structure. No doubt that the overly famous 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' already was in gestation as it was meant to come out two years later.
As its title suggests this project significantly gravitate around the concepts of love, rupture and loss. Anyway Kanye surprisingly made the choice to rap and sing less in order to let even more place to the music itself. This choice make the production appear to the fore. And this one is particular as it often sounds repetitive, overly simple and sometimes looking effortless. The first track 'Say You Will' is a perfect example as it simply consists in 6 minutes of the same repetitive monotone beat. And it goes the same way for the second half on 'Bad News'. If it can contribute to the charm of the project it surely also makes it seem more shallow and superficial than it is as it underlines Kanye's lack of artistic and content ideas. It reduces this album replayability. The track 'Robocop' is really weird as I find its production both deep and original and dull with its robotic useless repetitve sounds. 'Pinocchio Story' also made me cring a bit. What idea is this to put a 6 minute-long live track as outro of such an album ?
The presence of Kid Cudi is a miracle since him and Kanye are meant to work in duo in order to craft some of the most powerful songs and albums (like 'Kids See Ghosts' to only cite one). Their symbiosis is truly impressive. Excepted him the other guests also bring more versatility to the whole content and deliver some interesting verses.
… Expand