Dissenters occasionally push back against that narrative, dismissing it as a byproduct of Kanye’s self-mythology, but they’re fighting a losing battle. And if you’ve followed critical discussions about rap during that time period, you’ve probably noticed the prevailing theory that 808s changed everything. If you’ve followed the development of rap music over the past decade, you’ve undoubtedly heard the influence of 808s & Heartbreak, the album Kanye released 10 years ago this Saturday. I’m not totally down on it, though: “Heartless” works a bouncy flute loop and Kanye actually sings, sounding just fine “Amazing” replaces Southern bounce with a heavy piano and organic percussion, providing a nice bedrock for Young Jeezy’s guest verse, and “Paranoid” is an modern uptempo take on ‘80s synth glam.Here it is: the pivot point in Kanye West’s career and maybe recent hip-hop history at large. The songs cover fairly generic love/hate/make-ups-to-break-ups, which in turn throws the spotlight back on the production, that at times sounds almost like an unfinished version of a regular mid-tempo Kanye song.īut even the Kanye West Mid-Tempo Jam has taken on a lot more character in the past. That leaves mainly the lyrics, and it's hard to turn a clever, punchy phrase as an R&B robot. But it just doesn’t make sense here, particularly given that Kanye’s actually got a pretty good singing voice (the several times he sings sans digital assistance, he sounds just fine).īut on '808s,' with its already-spare soundscapes, his voice plays front and center, and all of the manipulation gives things a weird, plasticized feeling.

Now, someone like Lil’ Wayne, who has no discernible singing talent? I understand why HE would want to Auto-Tune himself into submission. The most mystifying part about all this is his album-long penchant for everybody's new favorite musical toy, the Auto-Tune.

Kanye west 808s and heartbreak tracks