Nov 25 2008
Kanye West Finds New Direction With ‘808s and Heartbreak’
Kanye West has just released his latest cd, “808s and Heartbreak”, and it’s different. Kanye has never been one to follow the beaten path, but his latest project ventures into completely uncharted territory. At least for Kanye West , and particularly for followers of his music.
First of all, his career was launched and he earns his living as a rapper. A very good rapper at that. But, on “808s and Heartbreak “, Kayne sings through every track. And like any good vocalist, he sings about the things that have affected his life.
Since Kanye dropped “Graduation” in 2007, he has experienced the death of his mother, Dr. Donda West , the break-up with his fiance’, Alexis Phifer, and two very public run-ins with the paparazzi which cost him a little jail time. None of that seems to have deterred Kanye West from his mission in life, which is to create great music.
Unfortunately, we never really discover whether Kanye is really a good vocalist. Every song on the cd is performed using AutoTune, that synthesized vocal enhancer that has somehow become the norm on every rapper’s album since T-Pain began dabbling with it.
But, somehow Kanye West makes it work. Not so much because it deceives listeners into believing that he’s got great vocal chops. It works because it blends wonderfully with the music, and with West, it’s always been about the music and the words.
West delivers a personal message on ‘808s’, and not everyone who listens will get where he’s coming from. Both the music and his singing is a noticeable departure from what Kanye West fans are accustomed to, but those willing to sit and listen might be pleasantly surprised by his refusal to be pigeon-holed into musical categories.
It could be that he is the musical genius that he so openly professes to be. But, regardless of one’s personal opinions about Kanye West as an individual, he makes a sound statement that his music can’t be ignored.
Review by Terry Marsh
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