808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by Kanye West. It was released on November 24, 2008 by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. In contrast to his previous rap-oriented work, 808s & Heartbreak mainly incorporates R&B production on a Roland TR-808 machine with heavily Auto-Tuned vocals.
Background[]
While making Good Ass Job, Kanye West went through some personal issues. Ye’s mother, Donda West died due to complications from cosmetic surgery [1] and his relationship with his fiancé Alexis Phifer ended.[2] Kanye, who was still trying to adjust to the fame and fortune that came with being a celebrity, was emotionally weak and lost.
Kanye expressed his sorrow in an emotionally charged album that had less complex instrumentals and was based on the Roland TR-808 drum machine and Auto-Tune. Kanye first announced the album’s release date on September 24th, 2008, saying, "I changed my album to November something cause I finished the album and I felt like it..I want y'all to hear it as soon as possible."
This album was very influential to the following hip-hop artists, including: Drake, Future, Travis Scott and many others.[3] When asked about the album. Kanye would say "It was just what was in my heart. The type of ideas that it was coming up with, the melodies that were in me — what was in me I couldn’t stop."[4]
Tracklist[]
| 808s & Heartbreak track listing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Say You Will" | West | 6:18 | |
| 2. | "Welcome To Heartbreak" (featuring Kid Cudi) |
|
| |
| 3. | "Heartless" |
|
| |
| 4. | "Amazing" (featuring Jeezy) |
|
| 3:58 |
| 5. | "Love Lockdown" |
|
| 4:30 |
| 6. | "Paranoid" (featuring Mr. Hudson) |
|
| 4:37 |
| 7. | "RoboCop" |
| West | 4:34 |
| 8. | "Street Lights" |
|
| 3:09 |
| 9. | "Bad News" |
| West | 3:58 |
| 10. | "See You in My Nightmares" (featuring Lil Wayne) |
|
| 4:18 |
| 11. | "Coldest Winter" |
|
| 2:44 |
| 12. | "Pinocchio Story (Freestyle Live from Singapore)" | West | West | 6:01 |
| Total length: | 52:05 | |||
References[]
- ↑ https://www.mandellbrown.com/blog/cosmetic-surgery-expert-responding-to-the-death-of-donda-west-mother-of-kanye-west/
- ↑ https://people.com/celebrity/kanye-wests-fiance-sad-over-breakup/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20111229125050/http://www.theawl.com/2011/09/kanye%E2%80%99s-808s-how-a-machine-brought-heartbreak-to-hip-hop
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081204032313/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1599993/20081121/west_kanye.jhtml