Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
November 21st, 2008 | 3:00 pm est |
Remember when Kanye West threatened to make an album where he would bear his heartbroken soul, align with T-Pain, sing on every song with the then inescapable Auto-Tune effect and, less problematically, lean on the common element — the Roland TR-808 drum machine — of classics like “Make It Last Forever,” “Posse on Broadway,” “808,” and “Bossy”? It would have been a wreck, a case of an artist working through paralyzing heartache while loose in a toy store. Except West wasn’t joking. Not only did he go through with it, but Roc-A-Fella released the result in time for the 2008 Christmas shopping season. It was indeed a wreck, if a kind of fascinating one, which helped make the material — voiced by someone who could not really sing, whose substantial shortcomings were not made less obvious by a polarizing studio device — seem a little less difficult on the ears.
In various spots across 808s & Heartbreak, the constant flutter of West’s processed voice, along with a seldom interrupted sluggish march of aching sounds, is enlivened by the disarming manner in which despair and dejection are conveyed. When, in “Welcome to Heartbreak,” he dispassionately recounts sitting alone on a flight, ahead of a laughing family, he makes first class sound like Siberia; he’d swap lives with the father in an instant. The majority of the lyrics, however, are directed at an ex who evidently did some damage; in “RoboCop” alone, she gets compared to the antagonist in Misery and is called a “spoiled little L.A. girl.” Earlier in the album, the number she did on him is called “the coldest story ever told,” yet he admits he still fantasizes about her. All the blocky drums, dragging strings, droning synths, and joyless pianos lead to a bleak set of productions — even the synthetic calliope in “Heartless” is unnerved, and the relative pep of “Paranoid” provides no respite, its bitter lyrics subverting a boisterous beat. Several tracks have almost as much in common with irrefutably bleak post-punk albums, such as New Order’s Movement and the Cure’s Pornography, as contemporary rap and R&B. (”Coldest Winter,” where West longs for his departed mother, samples the most desolate song from the first Tears for Fears album.) For anyone sifting through a broken relationship and self-letdown, this could all be therapeutic. Otherwise, no matter its commendable fearlessness, the album is a listless, bleary trudge along West’s permafrost.
What’s cooler than cool? This review, ’cause it’s ICE COLD!
Kanye West: the Fred Durst of Hip-Hop.
I really disagree with this review. Hip-hop has been a medium where African Americans can rap about drugs, women and violence, but to express views on other topics has been unheard of. On “808s” Kanye West shows no regard for commercial prospects and goes for broke on an album that is bleak, dreary, and utterly fascinating. In this review, artists such as the Cure and New Order are mentioned — how come they are allowed to do this sort of music and Kanye West can’t? I really hope this album catches on because it will certainly break barriers for what mainstream hip-hop can be. On “808s and Heartbreak” Kanye becomes the Tom Waits of hip-hop. I would call this album a companion piece for Fiona Apple’s “When the Pawn…” as far as accounts of heartache and anger go. Don’t worry Mr. Kellerman, I’m sure Kanye will be back rapping about “gold diggers” in no time. I’m sorry he had to inconvenience you with his personal life on this album.
To respond to Ryan’s post, I don’t think (and forgive me for putting words in your mouth AK) the review was being critical of the attempt at doing something different in a medium of music that has grown somewhat tired and cliched in the last few years. Far from it; had Kanye made the album he was threatening to and if it worked, we would all be much happier for it, praising him for his willingness to put his heart on his sleeve and inject a dose of emotion into a genre that has been all style and no substance over the last few years, (in a mainstream context…see Q-Tip’s latest as an example of soul in a contemporary hip hop release).
The bottom line is that 808s is a boring, cold album; the auto-tune masks his inabilities for the first couple tracks and then gets very old, very fast. The album, (unfortunately) like the other two really big releases this week, is boring, over produced and seems to rely on the power of the brand Kanye has become over the last few years and not the music behind it. He was at his best as a producer, making classic beats for Jay-Z and Common, demoing new tracks with only DJ A-Trak behind him at the Sasquatch festival a few years back (which I had the pleasure of seeing, along with a lot of great post-punk bands, showing that he can belong at just about any venue at any time), and fearlessly bending genres both with music and fashion, giving a voice in mainstream hip-hop to the indie kids that didn’t seem to get it before he showed up. I applaud him for trying with this album, but his ambition was greater than the product he delivered. Sadly, the music speaks for itself and it’s just not that good.
I love how critical critics are of kanye’s lyrics, as if every other rapper in the game is a brilliant poet and philosopher. Kanye’s immature but wise beyond most others in the genre (and works TWICE as hard to back up his loud mouth).
I’ve only heard 2 songs from this album (the 2 singles) and though I hate the auto-tune, the songs are original and well written. It’s nice to see a hiphop artist actually trying to be an artist (even if he fails miserably).
That being said, I expect a dark, cold album… I mean, he all but PROMISES us that by the title and the 2 singles.
I guess it’s easy to go hard on Kanye because of his ego, but give credit where it’s due.
As for the “Fred Durst” of hip hop… how do you figure? Durst is talentless and tasteless, Kanye is the opposite.
“A wreck, a case of an artist working through paralyzing heartache while loose in a toy store.” states the review, a quote which sums up not only this record but possibly solves the paradox of Kanye West himself.
“808’s” could easily be described as Kanye’s Blood on the Tracks or In Utero, an album where he forgoes commercial or critical success for pure emotional catharsis, but that (not to mention the bizarre ‘Fred Durst’ Comment above) would take away from what the album really is - West embracing his status as Hip-Hop’s very own Axl Rose, or more accurately, Hip-Hop’s Trent Reznor. Where Rose and Reznor once upon a time shut themselves into their studios ad meticulously slaved away on increasingly claustrophobic, self-centered music that served the purpose of expressing only their deepest hurt and anger. And if you didn’t like it? Well, fuck you.
This is a record that mirrors NIN’s “The Fragile” and “With Teeth” along with the more self-indulgent Axl songs off The Illusions albums and Chinese Democracy. Like on Reznor’s mid-period records, Kanye’s monotonous, indulgent emotional bloodletting on “808’s” quickly grows tiresome and, well, monotonous. And also like both Reznor and Rose’s latter-day recordings, he seems to not care, not just about keeping up with modern music, but keeping up with anything at all. The result is an obsessive, insular record which serves no purpose to anyone but Kane West, and, as the review mentions, anyone who has experienced severe emotional trauma recently, but like the sad teenager crying along to Eddie Vedder’s lyrics from “Black”, said trauma victim will, in a few years, be cringing at the thought of ever being so overly emotional. Unlike this teenager, West will stand by his “artistic statement”.
And that’s what this is intended to be, West’s grand artistic statement, his emotional masterpiece that will, inevitably, be shunned by the mainstream, which “won’t get it”. Problem is, unless they’re looking really hard under the drone and drag of the record, most won’t really “get it”. Here, West falls miraculously short of some emotionally resonant masterpiece, mainly because, to paraphrase an Allmusic review commenting on “With Teeth”, West is simply is too insulated, too shut out from the outside world, too unconcerned with pleasing anybody but himself to make anything close to urgent or resonant. And you know what? The sad thing is, at the end of the day, Kanye just doesn’t care. “I wish this song would really come true” he sings on “Say You Will” the opening six-minute dirge that lets you know what you’re in for here: a self-obsessed, insular album that deserves at least a listen out of curiosity. Problem is, these songs are true – as West has done with each album in the past, he opens up a vein and creates a scrapbook of where he’s at in ’08 with “808”, but this time it ain’t pretty.
And yet, despite the fact that I’ve basically trashed the record for three paragraphs, this record holds a certain importance to it. It’s an oddity worthy of putting in a lot of thought to comment on it, simply because it does call attention to itself. This is the kind of record that will probably be loved in retrospect, hailed ten years from now as West’s “Overlooked, Uncompromising” Masterpiece. So in that respect, “808’s” is a success, and possibly something rap needs right now, something maybe even more vital to the genre than Lil’ Wayne’s last record - The Hip-Hop version of Lou Reed’s “Berlin”.
All in all, for an artist as temperamental as West is, his music will always vary with his emotional state. But it’s hard not to be disappointed seeing West go from sounding as fired-up and inspirational over his life’s problems as he was on “Through the Wire” and “Jesus Walks” (or for that matter as warm and soulfully emotional as he was for Jay-Z on “The Blueprint”) to just sounding bitter at the world. Who knows, maybe it’ll sound good in ten years, but for now, the bottom line is, despite all intentions, the music, lyrics and songs in general just underwhelm - something a character as flamboyant and flashy as West should never be.
And HOLY SHIT is that fucking Autotune effect annoying. That trend needs to die REALLY soon.
Well then, Mr. Kellman, you need to hand over the album to someone who appreciates its brilliance. You know, since you are stubbornly doing a huge injustice to it by criticizing for not meeting your (misguided at best) expectations. 808s and Heartbreak is the equivalent to Kid A. It’s unquestionably one of the most brave, bold and masterful albums to be released in 2008. When it was first reported this album would feature Auto-Tune in every record, I was worried. But it works fantastically in Kanye’s case because of the album’s emotional resonance. The effect gives it a clinical, robotic feel, much like the alienation he feels. It’s completely appropriate unlike the consistently underwhelming T-Pain. In fact, most of your review output in the last couple of weeks has been slanted toward the negative. Apparently, you prematurely dismissed this album and since its such a huge departure from Kanye’s previous three albums; you should have
You should have given the album more time to grow on you. You namecheck The Renaissance, and while it’s another solid effort from Q-Tip, it’s a lot less innovative and artistically sound as Kamaal the Abstract yet you awarded them the same score. I feel your review shouldn’t be published because of its obvious fickleness. I guarantee you will realize how ill-conceived and outright ridiculous your review is when you listen to it more and more and you discover its brilliance. 808s and Heartbreak is one of the year’s greatest achievements and it’s so unfortunate you let your arrogance as a critic overshadow such an accomplishment. This backlash is childish and predictable. Get over yourself.
The Q-Tip reference was in regards to whoever “S” is. Either way, both of you are off-base, so I guess my correction doesn’t matter, right?
this is the first review from a critic that doesn’t like “808s and Heartbreak”, oh well, AMG has a habit of altering their rating as an album hits the market and receives responses from audience and awards. so, i won’t be surprised if one day AMG changes the rating for “808s and Heartbreak” to 4.5 star while listing this subjective, biased review. that must be funny, Mr. Kellman.
Foenixir, that is SO true. I’ve seen a lot of ratings change. Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw went from 4.5 to 4. Simple Pleasure went from 4.5 to 3.5. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who is always hopping on bandwagons only to hop off later and deride critically championed albums like they never existed, downgraded The Killers - Sam’s Town from 4 to 3, Oasis’ Be Here Now from 4 to 3.5. Mr. Kellman, you seriously need to revise your review of 808s and Heartbreak…
Ahh yes, let the blogger bashing begin. Look, we’re all entitled to our opinions, otherwise these open forums simply wouldn’t exist. Michael, I see where you’re going with the Kid A thing, but I just happen to not agree. That is all. Like I said, I wanted it to be good, I really hoped to like this album, and it is certainly possible that the album will grow on me over time, but really, Kid A? You sure? That album, despite its inhospitable lyrics and ghostly sounds, that album (at least to me) is surprisingly warm and beautiful. It is my favorite album of all time for a reason, yet it did take a few years for it to stick. There was no arrogance whatsoever in my assessment of the album, it was a single opinion and not even a really negative one. I found the album cold and boring. Period. I found Q-Tip’s current record warm and inviting, a nice step forward in his evolution as a solo artist, and given that most people have yet to hear “Kamaal The Abstract” due to its apparent lack of commercial viability causing it to not be released properly, the reference to that album in the same breath as either “808s” or “The Renaissance” is somewhat unfair. That being said, I am entitled to my opinions and just as entitled to share them. AK is the same, he just happens to work here. We both didn’t love this record. I really wanted to, but after several listens all week to try and love it, it just never happened. To me, it is boring. Even prior to really understanding “Kid A” I never found it boring, just inaccessible, challenging and difficult music. I wish that 808s could do that, but it doesn’t. There’s nothing on 808s that can even be compared to the subtle beauty of “How to Disappear Completely” or the detachment, sorrow and sweeping majesty of the music found on “In Limbo” a track where Thom’s voice literally becomes another instrument for the band to use.
Now, Michael, you are certainly entitled to your opinion on the matter, but to slam me or any other reviewer for their opinions in the way that you do is not necessary, and not cool.
alright, this is somewhat out of character, as I don’t usually get too angry with the statements people make about me, or my writing. I’m working on a PhD, so I am very used to having my work torn apart by people in a relatively public forum. Now, to appease my own mind as well as perhaps angry Kanye fan Michael, I have spent my morning re-listening to both 808s and Kid A back to back to see if such a comparison were valid. My opinion remains unchanged. Yes, there are a few moments of sheer brilliance on 808s, particularly lead single “Love Lockdown” and the songs “welcome to the heartbreak” and “paranoid.” These songs have a world of potential, both lyrically and musically. But they are not in the same league as any track on Kid A in terms of substance of the music. There are so many incredible, subtle sounds on that record that even after probably thousands of listens, on computer speakers, in the car, on studio headphones, seeing them live etc etc, I still find something new in every listen. I’ve checked my play count on Itunes, and have listened to 808s probably a mere 15 times since I found it last week, which means that it does still have time to grow into something special. I don’t think it will. I wanted it to, but I really don’t think it possesses the same kind of power over the listener that Kid A still has over me almost a decade later. The use of old school technology is certainly a great idea on paper, 808 sounds and analog synths are so much fun to play with and sound great. Some of the production ranks among Kanye’s best work, but my original assessment of the album stands. It is cold and boring, not exciting and original, and really not that far of a departure as you maybe want to believe. Kanye has made a living recycling sounds of old and giving it a postmodern sheen; 808s just uses mid 80s technology rather than soul samples to act as its base. It is not a consistent album all the way through, and in some sections, the guest MC’s, particularly Lil’ Wayne’s part on “See You in my Nightmares” actually take away from the songs, rather than enhance them.
Now please Michael, I appreciate your opinion on the album, but to call reviewers childish, arrogant and misguided is highly inappropriate for such a setting, especially for something as subjective as an album review. I didn’t agree with you. Fine. That’s all that needs to be said.
And my opinion remains unchanged. I love allmusic.com. I’ve discovered a wealth of new music on this site, but bottom line, it’s most the bullshit review I’ve seen on this site since Blur’s Think Tank.
Or perhaps I shouldn’t be vulgar. I apologize. But it’s still unfair. It’s just you’ve given too many new urban releases a score less than 3, especially in the last few weeks. And it all started with OutKast’s Idlewild, which is one of the most misunderstood and underrated albums in the last five years. Now you’ve been on the money with MANY reviews so I will give you credit for that. So that’s where I feel the bias and arrogance sinks in. Sure, I am upset by this review, but it’s not going to ruin my life. And as a respected critic, I have to take in your commentary even if I will never agree. But I just feel like this backlash was an unnecessary as you claim my comments to be, that’s all.
Just want to set the record straight. Kanye is NOT the first rapper to rap about something other than women, drugs or violence. He gets way too much credit for the music he puts out. He’s good compared to the rest of the mainstream Hip Hop scene, but only because it’s awful. He is a sell-out feeding off of what is hot at the moment. Groups like Atmosphere (just an example) have been putting out “emotional (but not emo)” raps for years. Look at Murs, Brother Ali, Little Brother, ect. These guys wear their hearts on the sleeves and Kanye gets credit for being revolutionary because he’s got the mainstream outlet. Like most in the mainstream, his success stems directly from his image, not his artistic talents.
He is talented and I praised him when he arrived on the scene, but he really isn’t that good. Obviously, it’s just my opinion, but seriously check out guys like Murs (Murs For President)and Atmosphere (When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold) that actually have something to say, and don’t sound stupid saying it. If you want good music, you gotta look further than your TV and radio.
..I got kinda lost in the comment. To summarize, the rap you hear on the TV and radio have lowered people’s standards to the point where Kanye comes off almost like a savior and genius. Unlike most other genres, there is almost a black and white difference in Hip Hop between the mainstream and underground. No offense to guys like Jay Z, Outkast, Talib, Mos Def ect.. Kanye and Lupe are up there too, but if you want clear, concise and intellegent hip hop, you gotta go underground.
i’ve seen your responses to Michael’s post, Mr.Kellman, i appreciate your patience, really. but what i disagree with the review is the standard that you’ve adopted to rate the album, disliking the mood the album conveys is one thing, giving it a fair judgement is another. yes, this album is depressing, painful, but this is exactly what Kanye West wants to share with the audience, from this point, this album did a very good job of unleashing an artist’s painful soul and infecting audience. for an album, what’s more difficult to achieve is to make every track on an album share an coherent mood and style, and obviously this album did it.
just because the album used some common elements some artists used before and created something similar to some “bleak post-punk albums” doesn’t mean this album is bad (2 stars, geez, haven’t seen a mainstream album gets such low scores for a very long time!). there are so many mainstream albums that repeat same things over and over, and they get higher ratings on AMG, apparently this is unfair to “808s and Heartbreak”.
so my point is, as a critic, do not confuse personal taste with objective acknowledgement for an album, a critic can say he doesn’t like an album, but when it comes down to giving a rating for an album, he should keep it objective.
Just to clarify, and once again inadvertently defend Mr. Kellman, he hasn’t posted in response. I have made quite clear who I am, and I have never claimed to be him. I, as a reader, not a critic have made my subjective opinions noted. Leave Andy alone. I responded initially due to something another reader said, and then simply chose to defend myself. My name is Stephen…I go simply by S to remain anonymous, but in no way wanted my words to be confused with the words of an AMG employee and critic, whose opinion I respect and certainly do not always agree with. Before you start slamming people personally, make sure you’re getting the right names.
Cheers. Please keep doing what you’re doing. Ratings and opinions are a very subjective thing. We aren’t all going to agree on what should be 2 stars and what should be 5. That’s why so many people are in the business of writing reviews. Agree or not, you and all the others here do a great job, and quite frankly, I can’t think of a better one. However, I am not a part of your organization and will keep my thoughts private in order to make sure that you and anyone else is not the subject of a personal attack.
Andy, sorry for the trouble my responses may have given your reputation. I will abstain from posting on this website for a while.
to “S”: funny, first, i didn’t slam on Andy personally, i just spoke out my opinion, second, since this is ALL MUSIC GUIDE, and considering unlike any other music magazine, AMG always alters their ratings, do you still think their ratings are subjective? AMG is one of the most influential music sites online that were initially created to serve as music reference for music fans generation after generation, their ratings should be objective and fair..
Just listened to the whole album and its horrible. This is a bunch of crap and it shows how quickly this was put together. I feel bad for anyone that actually pays this garbage.
But the thing is, “S,” just what business did you have responding to my comments aimed toward ANDY KELLMAN?? The only reference I made to you was your Q-Tip comment. That’s it. Otherwise, you should have kept your nose elsewhere. Foenixir is absolutely right and probably said his comments with more temperance than I did, and I absolutely respect that. The rating is simply absurd, case closed. Oh, and oops, I’m sorry, I also didn’t mean to be so “highly inappropriate.” I’m sorry, father. Must I go to bed without supper now? Yes, please do yourself a favor and abstain because all you’re doing is vying for the attention of others with the idiocy of your comments. And again, I apologize, Mr. Kellman. I’m just frustrated with some of your ratings because you’ve made it a habit of giving poor scores to heavyweight urban artists and I’m just hoping it’s not out of some deep-seated hatred and bias. That’s what upsets me.
To me, art has meaning to different individuals. I don’t let ratings bother me because art will never mean the same thing to someone else as it will to me, so why should I be concerned with what others think of it?
“Well then, Mr. Kellman, you need to hand over the album to someone who appreciates its brilliance. You know, since you are stubbornly doing a huge injustice to it by criticizing for not meeting your (misguided at best) expectations. You should have given the album more time to grow on you. You namecheck The Renaissance, and while it’s another solid effort from Q-Tip, it’s a lot less innovative and artistically sound as Kamaal the Abstract yet you awarded them the same score. The Q-Tip reference was in regards to whoever “S” is. Either way, both of you are off-base, so I guess my correction doesn’t matter, right?” -Michael
“i’ve seen your responses to Michael’s post, Mr.Kellman, i appreciate your patience, really.”-Foenixir
That’s all…
I don’t care, wasn’t looking for attention, just make sure you know who your targeting and why you’re doing it.
It’s just a record. Nobody should be getting this seemingly upset over some sub-par reviews.
End of story.
As far as the idiocy of my comments go…well, really, no need to go there. I was simply responding to what you were putting out there as a comparative point. I disagree, but to be so reactionary (and this is aimed at Michael, not Foenixir) is just silly. Dude, relax. I just didn’t want the insults thrown seemingly at the wrong person, and it didn’t seem too clear that you were able to tell who was saying what. If you want to take me down a peg, feel free to continue. I have bigger things to worry about.
Foenixir, I totally appreciate where you’re coming from, and it’s possible my last post did seem pretty funny. I agree completely with your position regarding the importance and relevance of this site. The only thing I can say in my own defense is maybe have a look at definitions of objectivity vs. subjectivity. There isn’t really a basis for empirical, scientific and rational discourse when it comes to record reviewing. It is based on opinions of how the music sounds, the emotions it conveys and whether the individual reviewer likes it or not. That is, by its very definition, subjectivity. Opinions change over time; Maybe 808s will go from the 2 or 3 stars its at right now to 4.5 in the next year. Maybe it will become this criminally underrated cult classic. That’s the nature of reviews and opinions. They can be and often are changed.
Some of us like it, others don’t. Maybe the wrong people are reviewing the albums, but it seems pretty unlikely that anyone is giving bad reviews out of some sort of secret hatred.
Sorry for the trouble.
S
YOU were the reactionary one because you responded when I wasn’t necessarily talking to you. You don’t work for allmusic.com. What relevance do you have?? No, I wasn’t clear because you shouldn’t have said anything to me in the first place. In the end, more unnecessary confusion was caused. Evidently, I’m not the only one who thought you were Andy Kellman, even if you had made the disclaimer that you were not putting words in his mouth. If it’s “just a review” to you, then like I said, nothing should have been aimed at me. I only made that Q-Tip reference to you. But it is ridiculous to argue over this, but I’m also upset by your lack of tact toward ME. So naturally, I got defensive and maybe I went overboard. That’s it.
to “s”: lol, looks like the process of understanding “subjectivity and objectivity” is also subjective. yeah, i agree that reviews on AMG can be subjective(and they should be), but when it comes to the ratings, it should be objective, which is pretty much what AMG is trying to do. you know why AMG alters their ratings over time? because they want to be objective over one particular period and the ratings in their opinions reflect the value and importance of an album to the music history, or maybe in its own right.
i don’t want to argue on this blog over and over, i think three of us all stated our opinions clearly, that’s all. peace!!
ps: to “s”: since you know where i’m coming from, i guess i already know where you’re coming from, lol.
Alright, calm down, kids. It’s really not that deep.
While I agree that this album isn’t that great, I’ll disagree with Mr. Kellman in that I actually expected it to be great. After the surprising genius of Graduation, I was kinda looking forward to 808s as our era’s Here, My Dear.
Not so much.
However, “Say You Will” is arguably Kanye’s absolute greatest work ever.
S, you’re a PhD student and you’re wasting your time with useless rebuttal on a forum of which only 10 people read. Shame.
I have listened to the album 6 or 7 times now. I think it is a moving portrait of a man that had a depressing couple of months. You can feel it on most of the album. Its a good album to play in the background, but not a club banger or anything. Its something rap music has never been able to accomplish really. So in my humble opinion, its pretty amazing.
I think the review is sort of short-sighted but then what do you expect from AMG?
A few interesting things are happening here.
1. people who like kanye but know the songs are bad will force themselves to like it by listening to it over and over again.
2. people who like kanye but know the songs are bad will force themselves to like it by living in denial, calling it “groundbreaking” and “innovative”. Similar to saying that a friend’s mashed potato sculpture is “unique”. (code for wierd and awful but I am too nice to say otherwise)
3. people who like kanye but know the album is trash will say that “anyone who can’t appreciate it just doesn’t get it”. These poor souls have infused too much of Kanye’s brand into their own personal brand to openly disagree with his “statement”. (Don’t ask them to tell you what it is, because they don’t know)
The truth is, Welcome to Heartbreak is like listening to the problems of a depressed, drunk acquaintance of a friend of a friend you haven’t spoken to in years. I can feel his despair, but it is kind of creepy to be honest with you, because I don’t know him that well, and I’m not his therapist. Most of it sounds like he is just talking to himself, as if I’m not here, and I wish I wasn’t.
Seriously, the more i listen to this, the sadder i am about this whole thing. They are just shoving this garbage down our throats. This sounds like my kid brother made this on fruity loops after his high school girlfriend broke up with him. They gotta make it big, so everyone goes along with it, even though “the emperor has no clothes” so to speak.
Does it “break barriers”? No. Most people don’t listen to the songs in between the hits on hip-hop records, so they wouldn’t know that artists HAVE been “bearing their souls” since the beginning. (props to Hipoltry)
I am convinced that this is kanye’s egotistical way of telling us that he can sell the sound of himself vomiting because he thinks he is the “jesus of hip hop.”
Also, all of the PR people who are on here and the rest of the blogosphere trying to anonymously manage the disaster that is this “album” can all go suck an egg. WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE BECAUSE YOU SAY YOU LIKE IT.
You know whose fault this is? Hipsters. Damn them and their tight jeans! They are ruining hip hop too! Can’t they just have their damn alt wierd crap and leave our kanye’s alone?
Busta Rhymes, please don’t put out an emo-hop album, please, oh please god don’t let this be a trend.
*sigh*
Life’s just not fair.
Kudos to The Tailor for saying so much, yet so little at the same time. *applause* Nothing but psychobabble. Who the h*ll are you to tell me I have convinced myself in thinking this album is great when it’s really trash? Learn to speak for yourself and when you do, say something that makes sense and not just puffs of smoke billowing out of your a**. Peace.
Michael, in two months exactly, you will look back on this post and think “wow, he was right. i don’t know what i was thinking.” I conclude with my giant brain that you must like puffs of smoke coming out of people’s asses, because you like the travesty that is fartbreaks and 808s. it makes sense though, because people normally don’t like the smell of farts, but apparently you do. that means that you listened to this album and let it stink up your house, and because you worship the ass they came out of, you experienced cognitive dissonance. The fact that you think Kanye is great clashed with the smell in your nose, but your idolation of him won out in the end, leading you to exclaim, “these farts are genius!” I can tell that this is exactly what happened because you took offence to the specific statement i made, so you must be subconsciously aware of the fact that i was right and you ARE forcing yourself to like it. You just can’t accept that golden geese produce shit, in addition to golden eggs. You make the unfortunate mistake of confusing the two in this case. As the arbiter of all that is music, I decree that you are a tasteless hipster. You should also take this post super seriously because it is really that important. All non-hipsters are (obviously) genetically predisposed to recognize that this album is like a duck with a speech impediment: wack, wack, wack. Kudos and felicitations to michael for being too serious. Consider yourself hemmed. By The Tailor.
I like the album, but can only listen to it in spurts because it is too dreary. But whether the album exceeded your expectations or fell flat on its face, we all have to admit that a rating of 2 is wrong. There have been plenty of crap albums on here that have gotten better ratings.
No, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed in the fact I won’t be caressing your inflated ego anytime soon, Tailor. The album is brilliant and your s*** opinion will never change that. You think by fluffing your statement up with big, million-dollar words, that add up to nothing, that you’re intimidating. I’m sooooo spooked right now. Let’s not even talk about taste and I am definitely not hipster material. And your jokes are lame and unfunny. But it is interesting seeing how much you like to amuse and entertain yourself. And I’m being serious, but yet you come back with some meandering and overblown Razzie-winning performance monologue about how (only a simpleton like you would think this btw) sh***y my taste is and how golden geese love to s*** out other things beside eggs. Just brilliant, sir, brilliant. I’ll mail your Oscar to you, how’s that? My hat is off to you. *standing ovation*
Andy Kellman? Isn’t this the guy who gave Jamie Lidell’s Multiply a bad rating? I hate to inform you sir but you’re a pretty arrogant reviewer. I think he would be better off reviewing for a trendy, biased publication like cokemachineglow then allmusic.