Get To Know H.E.R.

Hits: Welcome To Heartbreak (ft Kid Cudi), Heartless, Paranoid (ft Mr Hudson), Street Lights, Coldest Winter

Strikes: Love Lockdown, Robocop, Bad News, See You In My Knightmares (ft Lil Wayne)

Balls: Say You Will, Amazing (ft Young Jeezy)

Note: I’m aware that there’s a bonus track on this, but I’ve decided that bonus tracks aren’t actually tracks that contribute to the body of the album and will from now on only give such tracks a mention if they deserve it. This one really doesn’t.

When Kanye West first made it known that he would be recording an album entirely in auto tune, I was shocked, to say the least. I expected that shit from Lil fucking Wayne (who consequently appears on this album) but from Kanye? When I heard this, I immediately wrote this album off as a complete failure in the making. After listening to this album from start to finish, was I right or was I being close minded?

Well, I’ll start by saying this. 808s and Heartbreaks really isn’t a hip hop album (and it isn’t The Love Below). Also, the Kanye West you’ll hear on this album isn’t the usual egotistical man you hear rapping about how great his production (which admittedly it is) and his lyrical prowess (pshhh) are. In fact, since Kanye doesn’t rap on this you should probably consider this not as a Kanye album but a side project by his alter ego, Kanye Pain (or T-West, whichever you prefer). Recognizing this will be crucial to whether or not you can actually enjoy this album.

As for the actual contents, I was half right when I dismissed 808s as a complete failure since half of its tracks were in fact, a total mess. Love Lockdown was probably reworked a gajillion times before it was put on this album and you know what? I still can’t stand it. But the real killer here is Robocop, which is without a doubt, the worst track on this album and probably in Kanye’s whole catalogue. On the flipside, there were several tracks on this album that I found myself liking and could even see myself enjoying the shit out of on a later day. Street Lights for one, is a beauty of a track, and Paranoid is also one hell of a song.

The production on 808s, as one can expect from a Kanye album by now (even a Kanye Pain album), is fucking magnificent, albeit a bit similar. The problem with the bad tracks is surprisingly not the auto-tune, which, after the first couple of tracks really wasn’t nearly as distracting as I thought it would be (except on Love Lockdown for some odd reason). No, the problem is that Kanye the singer has the most simplistic lyrics I’ve heard in a very long time. It also doesn’t help that his better collaborators behind the mic aka Common, GLC, Talib, etc. are nowhere to be found on this album and we’re instead presented with the simple raps of Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy. To be fair, sometimes, simple works. But other times, it turns otherwise heartfelt tracks into repetitious, boring as shit material.

Speaking of heartfelt, another thing that you should be aware of going into this album is that the subject matter isn’t your typical Kanye West fare (remember the how great his production and lyrical prowess are thing?)). On the contrary, the subject matter is depressing as hell and really fucking emo. Which is understandable I suppose, considering his mother recently passed away and that he broke off his long term engagement with his fiancée. For the most part, this was actually a welcome change from the Mr. Ego Kanye was becoming and reminded me more of the lyrics on The College Dropout. It was when he started complaining about the problems his success brought him that I couldn’t really feel it anymore. First off, that subject is beaten to death in the rap game. Second, fuck all that. I mean I understand it’s your life and all and you got your problems but really? You got a problem with having too much money? But….I digress once again. That’s really more of a topic for a blog I should start one day entitled “What’s Wrong With the World Today.”

So…what’s my final word on 808s and Heartbreaks? It’s not as bad as I expected it too be (how could it have been?) and it’s definitely not as bad as some people are saying it is (close though). Like I said, don’t expect Kanye the rapper and it puts this project all into perspective for the most part. However, keep in mind that since this is basically an experimental thing as Kanye usually is a rapper (well, he’s usually a producer I guess, but whatever) and not an auto tune singer, it’s not as good as it could’ve been. Of course, the fact that I prefer this album to T-Pain’s last one, who’s day job in fact is auto tune singing, speaks miles about how bad he is. Anyways, there are a few good fucking tracks to be heard on this album so just track those songs down. I won’t guarantee that you’ll like the whole package though and to be quite frank, you probably won’t.