808's

I know I am a year and a few months late on doing my review of 808's and Heartbreak but for some reason lately I have been on a Kanye kick and this is the album. This album definetly has a either you love it or hate it type of feel because it is so different from what he was doing before. I don't think he raps on it at all. I thought at first listen it was alright, but the more you listen to it the better it seems to get. I think he needed to expand the songs a bit, some of the parts are a bit repetitive but I think he felt that is what a pop album is. This is his attempt at making a pop album but putting his spin on it. No other rap artist in my opinion other then Andre 3000 could pull this off. As good as I think Jay Z and Eminem are, they are stuck in what they do, which is what they do best, but I don't think they think this way creatively. The problem with the album to me is it is to front heavy. The back part of the album can't touch the first part. Here are some of the albums highlights for me:

1. Say you will: sick opener, as soon as the piano kicks I'm loving it with just those two chords. It keeps bringing you up and down like things are not doing so well and then the piano kicks in and you think no things are gonna be alright then back down again. Best lyric: "Why would she make calls out of the blue, now I'm awake sleepless in noon."

2. Welcome to Heartbreak: He sounds desperate to me on this song, like he knows he is missing out on something. He knows he has to fight, to get it, he just doesnt know how to go about getting what he wants, but he is gonna fight till he does. Lyric: "I chased the good-life my whole life long, look back on my life, my whole life gone, where did I go wrong?"

3. Heartless: Best song on the album, in my opinion the best song he has ever done. Perfect blend of rap style beat with his singing he does on this album. The beginning of the third verse, I can't get enough of that, cause you know the beat is about to drop and the build up is perfect. Best lyric: "You wait a couple months then you gon' see, you'll never find nobody better then me."

4. So amazing: The tribal beats at the beginning are nice. I am not as much into the auto-tuner, he should have done it without it but this song is good anyway. I definetly nod my head to it, but I could have done without jeezy on it. Lyric: "I'm exhausted, barely breathing, holding onto what I believe in."

5. Love Lockdown: First single, tribal beats again. Very different song but again his build up is perfect. The classic slow and dark on the verse then blow it up on the chorus. I like the piano flowing through it the whole time, its such a calm melody line but the drums are bumping, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Best written song on the album as far as a pop song goes. Best lyric:I can't keep my cool, so I keep it true, I got something to lose, so I gotta move.

So the best songs on the album are the first five. Not to say the rest of the album isnt good it's just to me he should have spread it out a bit more. All in all a very good album. I think if he can some how mix this style with his style from the other albums he may be able to make a real classic album. I think that is where he needs to be at, in the middle of pop and rap with some synth, some heavy beats and some r and b mixed in like no one else out there can do. He has something that will seperate him, he just has to really find it and make something "amazing."