“Good Life” featuring T-Pain personifies the whole spirit of the album. It was here that rappers who did not adhere to the prototypical mode began to flourish. There was still an edge, but it was more of a rock star vibe. “Stronger”, sampling the Daft Punk hit “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”, pushed him from rap artist to crossover star. Sonically, it was a step into a bigger “stadium music” sound for West. Lyrically, West began to switch from the social commentary that was apparent on Late Registration to a more braggadocios tone. “From the moments of pain/look how far we done came/haters saying you changed/now you’re doing your thing”. Right from the start, the album opener, “Good Morning” summed up his journey up to that point. It was great to see that the kid from Chicago had finally come full circle. Kanye West had a friendly rivalry with 50 Cent at the time and almost sold a million copies in a week. I always associate triumph with Graduation. Nobody stays on top of the world forever it seems. If Graduation is the victory lap in Kanye’s storied career, then 808’s and Heartbreak is the fall of the hometown hero. Listening to Graduation and 808’s and Heartbreaks is like hearing the bizzarro version of the same person. I want to highlight a particular period in his career which I always referred to as the “ying and yang” of Yeezy. Kanye West has engaged different aesthetics over his career and pushed his artistic visions to the brink. There are points in life that may dictate an artist’s content and overall sound. We tend to forget that musicians are human and go through the typical ebb and flow of life just like we do. This album is admirable for much more than just its creator's chutzpah.It’s crazy that years between albums can make such a difference. Taut string arrangements, doomy bass and looped piano motifs add to the claustrophobia captivating as it is, the isolated moments of levity (the disco bounce of Paranoid Young Jeezy's guest spot on Amazing, on which he rhymes "podium" with "sodium") are a relief. In his hands, Autotune is a weapon, not a gimmick: ironically for a device used to dehumanise the singer, it makes him sound more vulnerable, as though playing smoke and mirrors with his own emotions. That he ultimately pulls it off is testament to his talent: it is the stylised, minimal music that lends the album its power, and which helps West convince as a man beset by demons and femmes fatales. 808s & Heartbreak shouldn't work: West's takes on the solitude of the superstar are solipsistic and clumsy ("How could you be so Dr Evil?" he asks on Heartless). E ven by Kanye West's standards, delivering an album of meditations on loneliness and paranoia, entirely sung through Autotune, is an audacious statement.
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