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808s & Heartbreak is the upcoming fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West. The album is scheduled to be released on November 24, 2008. West announced on his blog that he has finished the album. It was originally announced for a December 16 release, but Island Def Jam brought the date forward three weeks to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend. A special Christmas packaging of the album will be released on a December 16 and will feature album artwork redone by Kaws.

The album was leaked onto the internet on November 19, 2008.

Concept

The entire album is sung by West with the aid of Auto-Tune, aside from one verse by Young Jeezy, a duet with Lil Wayne, additional vocals by Kid Cudi and a freestyle by West at the conclusion of the record. West has stated that he loves using Auto-Tune and is dismayed that the term has been commonly associated with being "wack." He considers the technology "the funnest thing to use." West compared the situation to when he was a child and thought the color pink was cool until someone told him "it was gay." He went on to state how the views of society can rob people of their confidence and self-esteem.

West classified 808s & Heartbreak as pop music and expressed that, "People think pop is bad, but Michael Jackson was pop and who can compare to him?" He later stated that he wishes to present the music as a new genre called "pop art", not to be confused with the visual art movement of the same name.

West revealed that the song "Coldest Winter" is about his late mother, Donda West, who passed away in 2007. He also stated that the other songs on the album deal with another person he was close to, but had not specified a name. This person was speculated to be West's ex-fiancée Alexis Phifer.

Mike Dean noted that during the Hawaii sessions for the album, West insisted that each track had to feature TR-808-generated drumming. "o typical hip-hop beats. They've gotta be tribal drums." West felt that the 808 is an important instrument that can be used to evoke emotion; the concept was introduced to him by Jon Brion. It was revealed that the occasional exaggerated effects produced by Auto-Tune are meant to represent the effect of being heartbroken.

Background

The album was originally rumored to be entitled A Good Ass Job by the magazine Billboard, though it was later revealed by online hip-hop and fashion magazine Urban Lookout that the correct name would be 808s & Heartbreak. This was later confirmed through the rapper's online blog.

The first single from the album was "Love Lockdown", which has been performed live and has aired on the radio. The official version of the song was posted onto West's blog on September 16 and is being played by radio stations. The song was premiered at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The second single is announced as "Heartless". Another song revealed is "Welcome to Heartbreak", which appeared on a poster for an 808s & Heartbreak listening event that took place on October 14.

As of September 13, the album was being recorded in Hawaii. On September 24, West announced that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November. In his blog, he wrote "I changed my album to November something cause I finished the album and I felt like it..I want yall to hear it as soon as possible". West later stated that the album would be released on November 25, 2008.

T-Pain announced that he has been working with West. In an interview with URB, rapper Kid Cudi (signed onto West's label, GOOD Music) stated he was working in the studio with West on 808s. Kid Cudi also revealed that he will be featured on two of the songs on the album.

On October 16, West released an excerpt of "Coldest Winter" on the radio station Power 106 in Los Angeles. The track recreates elements of the song "Memories Fade" by the band Tears for Fears. When "Robocop" appeared on the Internet, West denied responsibility for the leak and was upset that it had occurred. At an album preview event, West candidly expressed that "We all know that ‘Robocop’ is maybe the biggest wreck on the album." Mike Dean revealed that "Robocop" would receive additional treatment by Herbie Hancock before the album's release. The revised version differs dramatically from the earlier leak.

The song "Paranoid" was later leaked onto the Internet and features Mr. Hudson in the chorus. Also appearing prior to the release date were "Amazing" featuring Young Jeezy, "See You in My Nightmares" featuring Lil Wayne, "Street Lights", "Say You Will", "Welcome to Heartbreak" and "Bad News". An additional track, "Pinocchio Story" is a freestyle recorded at a live concert.

West hosted a special listening event in collaboration with artist Vanessa Beecroft to promote the album. The gathering featured a group of nude models and multicolored lights that would change as the music progressed. Rap-Up.com subsequently reported a track listing based on what could be heard at the event, while MTV.com further specified track names of the album. An official listing was later released.

Track listing

Amazon.com released the official track listing of the album, including individual track lengths.

References

1. "Kanye Pushing 808's & Heartbreak Forward To November 16th". Urban Look Out. 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-11-02. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
2. ^ Kanye confirms Heartless as second single and November 25, 2008 release date
3. ^ 808s & Heartbreak coming soon.... www.kanyeuniversecity.com. Accessed September 24, 2008.
4. New Albums From Kanye West, Ludacris, Killers To Get Rare Monday Release On November 24
5. announcement of special Christmas edition
6. ^ "Kanye West Bares All at Album Listening". Rap Up. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
7. Kanye creating new genre called "Pop-Art"
8. ^ Shaheem, Reid (2008-10-15). "Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak Album Preview: More Drums, More Singing, 'No Typical Hip-Hop Beats'". MTV. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
9. ^ Kanye West - 808’s & Hearbreak (Album Review)
10. "Kanye's New Album Is Called 808's & Heartbreak, Not Good Ass Job!". Urban Look Out. 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-11-02. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
11. Top 40/M Future Releases Accessed September 9, 2008
12. Kaufman, Gil (2008-09-08). "It's Britney Spears' Night At The VMAs, While Kanye West Ends The Show With A Bang". MTV. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
13. 808s & Heartbreak listening event poster. Kanye West's Blog. Accessed October 12, 2008.
14. http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=206717_-1__0_~-1_-1_05_2008_0_0&em3281=&em3161=
15. Shaheem, Reid (2008-10-13). "T-Pain Describes His Involvement On New Kanye West LP; Fat Joe Salutes Lil Wayne's Carter IV Rock Edge: Mixtape Monday". MTV. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
16. Perkins, Brandon (2008-10-01). "Kid Cudi speaks on 808's & Heartbreak". URB. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
17. Canwest News Service (2008-10-18). "Kanye West gives us more 808s and Heartbreak". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
18. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1597934/20081027/west_kanye.jhtml
19. http://www.youth.sg/content/view/6436/54/
20. Richard, Yasmine (2008-10-15). "Kanye West — And 50 Naked Women — Preview 808s & Heartbreak In L.A." MTV. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
21. ^ 808s & Heartbreak at Amazon.com

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