808 And Heartbreak Download

Torrent Contents. Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak. 001 Kanye West - Say You Will.mp3 14 MB; 002 Kanye West - Welcome To Heartbreak (Feat. Kid Cudi).mp3 10 MB; 003 Kanye West - Heartless.mp3 8,249 KB; 004 Kanye West - Amazing (Feat.

  1. 808 And Heartbreak Download
  2. 808s And Heartbreak Tracklist
  3. 808s And Heartbreak Meaning
808s & Heartbreak
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 24, 2008
RecordedSeptember – October 2008
Studio
  • Glenwood in Burbank
  • Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu
Genre
Length51:58
Label
Producer
  • The Carter Administration(exec.)
  • Kanye West(also exec.)
  • Gee Roberson (exec.)
  • Kyambo 'Hip Hop' Joshua (exec.)
Kanye West chronology
Graduation
(2007)
808s & Heartbreak
(2008)
VH1 Storytellers
(2010)
Singles from 808s & Heartbreak
  1. 'Love Lockdown'
    Released: September 18, 2008
  2. 'Heartless'
    Released: November 4, 2008
  3. 'Amazing'
    Released: March 10, 2009
  4. 'Paranoid'
    Released: March 23, 2009

808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop producer and vocalist Kanye West. It was released on November 24, 2008, by Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album during September and October 2008 at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the help of producers No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and others. The album features guest appearances from Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, Mr Hudson, and Lil Wayne.

Conceived in the wake of several distressing personal events, 808s & Heartbreak marked a major musical departure from West's previous rap records, instead featuring a sparse, electronic sound and West singing through an Auto-Tune vocal processor. His lyrics explore themes of loss, alienated fame, and heartache, while the album's production abandons conventional hip hop sounds in favor of a minimalist sonic palette, which includes prominent use of the titular Roland TR-808 drum machine.

808s & Heartbreak debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 450,145 copies in its first week. Despite varying responses from listeners, the album received positive reviews from most critics and was named one of 2008's best records in several year-end lists. Four singles were released to promote the record, including the hit singles 'Love Lockdown' and 'Heartless'.

Kanye west 808 heartbreak download

808s & Heartbreak has since been cited as a prominent influence on subsequent hip hop, pop, and R&B music, as a new wave of rappers, singers, and producers came to adopt aspects of its style and thematic content.[1] By 2013, it had sold 1.7 million copies in the United States.

  • 6Critical reception
  • 7Commercial performance
  • 11Charts

Background[edit]

Following the release of his third studio album Graduation, the remainder of 2007 and the following year featured events that profoundly affected Kanye West. On November 10, 2007, West's mother Donda West died due to complications arising following cosmetic surgery involving a tummy tuck and breast reduction procedure.[2] Months later, West and fiancée Alexis Phifer ended their engagement and their long-term intermittent relationship, which had begun in 2002.[3] At the same time, West struggled to adapt to his newfound pop star status he once strove to achieve, often becoming the subject of media scrutiny.[4] The loss, loneliness and longing for companionship and a sense of normality served to inspire 808s & Heartbreak.[5] West stated that 'This album was therapeutic – it's lonely at the top.'[6]

West felt that his emotions could not be fully expressed simply through rapping, which he said had limitations. There were 'melodies that were in me', he explained. 'What was in me I couldn't stop.'[7] West went to classify 808s & Heartbreak as a pop album, asserting his disdain towards the contemporary backlash to the concept of pop music and expressed admiration for what some pop stars have accomplished in their careers.[8] He later stated that he wishes to present the music as a new genre called 'pop art,' clarifying that he was well aware of the visual art movement of the same name and wished to present a musical equivalent.[9] 'Either call it 'pop' or 'pop art,' either one I'm good with,' he later stated.[9]

Recording and production[edit]

West (center) working on the album with his former mentor, producer No I.D. (left).

The album was recorded over a span of approximately three weeks from September to October 2008.[10] Recording sessions took place at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii.[11] As implied by its title, 808s & Heartbreak prominently features the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Drawing inspiration from 1980s synthpop and electropop performers such as Phil Collins, Gary Numan, TJ Swan and Boy George, West felt that the 808 is a resourceful instrument that can be used to evoke emotion; the concept was introduced to him by Jon Brion.[12][13] West utilized the sounds created by the 808 and manipulated its pitch to produce a distorted, electronic sound, an effect he referred to as 'heartbreak'. He felt the characteristic of the sound was representative of his state of mind.[9] According to West, the fact that Hawaii's area code was '808' was coincidental, as he had already developed the album's title before being informed.[14] The realization inspired him to pursue his direction with the album, however.[10] In terms of musical direction, West's intentions, according to Mike Dean, were to go against the typical sound of hip hop beat, instead evoking the presence of tribal drums.[15] Overall, West maintained a 'minimal but functional' approach towards the album's studio production.[12][16]

The Roland TR-808, the titular drum machine which served as a primary instrument on 808s & Heartbreak.

The album makes prominent use of the voice audio processor technology of Auto-Tune. West had previously experimented with the technology on The College Dropout for the background vocals of 'Jesus Walks' and 'Never Let Me Down', but he had not used it for lead vocals until 2008. 'We were working on the remixes for Lil Wayne's 'Lollipop' and Young Jeezy's 'Put On' and he fell in love with the Auto-Tune', producer Mike Dean explained.[15] Towards the end, West enlisted T-Pain for coaching on how to utilize the technology.[14] West himself openly stated that he loved using Auto-Tune and was dismayed that the term has been commonly associated with being 'wack'.[17] He considers the technology 'the funnest thing to use' and compared the situation to when he was a child and thought the color pink was cool until someone told him 'it was gay', producing an analogy of how the views of society can rob people of their confidence and self-esteem.[17] He later went on to state that he enjoyed the electronic feel produced by Auto-Tune and sought out to juxtapose the mechanical sounds with the traditional sounds of taiko drums and choir monks.[18]

West credits rapper Kid Cudi, who had signed with his G.O.O.D. Music record label, with assisting in the creation of the album's stark, brooding sound.[19][20] After receiving a copy of his 2008 mixtape A Kid Named Cudi, West became an avid fan, especially in regards to the hit single 'Day 'n' Nite.'[19] West surprised Kid Cudi with a phone call, and had him flown over to Hawaii to work on 808s & Heartbreak. The pair worked side by side in the studio while playing films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind silently. In the end, Kid Cudi co-wrote four songs on 808s & Heartbreak.[19] In an interview, West told Rolling Stone, 'His writing is just so pure and natural and important. [That's] more important than where things chart.'[19]

Young Jeezy contributed a rap verse on the track 'Amazing' while 'See You in My Nightmares' is a duet with Lil Wayne. Singer-songwriter Esthero provided the few female vocals found on the album; credited under birth name Jenny-Bea Englishman, she co-wrote three tracks.[21] When 'RoboCop' appeared on the Internet, West disclaimed responsibility and was upset that the leak had occurred as the track was an unfinished version.[22] Mike Dean had previously stated that the track was expected to receive additional treatment by Herbie Hancock before the album's release.[15]

Music and lyrics[edit]

A sample of one of the album's songs, exploring existential crisis.
An introspection on the aftermath of a failed romantic relationship.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

808s & Heartbreak is a radical departure from West's previous hip hop albums.[23] According to The Independent, West abandoned his customary hip hop sound in favor of sparse, drum machine-based electropop;[24]Pitchfork's Scott Plagenhoef categorized the album as 'an introspective, minimal electro-pop record',[25] and 33⅓ writer Kirk Walker Graves said its music is avant-garde electropop.[26] In the opinion of Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt, the record was a 'downbeat detour into depressive electro pop',[27] while another writer for the magazine called it an 'introspective, synthpop album',[28] According to Arsh Bains from 36 Chapters, the genres electropop, synthpop, and experimental pop were a few of the many categorizations offered for the album after it was released.[29]

The music of 808s & Heartbreak draws heavily on electronic elements, particularly virtual synthesis, the Roland TR-808 drum machine, and explicitly auto-tuned vocal tracks.[30] Tracks on the album utilize step input drum machine and synth-bass parts.[30] Step input sequencing, a product of vintage analogue devices limited to recording only 16 individual notes, was popular in music production during the 1980s,[31] but also became available in digital workstations.[32] The album's music features austere production and elements such as dense drums, lengthy strings, droning synths, and somber piano.[33] Andy Kellman of AllMusic writes of the music, '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.'[33] These musical elements help convey moods of despair and dejection that reflect the album's subject matter.[33] For The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin described the album's music as 'split[ting] the difference between the auto-tune R&B of T-Pain and the glacial electronic atmospherics of '80s new wave at its loneliest.'[34]NJ.com columnist Trist McCall wrote that the record 'stripped modern art-pop down to its iconic rudiments — beats, charismatic personalities, hand-selected melodies, and computer-assisted vocals.'[35]

West's singing has been characterized as 'flat' and 'nearly unmelodic' which 'underscores his own cyborgish detachment.'[36][33] Andre Grant of HipHopDX wrote that 'to combat this trenchant melancholia, he poured himself into an all-autotunes R&B album' which would prove divisive in hip hop.[37] Canadian writer Stephen Marche viewed that West used 'the shallow musical gimmickry of Auto-Tune, a program designed to eliminate individuality, and produced a hauntingly personal album.'[38]

The song describes a lover who is alienating the narrator with her distrustful thinking.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Most of West's lyrics are directed at an ex-lover.[33] In Robert Christgau's opinion, 808s & Heartbreak is a 'slow, sad-ass and self-involved ... breakup album',[36] while Plagenhoef found it 'steeped in regret, pain, and even more self-examination than a typical Kanye West album'.[25] West refers to an ex-lover's treatment of him as 'the coldest story ever told' on 'Heartless', and on 'RoboCop', she is called a 'spoiled little L.A. girl' comparable to the antagonist in the 1990 film Misery.[33] On 'Paranoid', West describes a lover who 'worries about the wrong things' and is pushing him away with her distrustful ways of thinking.[16] With the introspective 'Love Lockdown', West discusses the aftermath of a failed romantic relationship.[39] On 'Welcome to Heartbreak', West's character faces an existential crisis as he dispassionately recounts sitting alone on a flight, with a laughing family seated ahead of him.[33] The song harbors lamentful lyrics that reflect on the cost of past decisions and the emptiness of fame and luxury.[40] West longs for his late mother on the album's penultimate track 'Coldest Winter.'[33] The track contains an interpolation of the desolate 1983 song 'Memories Fade' by Tears for Fears.[11] According to Robert Christgau, the closing 'Pinocchio Story' is 'the only track here about what's really bringing [West] down: not the loss of his girlfriend but the death of his mother, during cosmetic surgery that somewhere not too deep down he's sure traces all too directly to his alienated fame.'[36]

Artwork[edit]

The artwork for 808s & Heartbreak followed the minimalist style of the album. The cover art features a deflated heart-shaped balloon.[41] It was photographed by Kristen Yiengst and designed by Virgil Abloh and Willo Perron,[42] and the deluxe edition's artwork was made by pop artistKaws.[41][11] The album's artwork also include photographs of West, taken by Willy Vanderperre,[11] and a photograph of West kissing his mother on the cheek, taken by Danny Clinch.[11][42] In 2013, Complex named it the best rap album cover of the past five years.[43]

Release and promotion[edit]

On September 24, West announced that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November. In his blog post, he wrote 'I changed my album to November something cause I finished the album and I felt like it..I want y'all to hear it as soon as possible'.[44] West later stated that the album would be released on November 25, 2008.[45] However, Island Def Jam, the distributing label, brought the date forward by one day to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend.[46]808s & Heartbreak was also released on November 24, 2008 in the United Kingdom and the Philippines.[47] A limited edition in a digipak case was first released in Germany on November 21, 2008.[47] A special edition of the album was released on December 16 that contains the album in CD and dual LP format, and also features album artwork redone by the artist of the original cover, Kaws.[48]

West performed at the Virgin Mobile Festival leading up to the album's release.

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.[49] The song 'Paranoid' later leaked onto the Internet and features Mr Hudson in the chorus. A remixed version of 'Paranoid' was reported to feature pop singer Rihanna, but did not materialize.[50] 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'.[50] An additional track, 'Pinocchio Story' is a freestyle recorded at a live concert in Singapore. It was included in the album at the request of Beyoncé Knowles.[51]

On October 14, West, in collaboration with Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft, hosted a promotional album listening event at Ace Gallery.[52] Over 700 guests were invited to preview the entirety of 808s & Heartbreak. Under Beecroft's guidance, the event featured approximately forty nude women wearing nothing besides wool masks who silently stood in the center of the room.[52] The women were illuminated by multicolored lights that would change as the music progressed.[52] When it came time for him to speak, West stated that he'd been a fan of Beecroft's work and strong imagery, saying that he liked the idea of nudity because 'society told us to wear clothes at a certain point'. Beecroft had been contacted a month prior and conceptualized and generated the installation in a week.[52] Beecroft admitted that while he had caught her offguard, she had the opportunity to hear the album for herself and heard things that touched her own life.[52] Five days later, promotional photos for the album by photographer Willy Vanderperre were released. The images portrayed West wearing a grey glen plaid suit, large browline glasses, and a heart-shaped pin.[53]

In October 2009, West was scheduled to embark on a tour, Fame Kills: Starring Kanye West and Lady Gaga tour, in promotion of 808s & Heartbreak and Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster. It was canceled on October 1, 2009, without reason.[54] Several songs from the album were performed by West during his live VH1 Storytellers performance, such as 'Heartless', 'Amazing' and 'Say You Will.'[55] In the interim, director Nabil Elderkin directed two additional promotional videos for the album. 'Welcome to Heartbreak', which featured an artistic use of liberal compression artifacts, was released in June 2009. A remixed version of 'Coldest Winter' was released in February 2010. This video featured a woman in a wedding gown running away from a cult group through a moonlit forest.

On September 26, 2015, West performed the album in its entirety at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.[56] On October 20, 2015, West released a remix of 'Say You Will' featuring vocals by American composer and violinist Caroline Shaw onto his SoundCloud account.[57]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[58]
Metacritic75/100[59]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[33]
The A.V. ClubB[60]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[61]
The Guardian[62]
The Independent[63]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[36]
Pitchfork7.6/10[25]
Rolling Stone[64]
The Sunday Times[65]
USA Today[66]

808s & Heartbreak received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 75, based on 36 reviews.[59] Chris Richards from The Washington Post called it 'an information-age masterpiece',[67] while USA Today critic Steve Jones said 'West deftly uses the 808 drum machine and Auto-Tune vocal effect to channel his feelings of hurt, anger and doubt through his well-crafted lyrics'.[66] Dan Cairns from The Sunday Times stated, 'This so should not work...Yet 808s & Heartbreak is a triumph, recklessly departing from the commercially copper-bottomed script and venturing far beyond West’s comfort zone.'[65]Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen commended West's incorporation of the Roland TR-808 drum machine and described the album as 'Kanye's would-be Here, My Dear or Blood on the Tracks, a mournful song-suite that swings violently between self-pity and self-loathing'.[64] In the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot called it West's 'most radical yet' and said while West's fans may be disappointed, 'this one is for him. It remains to be seen if he goes back to making records for everybody else. For now, this is one fascinatingly perverse detour.'[68]PopMatters critic Dave Heaton was impressed by West's 'song and album construction, and with the way he captures a particular feeling through unusual, evocative, carefully crafted music that’s both simple and complex, cold and warm, mechanical and human, melodic and harsh'.[69] Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau found it 'brilliant' with a unique 'dark sound' and 'engaging tunes', despite a second-half drop-off, and praised West's use of Auto-Tune, which he felt 'both undercuts his self-importance and adds physical reality to tales of alienated fame that might otherwise be pure pity parties'.[36]

In a less enthusiastic review, The Independent found West's 'immersion in personal misery' uncomfortable and commented that the 'stylistic tropes quickly become irritating'.[63]AllMusic editor Andy Kellman stated 'no matter its commendable fearlessness, the album is a listless, bleary trudge along West's permafrost'.[33]Charles Aaron from Spin criticized the songs' musical structures, calling the album 'a long processional that starts and restarts and never reaches the ceremony'.[70]Slant Magazine's Wilson McBee panned West's singing,[71] while Jon Caramanica from The New York Times singled it out as the 'weakness for which this album will ultimately be remembered, some solid songs notwithstanding.'[13] Caramanica wrote that, 'at best, it is a rough sketch for a great album, with ideas he would have typically rendered with complexity, here distilled to a few words, a few synthesizer notes, a lean drumbeat. At worst, it’s clumsy and underfed, a reminder that all of that ornamentation served a purpose'.[13]Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis stated, 'If West had interspersed the more mechanical tracks with some that were the exact opposite—say, simple piano interludes provided by his old collaborators John Legend or Jon Brion—he might have made a masterpiece. Instead, he's merely given us an extremely intriguing, sporadically gripping, undeniably fearless and altogether unexpected piece of his troubled soul.'[72]

Accolades[edit]

808s & Heartbreak was voted the tenth best album of 2008 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of prominent American critics.[73] The album was also named one of the ten best albums of 2008 by a number of publications, including the Associated Press (number four),[73]The Hartford Courant (number seven), NOW (number four), The Observer (number eight), Vibe (no order) and Time (number six).[74][75][76]Pitchfork named 808s & Heartbreak the twenty-first best album of 2008.[77] Dan Leroy of LA Weekly cited it as one of the top ten hip hop albums of the year.[78]Jam! named it the top album of 2008.[79]Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis included the album on his list of the year's ten best albums and wrote, 'With every listen, the poignancy of these personal tales of loss grows deeper, perfectly matched by the cold, lonely, robotic but nevertheless winning grooves that accompany them. Upon further reflection, it is a brave and daring 4-star effort that deserves to be heard by any fan of adventurous pop music.'[80]Time Out New York featured the album on its list of the Best and Worst Albums of 2008. The magazine's writer Colin St. John cited 808s & Heartbreak as one of the worst of 2008, and editor Steve Smith named it third on his best-of list, while calling the album 'the year's most misunderstood triumph.'[81]

Despite its accolades, 808s & Heartbreak was largely overlooked as a contender for the 52nd Grammy Awards.[82] According to Vibe magazine editor-in-chief Jermaine Hall, West's controversial incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and the ensuing backlash against West 'probably hurt him', but perceived West's stylistic change on the album as the primary reason for it not being nominated.[82] West received one solo nomination, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for 'Amazing', and five other nominations for his guest appearances and collaborational work.[83]

808 And Heartbreak Download

In 2009, Rolling Stone ranked it number 63 on its list of the 100 Best Album of the Decade,[84] then in 2014 they named it one of the 40 most groundbreaking albums of all time,[85] in which it was only one of two albums to be released in the 21st century. Q named it the decade's 81st best record. On similar lists, Slant Magazine and PopMatters ranked it 124th and 42nd, respectively.[73]

YearOrganizationAwardResultRef.
2009BET Hip Hop AwardsCD of the YearNominated[86]
Hungarian Music AwardsBest Foreign Dance or Pop AlbumNominated[87]
NAACP Image AwardsOutstanding AlbumNominated[88]
Soul Train Music AwardsAlbum of the YearNominated[89]
Teen Choice AwardsChoice Music: Album – MaleNominated[90]
MOBO AwardsBest AlbumNominated[91]
Swiss Music AwardsBest Album Urban InternationalNominated[92]
Urban Music Awards USABest AlbumWon[93]

Commercial performance[edit]

808 And Heartbreak Download

In its first week of sales, 808s & Heartbreak reached the number one spot on Billboard 200, selling 450,145 units in its first week.[94] In the last week of the year, 808s & Heartbreak sold 165,100 copies, jumping from the eleventh spot back up to the number five on the Billboard 200.[95] The album moved up again the following week, selling 70,900 units and landing at number three.[96] On January 27, 2009, 808s & Heartbreak was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, serving as West's fourth album to ship one million copies in the United States.[97] As of June 14, 2013, it has sold 1.7 million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[98][99]

Despite the debate and uncertainty surrounding the album's conception, its preceding singles demonstrated outstanding chart performances. Upon its release, the lead single 'Love Lockdown' debuted at number three on the BillboardHot 100 and became a 'Hot Shot Debut'. It is the highest debut of West's career, the second highest debut on the Hot 100 that year and the tenth song of the millennium to debut in the top three.[100] Grossing over 1.3 million copies at the iTunes Store alone, the single was certified platinum by the RIAA by the end of the year.[101] On August 18, 2010, it was certified triple platinum by the RIAA, for shipments of three million units in the US.[97] The single was also met by positive reviews from music critics, eventually culminating with being crowned 'Song of the Year' by Time.[102] The second single, 'Heartless' performed similarly and became his second consecutive 'Hot Shot Debut' by debuting at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[103] It was certified double platinum by the RIAA, having shipped two million units in the US.[97] Due in part to the momentum produced by the album's release, certain tracks were met by chart success despite not actually being released as singles.[104] The tenth track 'See You in My Nightmares' became yet another 'Hot Shot Debut,' peaking at number twenty-one in the US and at number twenty-two in Canada while the fourth track 'Amazing' charted at 81 on the Hot 100.[104][105] Following suit, 'Welcome to Heartbreak' peaked at number eighty-seven on the Pop 100.[104]

Public reaction[edit]

It wasn't really the traditional Kanye hip-hop album. He went out of the box, which some people loved, but for others, it took a while to grow on them.

— Jermaine Hall, Vibe editor in chief[82]

Before its release, reaction to 808s & Heartbreak was mixed, ranging from anticipation to bewilderment and indifference to the album's concept. Upon the unveiling of the lead single 'Love Lockdown' at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, music audiences were taken aback by the uncharacteristic production style and the presence of Auto-Tune.[106] The negative feedback intensified when West revealed that the entire album would be primarily sung with Auto-Tune rather than rapped and would focus on themes of love and heartache.[7][107]

Numerous hip hop fans and certain rappers mocked West for becoming 'sappy' while others deemed the upcoming LP as a throwaway experimental album.[106] Comparisons were drawn to Electric Circus, an album recorded by West's labelmate and close friend Common.[108] MTV eventually interviewed Common to share his thoughts and views on the artistic direction of the album. Common expressed both his understanding and his support for West's intentions, stating 'I love it. I'mma tell you, as an artist, you wanna be free. I'mma do what I feel. You can't just cater to the audience. You gotta say, 'Hey, y'all, this is where I'm at.' For him to do an album called 808s and Heartbreak, you know that's where he is at this moment. I heard some songs, and I think it's fresh. I think the people are ready for it.'[109]

West received similar approval from Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy, both of whom contributed to the album. During an interview, when asked what music today inspires him, Wayne stated 'everybody's doing their thing, but they're not exciting. Everybody is doing the same thing. That's terrible. Do I love the music that's out right now? I love it with a passion. Does it motivate me? Not one bit. That's because 808s & Heartbreak isn't out yet.'[110] Despite the approval from the rap superstars, as well as the record-breaking chart performances of the first two singles, hip hop audiences remained indifferent towards the album, predicting it would flop.[106] Responding to reviews, West stated that he didn't care about sales or getting good ratings, saying that it came from the heart and that's all that matters to him. When asked about the current state of hip hop, West compared it to a high school, stating that hip hop used to be all about being fearless and standing out, and that now it is about being afraid and fitting in.[111]Michael Jackson was an admirer of the album, with his daughter saying he played it for her 'all the time'.[112]

Legacy and influence[edit]

Drake was part of the wave of rappers whose music was shaped by the album.

Although West designed it as a melancholic pop album, 808s & Heartbreak had a significant effect on hip hop music.[113] While his decision to sing about love, loneliness, and heartache for the entirety of the album was at first heavily criticized by music audiences and the album predicted to be a flop, its subsequent critical acclaim and commercial success encouraged other mainstream rappers to take greater creative risks with their music.[106][109] During the release of The Blueprint 3, New York rap mogul Jay-Z revealed that his next studio album would be an experimental effort, stating, '... it's not gonna be a #1 album. That's where I'm at right now. I wanna make the most experimental album I ever made.'[114] Jay-Z elaborated that like West, he was unsatisfied with contemporary hip hop, was being inspired by indie-rockers like Grizzly Bear and asserted his belief that the indie rock movement would play an important role in the continued evolution of hip hop.[115]

808s was the first album of that kind, you know? It was the first, like, black new wave album. I didn't realize I was new wave until [Yeezus]. Thus my connection with Peter Saville, with Raf Simons, with high-end fashion, with minor chords. I hadn't heard new wave! But I am a black new wave artist.

— Kanye West, 2013[116]

The album impacted hip hop stylistically and laid the groundwork for a new wave of hip hop artists who generally eschewed typical rap braggadocio for intimate subject matter and introspection,[117]including B.o.B, Kid Cudi, Childish Gambino,[118]Frank Ocean,[119] and Drake.[120][121] Jake Paine of HipHopDX dubbed the album as 'our Chronic', noting West's effect on hip hop with 808s & Heartbreak as 'a sound, no different than the way Dr. Dre's synthesizer challenged the boom-bap of the early '90s.'[120]Fact described the record as an 'art-pop masterpiece [which] broke the shackles of generations of one-upmanship [in hip hop].'[122]Rolling Stone journalist Matthew Trammell asserted that the record was ahead of its time and wrote in a 2012 article, 'Now that popular music has finally caught up to it, 808s & Heartbreak has revealed itself to be Kanye’s most vulnerable work, and perhaps his most brilliant.'[123]

According to Greg Kot, 808s & Heartbreak initiated the 'wave of inward-looking sensitivity' and 'emo'-inspired rappers during the late 2000s: '[It] presaged everything from the introspective hip-hop of Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon: The End of Day (2009) to the wispy crooning, plush keyboards and light mechanical beats of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and British dub-step balladeer James Blake.'[124]Consequence of Sound credited it with shaping subsequent developments in 'indie R&B or electropop or whatever you want to call it': '808s' is flooded with R&B and it digitizes the raw emotion and isolated feelings that [James Blake and The Weeknd] have carved their brands out of today.'[125] Craig D. Linsey from The Village Voice wrote that the album's 'naked humanity ... practically set off the emo-rap/r&b boom that everyone from Drake to Frank Ocean to The Weeknd now traffic in.'[126] Marcus Scott of GIANT said rappers such as B.o.B, Drake, and Kid Cudi followed West's album with similarly-minded works, citing West's introspective, emotional themes and synthpop/'Vangelis-inspired' music as influences.[127] In the opinion of Billboard senior editor Alex Gale, the album was 'the equivalent of (Bob) Dylan going electric, and you still hear that all the time, in hip-hop and outside of hip-hop.'[128] Drake's 2009 mixtape So Far Gone received comparisons from critics to 808s & Heartbreak.[129] Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times cited 808s & Heartbreak as 'the template [...] for essentially the entirety of Drake's young career', and that wrote that he 'shares West's love for mood and never-ending existential analysis'.[130] In a 2009 interview, Drake cited West as 'the most influential person' in shaping his own sound.[129] In 2014, Rolling Stone named 808s & Heartbreak one of the 40 most groundbreaking albums of all time.[131]

Track listing[edit]

Songwriting credits, production credits, and notes for tracks 1–11 adapted from the liner notes of 808s & Heartbreak.[11] Songwriting credits for track 12 adapted from BMI.[132]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1.'Say You Will'West6:17
2.'Welcome to Heartbreak' (featuring Kid Cudi)
  • West
  • Bhasker
4:22
3.'Heartless'
  • West
  • Mescudi
3:30
4.'Amazing' (featuring Young Jeezy)
  • West
  • Jones
  • Mills
  • Bhasker
  • Jenkins
3:58
5.'Love Lockdown'
  • West
  • Bhasker
  • Jones
4:30
6.'Paranoid' (featuring Mr Hudson)
  • West
  • Reynolds
  • Mescudi
  • Mills
  • Bhasker
4:37
7.'RoboCop'
  • West
  • Englishman
  • Jones
  • Mills
  • Mescudi
  • Bhasker
  • Jenkins
West4:34
8.'Street Lights'
  • West
  • Mr Hudson[a]
3:09
9.'Bad News'West3:58
10.'See You in My Nightmares' (featuring Lil Wayne)
  • West
  • Wilson
  • Bhasker
4:18
11.'Coldest Winter'
  • West
  • Wilson
2:44
12.'Pinocchio Story (Freestyle Live from Singapore)' (hidden track)West6:01
Total length:51:58

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • 'Welcome to Heartbreak' contains background vocals by Jeff Bhasker
  • 'Amazing' contains background vocals by Mr Hudson and Tony Williams
  • 'Paranoid' contains background vocals by Kid Cudi
  • 'RoboCop' contains background vocals by Tony Williams and Jeff Bhasker
  • 'Street Lights' contains background vocals by Esthero and Tony Williams

Sample credits

  • 'RoboCop' embodies portions of 'Kissing in the Rain', written by Patrick Doyle.
  • 'Bad News' contains a sample of the recording 'See Line Woman' as performed by Nina Simone and written by Bass.
  • 'Coldest Winter' embodies an interpolation of 'Memories Fade', written by Roland Orzabal.

Personnel[edit]

Musicians

  • Lula Almeida – drums/percussions (track 5)
  • Davis Barnett – viola (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Jeff Bhasker – keyboards (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 2, 7)
  • James J. Cooper, III – cello (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Rodney Dassis – drums/percussions (track 5)
  • Miles Davis – bass (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Esthero – background vocals (track 8)
  • Larry Gold – string arrangement and conducting (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Mr Hudson – featured artist (track 6), background vocals (tracks 1, 4)
  • The Kadockadee Kwire featuring Glenn Jordan, Phillip Ingram, Jim Gilstrap, Romeo Johnson, Kevin Dorsey and Will Wheaton – vocals (track 1)
  • Kid Cudi – featured artist (track 2), background vocals (track 6)
  • Olga Konopelsky – violin (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Emma Kummrow – violin (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Alexandra Leem – viola (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Ken Lewis – piano (tracks 2, 3), orchestra in chorus (track 7)
  • Lil Wayne – featured artist (track 10)
  • Jennie Lorenzo – cello (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Luigi Mazzochi – violin (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Charles Parker – violin (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Igor Szwec – violin (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Gregory Teperman – violin (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Kanye West – lead artist
  • Tony Williams – background vocals (tracks 1, 4, 7, 8)
  • Young Jeezy – featured artist (track 4)
  • Gibi Zé Bruno – drums/percussions (track 5)

Production

  • Jeff Bhasker – co-production (tracks 2, 4-6, 10)
  • Chad Carlisle – recording assistance (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • Jeff Chestek – string engineering (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Andrew Dawson – recording (all tracks), mixing (track 5)
  • Isha Erskine – recording assistance (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • Rick Friedrich – string engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Gaylord Homomalia – recording assistance (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • Mr Hudson – co-production (track 8)
  • Anthony Kilhoffer – recording (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • Brent Kolatalo – orchestra in chorus engineering (track 7)
  • Ken Lewis – orchestra in chorus engineering (track 7)
  • Erik Madrid – mix assistance (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • Vlado Meller – mastering
  • Montez Roberts – string engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • Christian Mochizuki – recording assistance (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • No I.D. – co-production (tracks 3, 10, 11)
  • Plain Pat – co-production (tracks 2, 6)
  • Christian Plata – mix assistance (tracks 1-4, 6-11)
  • John Stahl – string engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10)
  • Kanye West – production (all tracks)

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit]

Chart (2008)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[133]12
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[134]50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[134]21
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[104]4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[134]42
Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[104]23
French Albums (SNEP)[134]52
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[134]30
Irish Albums (IRMA)[134]11
Italian Albums (FIMI)[135]65
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[134]15
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[134]19
Russian Albums (Tophit)[136]18
Scottish Albums (OCC)[137]16
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[134]13
UK Albums (OCC)[138]11
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[139]3
US Billboard 200[104]1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[104]1

Year-end charts[edit]

Chart (2009)Position
Australia Urban Albums (ARIA)[140]15
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[141]22
US Billboard 200[142]7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[143]5

Certifications[edit]

808s And Heartbreak Tracklist

RegionCertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[144]Gold35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[145]Platinum80,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[146]Platinum15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[147]Platinum300,000^
United States (RIAA)[148]Platinum1,700,000[99]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

808s And Heartbreak Meaning

References[edit]

  1. ^Greene, Jayson (September 22, 2015). 'The Coldest Story Ever Told: The Influence of Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak'. Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  2. ^Glover, Scott (November 20, 2008). 'Doctor Talks About Donda West's Death'. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  3. ^McGee, Tiffany. 'Kanye West's Fiancée 'Sad' Over Breakup'. People. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  4. ^STADTMILLLER, MANDY. 'GIVE IT A WEST! - KANYE FINALLY WEARS OUT WELCOME; BOOR DE FORCE.' New York Post, New York, N.Y., 2009.
  5. ^Breihan, Tom (2008). 'Post-Graduate Depression'. The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2018-09-30.
  6. ^Thorogood, Tom. 'Kanye West Opens Up His Heart'. MTV UK. Viacom International Media Networks. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  7. ^ abReid, Shaheem. 'Kanye West Inspires The Question: Should Rappers Sing?'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  8. ^'MTV News RAW: Kanye West'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on December 9, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  9. ^ abcBainbridge, Luke (November 30, 2008). 'OM Goes On the Road With Kanye West and His New Album Heartbreak'. The Observer. London. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  10. ^ abMacia, Peter. 'FADER 58: Kanye West Cover Story and Interview'. The Fader. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  11. ^ abcdef808s & Heartbreak (Media notes). Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records. 2008. 0-06025-1791919-8.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. ^ ab'MTV News RAW: Kanye West'. MTV. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  13. ^ abcCaramanica, Jon (November 25, 2011). 'Kanye West, Flaunting Pain Instead of Flash'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  14. ^ abShaheem, Reid (October 13, 2008). 'T-Pain Describes His Involvement On New Kanye West LP; Fat Joe Salutes Lil Wayne's Carter IV Rock Edge: Mixtape Monday'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on October 17, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  15. ^ abcShaheem, Reid (October 15, 2008). 'Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak Album Preview: More Drums, More Singing, 'No Typical Hip-Hop Beats''. MTV. Archived from the original on October 20, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  16. ^ ab'Kanye West Focuses On Melodies On 'Minimal But Functional' 808s & Heartbreak'. MTV. November 19, 2008. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  17. ^ ab'Kanye West Bares All at Album Listening'. Rap Up. Devin Lazerine. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  18. ^'Video: Kanye West Visits Conan O'Brien'. Rap Up. Devin Lazerine. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  19. ^ abcdHoard, Christian (September 17, 2009). 'Kid Cudi: Hip-Hop's Sensitive Soul'. Rolling Stone (1087): 40.
  20. ^Perkins, Brandon (October 1, 2008). 'Kid Cudi speaks on 808's & Heartbreak'. URB. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  21. ^Powers, Ann (November 21, 2008). 'Review: 808s & Heartbreak'. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  22. ^Kaufman, Gil. 'Kanye West Swears He Didn't Leak 'Robocop''. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  23. ^Newton, Matthew (December 2008). 'Is Sampling Dying?'. Spin. SPIN Media LLC. 24 (12): 32. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  24. ^'Album: Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak(Roc-a-Fella/Mercury)'. The Independent. London. November 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  25. ^ abcPlagenhoef, Scott (December 2, 2008). 'Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak'. Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  26. ^Graves, Kirk Walker (2014). 'A (Very) Brief Aside Re: 808s & Heartbreak'. Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. A&C Black. p. 49. ISBN1623565421. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  27. ^Hiatt, Brian (September 16, 2010). 'Kanye Rises Again on New LP'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  28. ^'Day 'N' Nite by Kid Cudi'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  29. ^Bains, Arsh (May 12, 2017). 'Why Kanye West is the Most Influential Artist of his Generation'. 36 Chapters. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
  30. ^ abHodgson (2010), p. 61.
  31. ^Bennett, Stephen (April 2, 2007). 'Step Sequencing In Logic'. Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Archived from the original on June 1, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
  32. ^Hodgson (2010), p. 60.
  33. ^ abcdefghijKellman, Andy. '808s & Heartbreak – Kanye West'. AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  34. ^Rabin, Nathan (November 25, 2008). 'Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak'. The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  35. ^McCall, Tris. 'Album review: Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. Inside NJ. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  36. ^ abcdeChristgau, Robert (January 2009). 'Consumer Guide'. MSN Music. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  37. ^DC Staff. 'Power: The Three Kanye West Albums That Changed Music'. HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  38. ^Stephen Marche et al. Holt (2011), p. 231.
  39. ^Bailey, 2014. p. 40
  40. ^J-23 (November 24, 2008). 'Kanye West - 808's & Heartbreak'. HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  41. ^ abCheng, Susan. 'The 50 Best Rap Album Covers of the Past Five Years - 1. Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak'. Complex. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  42. ^ abAlexis, Nadeska. 'See The Evolution Of Kanye West's Album Covers: From Bears To Gods'. mtv.com. MTV. Archived from the original on December 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  43. ^'The 50 Best Rap Album Covers of the Past Five Years'. Complex. Archived from the original on 31 July 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  44. ^Shaheem, Reid (June 26, 2009). 'Kanye West Moves Up Release Date Of 808s And Heartbreak To November Something'. MTV. Viacom. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  45. ^'Kanye West Performs A Part Of Heartless'. The Amajanes Blog. August 4, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2008.
  46. ^Montgomery, James (November 10, 2008). 'New Albums From Kanye West, Ludacris, Killers To Get Rare Monday Release On November 24'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
  47. ^ ab'Kanye West Discography'. discogs. 2008. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2009.
  48. ^'Kanye West 808's & Heartbreak Special Edition In Stores Tomorrow!'. Roc-A-Fella Records. Roc-A-Fella Records LLC. December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  49. ^Canwest News Service (October 18, 2008). 'Kanye West gives us more 808s and Heartbreak'. The Vancouver Sun. Canwest Publishing Inc. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  50. ^ ab'Available for Airplay'. FMQB. Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Inc. December 17, 2008. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  51. ^'Kanye West – 808's & Hearbreak (Album Review)'. The Hip Hop Chronicle UK. November 12, 2008. Archived from the original on December 6, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  52. ^ abcdeAppleford, Steve (October 15, 2008). 'Kanye West's Listening Party: Lights, Heartbreak, Nudity'. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  53. ^'Kanye's 808s & Heartbreak Promo Shots'. The Clones. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  54. ^'Kanye West and Lady Gaga 'Fame Kills' Tour Canceled'. Rolling Stone. October 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 12, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  55. ^Plagenhoef, Scott. Review: VH1 StorytellersArchived 2012-08-04 at the Wayback Machine. Pitchfork. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  56. ^Appleford, Steve (September 26, 2015). 'Kanye West Turns '808s & Heartbreak' Into High Art at Hollywood Bowl'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  57. ^Jayson Greene (20 October 2015). 'Meet Composer Caroline Shaw, Kanye West's New Pulitzer Prize-Winning Collaborator'. Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  58. ^'808s And Heartbreak by Kanye West reviews'. AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  59. ^ ab'Reviews for 808s & Heartbreak by Kanye West'. Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 14, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  60. ^Rabin, Nathan (November 25, 2008). 'Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak'. The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  61. ^Greenblatt, Leah (November 29, 2008). '808s & Heartbreak'. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  62. ^Macpherson, Alex (November 21, 2008). 'Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak'. The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  63. ^ ab'Album: Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak(Roc-a-Fella/Mercury)'. The Independent. London. November 28, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  64. ^ abRosen, Jody (December 11, 2008). '808s & Heartbreak'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  65. ^ abCairns, Dan (November 23, 2008). 'Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak'. The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  66. ^ abJones, Steve (November 28, 2008). 'Kanye weighs what's lost, gained in '808s & Heartbreak''. USA Today. McLean. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010.
  67. ^Richards, Chris. 'Kanye West, in Perfect Auto-Tune'. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  68. ^Kot, Greg (November 21, 2008). 'Kanye West turns '808s and Heartbreak' into his most personal album'. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  69. ^Heaton, David. Review: 808s & HeartbreakArchived 2008-12-02 at the Wayback Machine. PopMatters. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  70. ^Aaron, Charles (November 24, 2008). 'Kanye West, '808's and Heartbreak' (Roc-A-Fella)'. Spin. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  71. ^McBee, Wilson. Slant Magazine Music Review: Kanye West: 808s & HeartbreakArchived 2010-10-28 at the Wayback Machine. Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  72. ^DeRogatis, Jim (November 20, 2008). 'Kanye West, '808s & Heartbreak' (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam) [3 OUT OF 4 STARS]'. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  73. ^ abc'808s & Heartbreak'. Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on 2015-09-22. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  74. ^'Best Albums of 2008'. Metacritic. 2008. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  75. ^Cummings, Jozen (December 26, 2008). 'The Ten Best Albums of 2008'. Vibe. Vibe Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on May 9, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  76. ^Tyrangiel, Josh (November 3, 2008). 'Top 10 Albums: 6. 808s & Heartbreak by Kanye West'. Time. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  77. ^Dombal, Ryan (December 19, 2008). 'The 50 Best Albums of 2008: 21–30'. Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  78. ^Leroy, Dan (December 25, 2008). 'From Cool Kids to Kanye: Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008'. LA Weekly. Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  79. ^Williams, John (December 23, 2008). 'Jam's Top 10 Albums of 2008'. Jam!. Canoe Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  80. ^DeRogatis, Jim (December 8, 2008). 'The Best Albums of 2008 – Music: Via Chicago'. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2008.
  81. ^Smith, Steve; St. John, Colin (December 18, 2008). 'Best and Worst Albums of 2008'. Time Out New York. Time Out New York. Archived from the original on April 24, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
  82. ^ abcJones, Steve (January 28, 2009). 'Grammy snubs: What's next for West and Whitney?'. USA Today. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  83. ^52nd Grammy Awards: NomineesArchived 2011-12-01 at the Wayback Machine. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  84. ^Staff. 100 Best Albums of the Decade: 63) 808s & HeartbreakArchived 2010-03-28 at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  85. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2017-05-21. Retrieved 2017-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  86. ^Leah Greenblatt (17 September 2009). 'BET Hip Hop Award nominations announced'. EW. Archived from the original on 5 September 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  87. ^'Candidates 2009'. Fonogram. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  88. ^Tim Henley (11 January 2008). '2009 NAACP Image Awards Nominations'. News OK. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  89. ^'2009 Soul Train Music Awards Nominees Announced!'. Alloy. 23 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  90. ^'Teen Choice Awards 2009 nominees'. LA Times. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  91. ^'The MOBO Awards 2008'. BBC. 15 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  92. ^'Swiss Music Awards 2009'. 78S. 19 February 2009. Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  93. ^'Rihanna scoops two Urban Music wins'. Metro. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  94. ^Paine, Jake. Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/30/08Archived 2009-02-17 at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX.com. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
  95. ^Montgomery, James (December 31, 2008). 'Taylor Swift Makes It Three In A Row Atop Billboard Albums Chart'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  96. ^Kaufman, Gil (January 7, 2008). 'Taylor Swift Dominates Billboard Chart Again, Kanye West Climbs Back To #3'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  97. ^ abc'Gold & Platinum – Kanye West'. Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  98. ^Nabavian, Evan (February 24, 2010). 'Kanye West Returns With 'Coldest Winter' Video – Viral Videos'. Billboard. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  99. ^ abCibola, Marco (2013-06-14). 'Kanye West: How the Rapper Grew From 'Dropout' to 'Yeezus''. Billboard. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  100. ^'T.I. Back Atop Hot 100, Kanye Debuts High'. Billboard. July 2, 2009. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  101. ^kanYe West : BlogArchived 2008-12-18 at the Wayback Machine. Kanye West's Blog. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
  102. ^Tyrangiel, Josh. Time, 2008-12-22, pages 47–8.
  103. ^Heartless: Hot 100 ChartsArchived 2009-05-05 at the Wayback Machine. Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  104. ^ abcdefg'Awards: 808s & Heartbreak'. AllMusic. All Media Guide. July 2, 2009. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  105. ^See You In My Nightmares – Music ChartsArchived 2009-01-02 at the Wayback Machine. aCharts.us. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
  106. ^ abcd'Urban Review: Kanye West, 808s and Heartbreak'. The Observer. London: Guardian News and Media Ltd. November 9, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  107. ^Park, Adam (November 19, 2008). 'Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak'. Clash. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  108. ^Barbour, Shannon (November 10, 2008). 'Kanye West – '808s & Heartbreak' Review'. About.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  109. ^ abReid, Shaheem (October 3, 2008). 'Common Praises Kanye's Singing; Lupe Fiasco Plays CEO: Mixtape Monday'. MTV. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  110. ^Reid, Shaheem (October 31, 2008). 'Lil Wayne Isn't Inspired By Today's Music; Rick Ross Borrows Beats From Jay-Z, T.I., M.I.A. For New Tape: Mixtape Monday'. MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  111. ^'MTV News RAW: Kanye West'. MTV. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2008.
  112. ^'Michael Jackson's Love For Kanye West's '808s And Heartbreak' Is Professed By His Daughter'. Vibe. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  113. ^Carmichael, Emma (September 21, 2011). 'Kanye's '808s': How A Machine Brought Heartbreak To Hip Hop'. The Awl. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  114. ^Kash, Tim; Reid, Shaheem; Rodriguez, Jayson (September 3, 2009). 'Exclusive: Jay-Z's Next LP Will Be 'The Most Experimental I Ever Made''. MTV. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  115. ^Kash, Tim; Montgomery, James (September 3, 2009). 'Jay-Z Hopes Bands Like Grizzly Bear Will 'Push Hip-Hop''. MTV. Archived from the original on September 3, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  116. ^Caramanica, Jon (June 11, 2013). 'Behind Kanye's Mask'. The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  117. ^'Top 20 Albums of 2010'. Spectrum Culture. 16 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  118. ^Barli, Nick Huff (2011-11-29). 'Childish Gambino AKA Donald Glover talks Kanye West, Nas, Kendrick Lamar'. hardknock.tv. Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  119. ^Sterling, Scott (November 18, 2011). 'Concert review: Frank Ocean reveals the softer side of Odd Future'. scpr.org. 89.3 KPCC. Southern California Public Radio. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  120. ^ abPaine, Jake (November 12, 2011). 'Parkbench Studies: Is 808's & Heartbreak Our Chronic?'. HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  121. ^Rabin, Nathan. Review: Thank Me LaterArchived 2010-06-17 at the Wayback Machine. The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
  122. ^Twells, John. 'Drake: Thank Me Later'. Fact Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  123. ^Trammell, Matthew (July 7, 2012). 'Kanye West Claims the Stage in Atlantic City'. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
  124. ^Kot, Greg (November 13, 2011). 'Drake album review; Take Care reviewed'. Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 15, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  125. ^'Dusting 'Em Off: Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak'. Consequence of Sound. June 15, 2013. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  126. ^Linsey, Craig D. (January 14, 2013). 'The Kanye You Once Loved Is Dead and Gone'. The Village Voice Blogs. Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  127. ^Scott, Marcus (2010-08-11). 3 Electro Hop Superstars | GIANTLife. GIANT. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  128. ^Ryan, Patrick (February 9, 2016). 'Is Kanye West the greatest artist of the 21st century?'. USA Today. Archived from the original on February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  129. ^ abRodriguez, Jayson (May 28, 2009). 'Drake Says Kanye West Is 'The Most Influential Person' On His Sound'. MTV News. MTV. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
  130. ^Martens, Todd (November 14, 2011). 'Album Review: Drake's 'Take Care''. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  131. ^'The 40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time'. Rolling Stone. New York City: Wenner MediaLLC. December 5, 2014. ISSN0035-791X. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  132. ^'Pinocchio Story Freestyle Live from Singapore'. BMI. Select TITLE, type Pinocchio Story in the search engine, and click Search. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  133. ^'ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart'. ARIA Charts. ARIA. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2008.
  134. ^ abcdefghi'Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak'. aCharts.us. 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  135. ^'Classifica settimanale dal 28-11-2008 al 04-12-2008'. FIMI. FIMI. December 4, 2008. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  136. ^Россия Top 25: Centr - Эфир в норме (in Russian). 2M-online.ru. December 13, 2008. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  137. ^'Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  138. ^'Official Albums Chart Top 100'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  139. ^'Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40'. Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  140. ^'Top 50 Urban Albums 2009'. ARIA. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  141. ^'Canadian Albums (Year end) 2009'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 13, 2010. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  142. ^'Billboard 200 Albums (Year end) 2009'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 13, 2010. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  143. ^'R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Year end) 2009'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 13, 2010. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  144. ^'ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums'. Australian Recording Industry Association.
  145. ^'Canadian album certifications – Kanye West – 808's & Heartbreak'. Music Canada.
  146. ^'2008 Certification Awards – Platinum'. The Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on 2012-03-29.
  147. ^'British album certifications – Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak'. British Phonographic Industry.Select albums in the Format field.Select Platinum in the Certification field.Type 808s & Heartbreak in the 'Search BPI Awards' field and then press Enter.
  148. ^'American album certifications – Kanye West – 808s'. Recording Industry Association of America.If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Kanye West (2008). 808s & Heartbreak. (iTunes digital booklet). The Island Def Jam Music Group, 825 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10019.

External links[edit]

  • 808s & Heartbreak at Discogs
  • Lyrics and audio samples at Yahoo! Music
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=808s_%26_Heartbreak&oldid=914709411'

Benjamin McIldowie, ComposerLyricist - Malik Jones, ComposerLyricist - Larry Gold, String Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Dexter Mills, ComposerLyricist - Phillip Ingram, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Jay Jenkins, ComposerLyricist - Luigi Mazzochi, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - MANNY MARROQUIN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Christian Plata, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Erik Madrid, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Miles Davis, Bass, AssociatedPerformer - Jim Gilstrap, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Kanye West, Producer, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Chad Carlisle, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Chestek, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jeff Bhasker, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Olga Konopelsky, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Emma Kummrow, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Gregory Teperman, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Davis Barnett, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Tony Williams, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Andrew Dawson, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Igor Szwec, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Anthony Kilhoffer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Charles Parker, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Jennie Lorenzo, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Kevin Dorsey, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Isha Erskine, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Will Wheaton, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Mr Hudson, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Rick Friedrich, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - John Stahl, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Montez Roberts, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - H.S. Alexandra Leem, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - James Cooper, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Christian Mochizuki, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Gaylord Homomalia, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Romeo Johnson, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Glenn Jordan, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer

℗ 2008 Roc-A-Fella Records, LLC