Kanye West’s 2008 album, 808s Heartbreak—remains one of the most aberrant in his body of work. There is an important transition from his previous portfolio (The College Dropout and Graduation). That is precisely what makes it interesting. For example, Kanye largely follows the bass line and does not rhyme only, but rather delivers mostly the electronically produced sound and the programmatically modulated augmentation. Some people are into it, but some are not. Here’s my honest review of the album.

First, let’s talk about the good stuff. The music is unlike anything you’ve probably heard before. Kanye is good at electronic beats and deep/emotive lyrics, and in fact it is unique for him. It’s hardly surprising that the title of the same is what it is, it’s for them. On the whole body of heart ache, the missing pieces, etc. You will understand during the listening of this album that Kanye experienced pain, that the pain in songs such as “Heartless”, “Love Lockdown” is not just something for the mouth. Both tracks are stylishly, but emotively and futuristic.

The production is also why 808s Heartbreak is unusual. Kanye used the Roland TR-808 drum machine, giving the beats a robotic, otherworldly sound that was unlike anything we’d really heard before and set the trend for many artists to come after him, such as Drake and Kid Cudi.

This album is not perfect. This album may seem a little out of the mainstream for some of the head “Ye” fan base, due to the lack of rapping as the headline on this album. Alternatively, one may also argue that the auto-tuning has the opposite effect, i.e., can go to its extreme in which even the finest singing can sometimes sound artificial and robotic. In addition, for others songs the music is played and overwhelming, melancholic tempos, and repeated playback in the event that one of the moods turned out to be unfavorable is therefore no longer an option.

In general, keening (808) Heartbreak is a modern and expressive album; it is certainly reflective of Kanye’s artistic maturity that is evolving. It is not his fine work, but it is well certainly a work of his audacity. [If you are into experimental music, on the one hand and feel a bit inclined to slower, more mellow, not violent] then you definitely should have this album. Even if it is not for all listeners, 808s Heartbreak undoubtedly influenced music that came after.