User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 1156 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 966 out of 1156
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Mixed: 74 out of 1156
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Negative: 116 out of 1156
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Jun 12, 2011Perfect album, I feel like Kanye is going on a journey, that is relatable and compassionate, I feel like I am following in his footsteps through his albums, Street lights is basic, yet the way he sings with so much emotion, it makes it meaningful and important and seem so deep.
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Aug 10, 2011
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Aug 1, 2012"808s & HB" is what happened when a temporarily-depressed Hip-hop artist made a pop album... and it worked.
Kanye uses auto-tune in an artistic way rather than an excuse for lack of talent. The auto-tune mixes well with the cold, electronic-influenced production and lyrics, which revolve around different types of heartbreak. -
SamSpearNov 28, 2008While this album doesn't offer the diversity and catchy hooks that Graduation graced our ears with, 808s offers a refreshing perspective on urban music. Many will criticize his heavy use of synthesized voice, but the critics forget that West's vocals are not the entree he brings to the table.
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RuneLanghoffNov 30, 2008only second to college dropout which scores 11 in my book
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JeffRicottoneNov 30, 2008Heart breaking honesty and breath taking production. This album will never lose social relevance, while simultaneously putting a chink in the armor of the song wrighter/performer model. Ok ok ok, I didn't laugh, but it did make me cry.
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FeipeLimaDec 5, 2008Fantastic Album!!
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wishmasterownsmysoulFeb 15, 2009
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GBFeb 21, 2009Absolutely listen to it several times. I promise if you like your music real and not paint-by numbers this one will sneak up on you. I have to put it as one of the best albums this year. I will be listening to this one for years.
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TravisBAug 4, 2009It's not the West we're used to but it's still a very good disc. It always pleases me when artists are able to step out from the same cutout and explore their art. Kanye has produced a great album here, regardless of his previous work and what you guys think he should sound like.
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KevinWormleyNov 26, 2008
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DeboANov 26, 2008Surprisingly Brilliant! 808s and Heartbreak find Mr. West doing more soul-searching than ever before, a reflective well sequenced and still has enough beats to be a 'Kanye' album! Not many hip hop/rap artistes would even think to do what he's done with this album and those who would dare to maybe would not have succeeded like he has! Well done, again Kanye!
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JJBerschDec 1, 2008It's simple, what he needed to do, and beautiful. I can't ask for much more from my favorite artist, can I? We finally get to see Kanye more personally.
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B.D.HamDec 7, 2008
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JasonL.Nov 27, 2008
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SteveHerediaNov 27, 2008
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Oct 28, 2013
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Aug 17, 2011KanYe's 4th studio album takes us in a different direction to his previous work, and it is fantastic. This is why Kanye is top of the game, each album has a different style, each experimenting with new ideas. It keeps him fresh and varied in his style. Some great songs on this album.
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Nov 30, 2010I've been listening to this album for two years now and i still love it. The sound is unfamiliar and cold compared to Kanye's earlier work and through his auto-tune adjusted vocals he manages to paint raw emotion in thick layers. The production is incredibly on point. This is the album i put on to feed my inner emo on cold winter nights.
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May 13, 2011Kanye is doing what only a few rappers are trying with this album and that's making an "album". Here is a consistent sound and thematic tone that is somewhat engaging and brave. I love that he uses autotune and creates a world of isolation and still lets emoton leak through. I also love that he's letting the songs breathe too.
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Aug 23, 2011
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Sep 29, 2011I feel like this is one of Kanye's strongest albums and in it he really lets you know what his life is going through or what position he was in at the time but not only that, i felt like i got to know him or understand him more by listening to those powerful songs. I actually think he should do another vocal album and strengthen his self in that area.
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Oct 23, 2011one of kanyes strongest performances, although weaker than graduation this is still a great listen. there are dark and depressing vibes throughout this album but still doesnt ruin it for me.
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Feb 20, 2012Initial skeptics would be wise to listen to the album in its entirety because its minimalist and stark compositions actually work better on the album than in the majority of the singles from this album. 'Paranoid' remains Kanye's best pop single by far, while 'Coldest Winter' and 'Robocop' provide further evidence of the electronic genius bubbling under what has become an unfairly maligned album.
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Mar 8, 2012Its simple science. He was clear with the title of what the mood was. He created multiple ways of making us feel what the theme was. Regardless if you enjoy Kanye or not, its hard to dispute that.
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Apr 20, 2012Terrific album, unlike any other of Kanyes releases. The album is unique in that it's beats are much more 'electronic' and 'depressive', yet oh so catchy.
As usual, Kanyes emotions and feelings are portrayed in song, and it was during a difficult time that the album was made, so it's simple to understand it's depressive stance. Really good album. -
Jan 12, 2013
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Feb 3, 2014You can hear the pain and sorrow that Kanye was experiencing as you listen to the album. 808s & Heartbreak is heavily underrated, as it is probably the greatest Auto-Tuned album of all time. It felt impossible for this album to be as good as it ended up being. This may be widely considered Kanye's worst studio album, but it's still pretty damn good.
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Apr 1, 2016
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Jun 21, 2013
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Aug 26, 2013A challenging, icy-cold, yet radio-friendly album, 808s & Heartbreak features some of West's most personal, most experimental, and most brilliant work to date.
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Oct 12, 2013I love this thing. The autotune with the 808s works very well and it's so melodic and it just works and just wow kanye well done. Poor lyrics but when listening to this thing don't treat it as a rap album. The singing is a part of the beat.
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Jan 2, 2014Kanye took a different approach with 808's and it was a huge success. I love the fact that Kanye can put out an album where he does little to no rapping and make it a great record. This may not be his best album, but the unique direction he took with this album was a successful one
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Feb 3, 2014This album is not really rap anymore, but Kanye West is at his best. He's like a lonely prince, with a spleen glorified by Auto tune, which gives poignant tones to his voice. 808s and heartbreak is really mind-blowing, displaying Kanye's vulnerability and blues, as futuristic as primitive. The guests are awesome, like Young Jeezy on "Amazing", simply amazing.
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May 24, 2014Amazing album, even better than Yeezus. West's training following a beautiful dark twisted fantasy. Vocoder ans Autotune are used very well and Kanye show the world he could sing: Chapeau.
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Jan 5, 2016
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Jan 2, 2020A near perfect album, this is one of the most moving and personal albums I have ever listened to. Kanye writing this album after the death of his mother is astounding, and this heartbreak colors every note in the album. This is a must-listen for all Kanye fans.
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Mar 26, 2017I didn't like this album for many years, but after returning to it around a year ago, I enjoyed it a lot. While not a perfect album, the songs that are strong are extremely interesting to listen to, and on top of that they are just flat out good music.
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Jul 14, 2017The birth of a new generation including Drake and The Weeknd. This album is amazing and especially when you feel sad and heartbroken. My second favourite Kanye album to date!!
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Nov 9, 2010although many people will disagree i thought that this album was amazing. every song had a great meaning i love every song except for the last one for obvious reasons but this album still deserves a 10. kanye has always been amazing and he has not disappointed with this album.
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Jul 10, 2011Kanye West stares away from his traditional underground rap vibe to make a emotional, powerful album properly titles 8o8 and heartbreak's. A very enjoyable album that is definitely worth a few listens.
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Jul 22, 2013
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Aug 14, 2010
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Apr 4, 2011Whether you like the autotune or not, you gotta hand it Kanye for at least not trying to make music that sells. This was a brave record to make and I give him props for that. He is by far one of the greatest artist of the past 10 years and yes this CD have been better, but its still good. He tried something else, good for him.
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Dec 2, 2012Kanye West is a talented rapper, and there is not many of those out there. This time he is going a more pop route and instead of rap-offs he does more serious and meaningful things in his cd. and I respect that.
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NateP.Nov 26, 2008The first half of the album is quite nice, especially "Welcome to Heartbreak." The rest of the album, however, fades into a string of songs that are extremely bland, whiny, and just not amusing.
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Sep 4, 2011This is Kanye's weakest album. I found most of the songs intolerable, and the rest of it was simply boring. The only track I enjoyed was the single Love Lockdown, even if it has a similar vibe to the rest of the album.
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WillDFeb 5, 2009This album straight sucks...plain and simple. I want my money back! This is not the Kanye West I paid 15.00 to hear.
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PrestonNov 29, 2008Wow, I feel like a lot of reviewers just don't get this album. Or they are unable to separate the product from its creator. I like it a lot. Simple in both its theory and execution, it is as easy to enjoy as it must have been for Kanye West to create. Comparable to Thom Yorke's the Eraser but for pop audiences.
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TaariqueDMar 20, 2009
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JimmyBluntzNov 26, 2008
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NamahotoRidajoDec 6, 2008Without a doubt one of the best albums of the year, up there with In Rainbows
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kkranaNov 28, 2008no comments.....
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RossAldentalerNov 29, 2008This album is terrible, Kanye should have saved it until after he was dead.
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JimFraederichsNov 30, 2008Different. Not really rap. Kanye listens to too much Daft Punk. Personally, I'm intrigued by this album, musically, I'm kinda bored with it. It's basically a Hip-hop/emo album.
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OshinoKaitoroDec 2, 2008I cannot shallow this sh*t.
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AnthonyAmatoDec 4, 2008very happy that there is a option to give a zero for an album. if there was ever an album made that was a disgrace to hip hop and deserved a zero, this is one. what a waste of time. when you are not that good of a rapper and you put something like this out, your career should be in big trouble. i hope he stops polluting our airwaves soon with this garbage
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AjayDJan 14, 2009I am disappointed with kanye this time! There are some standout tracks like heartless, amazing, see you in my nightmares, robocop! over produced and lacks emotions.
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UndergroundmysteryAug 25, 2009Heartless, is a maybe upgrade to 1 until i heard it more than twice. Kanye was good until he got his hands on some money and now he wants some more and more and it becomes about money not the music, like it was when he first started sad to see one of my favorite emcees drop down this low.
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jaffarrazaNov 28, 2008this sucked. i shit on kanye for making a pop album after the success he's attained in hiphop
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VincentMeekoNov 29, 2008
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BenBaconDec 1, 2008
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MichaelPhilipDec 15, 2008shocking shocking album, that auto-tune is seriously annoying
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VinhPhamDec 2, 2008Why on earth can a singer create this type of art?
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drunkestepdaddadDec 3, 2008kw sucks.
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CamelDuboisNov 25, 2008Not good, very bad.
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AnonymousMCNov 25, 2008sit down and shut it kanye, this blows !
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alexNov 28, 2008Kayne sold out..this auto tune nonsense is getting out of hand
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JustinDNov 28, 2008This is the first big failure Kanye West has ever had. Auto tune is ruining rap, and slowly taking the best artists with it.
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GrantThornhillNov 29, 2008
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DerekReiffNov 29, 2008This slow stuff isn't his best
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Sep 28, 2011WHY KANYE! WHY! The biggest WTF record of his career and the auto-tune, don't get me started on the auto-tune. This is his worst and will probably be his worst LP of his career when he's all done. Not to mention his worst producing effort so far. All his greatest attributes go to waste. Sorry folks, just a poor effort from one of Hip-Hop's biggest talents.
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Mar 11, 2013Whether he meant it or not, Kanye transitions from rap to a more pop like setting. To me this was pretty cool but for others this transition might feel sloppy and boring. Whatever the case, Kanye still provides meaning and brilliant imaginative lyrics to this different type of album.
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Jul 8, 2013Inconsistent album. There are a lot of unnecessary autotune and vocoder. Yeah, that was the Kanye's idea to write the songs, but sometimes the autotune hits your ears and that's horrible. The album has a good part around the middle(Amazing, Love Lockdown, Paranoid, RoboCop) but it has terrible songs later like Bad News or See You In My Nightmares. Not good at all.
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Apr 28, 2015Strange, but not bad, 8o8s & Heartbreak his Kanye's weakest effort to date by relying way too much on auto-tune and commercial club pop songs and not enough on his hip-hop genius.
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Jan 23, 2020This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
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Oct 2, 2020Unoriginal work, it feels like Kanye was trying to hard but the results did not pay out.
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Jan 4, 2021This album proves that Kanye can make a great album without rapping most the time on every track
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Mar 25, 2022one of kanye's weaker albums, each song is really hit or miss.
best song: see you in my nightmares
worst song: pinocchio story -
ChristianPowersNov 30, 2008Great album in concept and in execution. Proves West is truly an artist.
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sergiodevcicDec 5, 2008this is future, this cd will change the music as the form we have been used to. i'm not surprised it was done by Kanye, the man simply has outgrown the rap...ps-i bet he listened to Burial while making Bad News :-) go, Kanye, go!
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ipsed.Aug 25, 2009Kanye is a exceptional at metaphors. A successful genre move!
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ArmenNov 25, 2008An amazing album. There is emotional depth and artistic growth here. Indeed an excellent record.
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FoenixirFengNov 26, 2008it's hard to say "love this album", but still i can't ignore the accomplishment Kanye made in it, i gave it 9, and it ranks 3rd among my Kanye collections, only behind the college dropout and late registration.
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BlakeJacksonNov 26, 2008This album is a melancholic masterpiece. Why do people keep comparing it to T-Pain? It's not all about the Antares auto-tune, folks.
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MelesaWangerinDec 15, 2008Loved it because it's so different then what everyone else is doing, especially in hip-hop. Brilliant. Although, the lyrics lacked in some areas. The music and he's singing made up for it. Great job Kanye!
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samanthabDec 17, 2008he is awesome no matter what
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danielmApr 12, 2009Truly fantastic.. not the kanye everyone is used to, but the way the album flows from track 1 to his bonuses, its amazing, so amazing. Truly inspirational. Fishsticks.
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PeterFJul 11, 2009Best "hip-hop" album of the century. I don´t know if it is because of my feelings when I heard this, or just because it is really good. But one thing - Welcome To Heartbreak is genial track.. Love or hate Kanye, love or hate 808s, but I love them both.
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GregNov 25, 2008Much better than I'd anticipated, the unique style lends itself perfectly to the material. Lyrics are not that strong but they get the message across and can be endearing yet annoying at the same time. Hip Hop's (Ryan Adams') Heartbreaker?
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titusdemyersNov 25, 2008MASTERPIECE
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GerardoSánchezNov 27, 2008just perfect
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AndrewGDec 1, 2008
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nataliedonaldDec 22, 2008Listen to it 3 times over. Just sit down, close your eyes, and listen. I guarantee you will get over all the misconceptions about this album. Sure, he over uses the voice audacity machine. But this is an amazing album, truly heartfelt.
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timothykellyDec 29, 2008The songs really provide a glimpse into Kanye's feelings. My only problem is that the songs are repetitive. If he had mixed the Autotune'd singing with his old style of rapping, this album truly would have been a masterwork.
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jkJan 26, 2009All honesty and grit. Somebody tell Scott Plagenhoef and the copycats over on stereogum to shut it up.
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robhSep 14, 2009A masterpiece far above the intellect and musicianship of the average hip hop fan who will still believe that late registration is his masterpiece.
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eliasariasNov 25, 2008for any one who ever had their heartbroken, you can relate to the confusion of what hes expressing.
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DAVIDCarrilloNov 25, 2008He took a gamble with this album and hit the jack pot.
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RyanNov 25, 2008
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Awards & Rankings
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Kanye West’s fourth album 808s and Heartbreak follows the crowd rather than leads it. Where he steps, the footprints of T-Pain are readily visible. His use of auto-tune throughout the album is heavy, and in songs like Heartless and Love Lockdown its use is appealing.
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The resounding verdict is that it’s a surprising, but bold and brave progression from last year’s confused "Graduation."
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It might seem harsh but let's hope he doesn't find too much happiness in the meantime. Loneliness is proving quite the muse.