808s
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by the American rapper
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
, released by
Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...
and
Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, '' Reasonable Doubt ...
on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studios in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
and Avex Recording Studio in
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
. Dominating its production, West was assisted by fellow producers
No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), known professionally as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well a ...
,
Plain Pat Patrick Reynolds, known professionally as Plain Pat, is an American record producer, Talent Manager#Music manager, talent manager, record executive and disc jockey (DJ). He is perhaps best known for his work with American rapper Kid Cudi, havin ...
,
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
, and
Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer from Birmingham, England. He formed the band Mr Hudson and the Library in 2006, for which he served ...
, while also utilizing
guest A guest is person who is given hospitality. Guest or The Guest may refer to: * Guest (surname), people with the surname ''Guest'' * USS ''Guest'' (DD-472), U.S. Navy ''Fletcher''-class destroyer 1942–1946 * Guest appearance, guest actor, guest ...
vocalists for some tracks, including
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
,
Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
, and
Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
. Conceived following the death of his mother
Donda ''Donda'' is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings on August 29, 2021. The album features a broad range of guest performances from artists, including The Weeknd, Jay-Z, Maril ...
in November 2007 and his breakup with his then-fiancée Alexis Phifer in April 2008, ''808s & Heartbreak'' marked a major artistic departure from his previous rap records. Instead, West performed sung vocals that were processed through an
Auto-Tune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...
processor against an electronic production and
minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
sonic palette, including prominent use of
minor key In music theory, the key of a piece is the group of pitches, or scale, that forms the basis of a musical composition in Western classical music, jazz music, art music, and pop music. A particular key features a '' tonic (main) note'' and it ...
s and the
Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...
drum machine. West's lyrics on the album explore themes of loss and heartache, inspired by distressing personal events, as well as his struggles with
pop star A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...
dom. ''808s & Heartbreak'' debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200, selling slightly over 450,000 copies in its first week. Despite varying responses from listeners, the album received positive reviews from music critics, who generally commended West's experimentation, and was named one of 2008's best records in several year-end lists. Four singles were released in its promotion, including the hit singles "
Love Lockdown "Love Lockdown" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his fourth studio album, ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008). The song was produced by West, while co-produced by Jeff Bhasker. The producers co-wrote it with Esthero, Malik Yusef, and Stars ...
", which became the highest ''Billboard'' Hot 100 debut of West's career, and " Heartless". Despite the positive critical reception, the album was mostly overlooked at the
52nd Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...
; however, its third single " Amazing" was nominated for
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...
. Among West's most influential records, ''808s & Heartbreak'' made an immediate impact on
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
,
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
, and R&B music as a new wave of rappers, singers, and producers adopted its stylistic and thematic elements. Further impact has been noted for pioneering the
emo rap Emo rap is a subgenre of Hip hop music, hip hop with influence from emo. Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s, the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as trap-style beats with vocals that are usually sung. Some ...
and experimental R&B subgenres in particular. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' later included the album in its list of "The 40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time" and provided a ranking at number 244 on its revised list of "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
". By 2013, it had sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, and by 2020, it received a
triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
certification from the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA).


Background

After the release of his third studio album ''
Graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...
'' in 2007,
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
experienced profoundly-affecting events in his personal life. On November 10, his mother Donda West died due to complications from cosmetic surgery involving an
abdominoplasty Abdominoplasty or "tummy tuck" is a cosmetic surgery procedure used to make the abdomen thinner and more firm. The surgery involves the removal of excess skin and fat from the middle and lower abdomen in order to tighten the muscle and fascia ...
and
breast reduction Reduction mammoplasty (also breast reduction and reduction mammaplasty) is the plastic surgery procedure for reducing the size of large breasts. In a breast reduction surgery for re-establishing a functional bust that is proportionate to the pa ...
. Months later, in April 2008, West and his fiancée Alexis Phifer ended their engagement and long-term relationship, which had begun in 2002. At the same time, West was struggling to adapt to a newfound
pop star A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...
dom he had once wanted, often becoming the subject of media scrutiny. His feelings of loss, loneliness, and longing for companionship and a sense of normality inspired ''808s & Heartbreak''. West later said, "this album was therapeutic – it's lonely at the top." 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." Wanting to create a
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
album, West dismissed the contemporary backlash to the concept of pop music and expressed admiration for what some pop stars had accomplished in their careers. West acknowledged the criticism of the album by saying that he can't be judged on a reflection of his "heart and soul", which would be like attempting to judge a grandmother's love. The rapper later stated that he wished 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. He elaborated: "Either call it 'pop' or 'pop art,' either one I'm good with".


Recording and production

The album was recorded over a span of approximately three weeks from September to October 2008. Recording sessions took place at Glenwood Studios in
Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
and at Avex Recording Studio in
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
. The 808 of the title is a reference to the
Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...
drum machine, used heavily in the album. Drawing inspiration from 1980s
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
and
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
performers such as
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
,
Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the New wave music, new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two st ...
,
TJ Swan The Juice Crew was an American Hip hop music, hip hop collective made up largely of Queensbridge Houses, Queensbridge, New York–based artists in the mid-to-late 1980s. Founded by radio DJ Mr. Magic, and housed by Tyrone Williams' record label ...
, and
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...
, West felt that the 808 was a resourceful instrument that could be used to evoke emotion; the concept was introduced to him by
Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...
. 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. 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. The realization inspired him to pursue his direction with the album, however. In terms of musical direction, West's intentions, according to Mike Dean, were to defy the typical sound of hip-hop beats, instead evoking the presence of tribal drums. Overall, West maintained a " minimal but functional" approach to producing the album. West credits rapper
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
, who had signed to his
GOOD Music GOOD Music (often stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American independent record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label entered an exclusive long-term worldwide music distribution, distributi ...
record label, with helping create the album's stark, brooding sound. After receiving a copy of his 2008 mixtape ''
A Kid Named Cudi ''A Kid Named Cudi'' is the debut mixtape by American rapper Kid Cudi, released on July 17, 2008, by New York City streetwear brand 10.Deep, in conjunction with independent record label Fool's Gold Records. The mixtape features guest appearances ...
'', West became an avid fan, especially of the hit single "
Day 'n' Nite "Day 'n' Nite" is the debut single by American rapper Kid Cudi. The song was written and produced by Cudi alongside his longtime collaborator and friend, Brooklyn-based producer Dot da Genius. It was issued as Cudi's commercial debut single on Fe ...
". West surprised Kid Cudi with a phone call and asked him to fly to Hawaii to work on ''808s & Heartbreak''. The pair worked together in the studio while having films such as ''
Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...
'' play silently in the background. Ultimately, Kid Cudi co-wrote four songs on ''808s & Heartbreak'', the first being the chorus for " Heartless". West told ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', "His writing is just so pure and natural and important. hat'smore important than where things
chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
."
No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), known professionally as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well a ...
, West's collaborator and former mentor, added that tracks for the album also originated from their concurrent recording for
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
's '' The Blueprint 3'' (2009). "Matter of fact, when we did 'Heartless,' estjust stopped and said, 'No.' I was like, 'No what?' He was like, 'No way! This is my record!'", as No I.D. recalled. "I was like, 'Come on, man. Can we just finish the guy's album?' He was like, 'Nope. I'm doing an album.'" For his vocals on ''808s & Heartbreak'', West employed the voice-audio processor technology of
Auto-Tune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...
. He had experimented with it on his 2004 debut album ''
The College Dropout ''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. In the years leading up to its release, West had received praise for his p ...
'', specifically the background vocals of "
Jesus Walks "Jesus Walks" is a song by American rapper Kanye West. It was released on May 25, 2004, as the fourth single from his debut album ''The College Dropout'' (2004). The song contains a sample of "Walk with Me" as performed by the ARC Choir. "Jesus ...
" and "
Never Let Me Down ''Never Let Me Down'' is the seventeenth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 21 April 1987 through EMI America Records. Co-produced by Bowie and David Richards (record producer), David Richards and featuring guit ...
", but he had not used the technology for lead vocals until 2008. "We were working on the remixes for
Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
's '
Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker and sticky-pop. Lollipops are avail ...
' and
Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
's '
Put On "Put On" is a song by American rapper Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West, from Jeezy's third studio album '' The Recession''. The song was released as the album's lead single on June 3, 2008. The song received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Perfor ...
' and he fell in love with the Auto-Tune", producer Mike Dean recalled. Towards the end, West enlisted
T-Pain Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer and rapper. He is known for popularizing creative use of Auto-Tune pitch correction, often used with extreme parameter settings to create electro ...
for coaching on how to utilize the technology. In an interview with ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', T-Pain said that West told him he had listened to his debut album ''
Rappa Ternt Sanga ''Rappa Ternt Sanga'' is the debut studio album by American singer T-Pain, it was released on December 6, 2005. The title is an eye dialect of the phrase "rapper turned singer." One of the leftover tracks from the album was, titled "You and Me"; ...
'' (2005) before making ''808s & Heartbreak''. T-Pain also claimed that West brought him in to make ''808s'' sound more like his debut album. West stated that he loved using Auto-Tune and dismissed notions from those who did not like the technology. At a listening event, he considered it "the funnest thing to use". West went on to state that he appreciates how Auto-Tune makes it clear when he sings off-key, enabling him to "sing more perfect". 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 Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself ...
provided the few female vocals found on the album; credited under birth name Jenny-Bea Englishman, she co-wrote three tracks. When "
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
" appeared on the Internet, West disclaimed responsibility and was upset that the leak had occurred as the track was an unfinished version. Mike Dean had previously stated that the track was expected to receive additional treatment by jazz musician
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
before the album's release.


Music and lyrics

''808s & Heartbreak'' is a radical departure from West's previous
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
albums. According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', West abandoned his customary hip-hop sound in favor of sparse, drum machine-based electropop. ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
''s Scott Plagenhoef described the album as "an introspective, minimal electro-pop record," and writer Kirk Walker Graves categorized it as
avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...
electropop. In the opinion of ''Rolling Stone''s Brian Hiatt, the record is a "downbeat detour into depressive electro pop," while another writer for the magazine called it an "introspective, synthpop album". Andrew Sacher from ''
BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...
'' suggested it is "closer to an experimental R&B album than to a rap album". 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. Tracks on the album utilize step input drum machine and synth-bass parts.Hodgson (2010), p. 61. Step input sequencing, a product of vintage analogue devices limited to recording only 16 individual
notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...
, was popular in music production during the 1980s, but also became available in digital workstations. The album's music features austere production and elements such as dense drums, lengthy strings, droning synths, and somber piano. Andy Kellman of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
writes of the music, "Several tracks have almost as much in common with irrefutably bleak
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
albums, such as New Order's '' Movement'' and
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
's ''
Pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
'', as contemporary rap and R&B". These musical elements help convey moods of despair and dejection that reflect the album's subject matter. For ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'', Nathan Rabin described the album's music as "split
ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
the difference between the auto-tune R&B of T-Pain and the glacial electronic atmospherics of '80s new wave at its loneliest".
NJ.com NJ.com is a digital news content provider and website in New Jersey owned by Advance Publications. According to ''The New York Times'' in 2012, it was the largest provider of digital news in the state at the time. In 2018, comScore reports that ...
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". West's singing has been characterized as " flat" and "nearly unmelodic", which "underscores his own
cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline. His voice was compared to the fictional artificial intelligence character
HAL 9000 HAL 9000 (or simply HAL or Hal) is a fictional artificial intelligence character and the main antagonist in the '' Space Odyssey'' series. First appearing in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', HAL ( Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic C ...
, channeling a robotic sound. Andre Grant of ''
HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of Hip hop music, hip hop music criticism and news. ''HipHopDX'' has over 3.5M monthly readers, the website encompassing hip hop news, interviews, music, and reviews. The website's founder and CEO is Sharath C ...
'' wrote that "to combat this trenchant melancholia, he poured himself into an all-autotunes R&B album" which would prove divisive in hip-hop. 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". Nekesa Mumbi Moody of
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
described ''808s & Heartbreak'' as uneven, citing West's experimental off-key singing. Most of West's lyrics are directed at an ex-lover. In
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
's opinion, ''808s & Heartbreak'' is a "slow, sad-ass and self-involved ...
breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the ending of a Interpersonal relationship, relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a ma ...
album," while Plagenhoef found it "steeped in regret, pain, and even more self-examination than a typical Kanye West album". 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 An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Misery''. On "
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
", West describes a lover who "worries about the wrong things" and is pushing him away with her distrustful ways of thinking. With the introspective "
Love Lockdown "Love Lockdown" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his fourth studio album, ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008). The song was produced by West, while co-produced by Jeff Bhasker. The producers co-wrote it with Esthero, Malik Yusef, and Stars ...
", West discusses the aftermath of a failed romantic relationship. Among other themes,
existential crisis Existential crises are inner conflicts characterized by the impression that life lacks meaning and confusion about one's personal identity. They are accompanied by anxiety and stress, often to such a degree that they disturb one's normal funct ...
is explored on "
Welcome to Heartbreak "Welcome to Heartbreak" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, from his fourth studio album, ''808s & Heartbreak'' (2008). The song features a guest appearance from Kid Cudi on his first collaboration with West, as well as background vocals by ...
", in which West's character dispassionately recounts sitting alone on a flight, with a laughing family seated behind him. The song harbors lament over the cost of past decisions and feelings of emptiness in a life of fame and luxury. West longs for his late mother on the album's penultimate track " Coldest Winter". The track contains an
interpolation In the mathematics, mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one ...
of the desolate 1983 song "Memories Fade" by
Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
. According to Christgau, the closing "Pinocchio Story" is "the only track here about what's really bringing estdown: 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".


Marketing

In August 2008, West performed at the
Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
, where he also previewed a demo of "Love Lockdown" to Dave Sirulnick, a producer for
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. This led to West's premier of the song at the
2008 MTV Video Music Awards The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were ...
on September 7, performing alongside 20 taiko drummers. On the set's dark-violet stage, he appeared wearing an
Afro The afro is a hair style created by combing out natural growth of afro-textured hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" '' Ebo ...
- mullet and a gray tweed jacket tailored with a broken-heart-shaped pin that would symbolize the ''808s & Heartbreak''-album era in West's career, according to ''Rolling Stone'' writer Charles Holmes: "His voice wavered, his onstage confidence was clearly fragile, but the ''808s'' epoch began nonetheless." On September 24, 2008, 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." West later stated that the album would be released on November 25, 2008. However,
Island Def Jam Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed on December 31, 1998, by Universal Music Group. Before 2014, IDJMG encompassed labels originally established under the umbrella of Island Records and Def Jam Recording ...
, the distributing label, brought the date forward by one day to capitalize on
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
weekend. A special edition of the album was later released on December 16, featuring the album in CD and dual LP format, along with album artwork redone by Kaws, the original cover artist. On October 16, 2008, West premiered an excerpt of "Coldest Winter" on the radio station
Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Alex Meruelo's Meruelo Group, through licensee KPWR Radio Ho ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. The track interpolates Tears for Fears' "Memories Fade". A remixed version of "Paranoid" was reported to feature pop singer
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
, but did not materialize. Also appearing prior to the release were "See You in My Nightmares", "
Street Lights A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...
", and "Welcome to Heartbreak". A hidden track on ''808s & Heartbreak'', "Pinocchio Story" is a freestyle that was recorded live in Singapore. It was included as part of the album at the request of American musician
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
. On October 14, 2008, West collaborated with Italian artist
Vanessa Beecroft Vanessa Beecroft (born April 25, 1969) is an Italian-born American contemporary art, contemporary performance artist; she also works with photography, video art, sculpture, and painting. Many of her works have made use of professional models, so ...
in hosting a promotional album listening event at Ace Gallery. 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. The entire album played without introduction or explanation. The women were illuminated by multicolored lights that would change as the music progressed. 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. 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. Attendees included
Mos Def Yasiin Bey ( ; born Dante Terrell Smith; December 11, 1973), formerly known as Mos Def ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A prominent figure in conscious hip hop, he is recognized for his use of wordplay and commentary on social an ...
,
will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...
and
Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
. Five days later, promotional photos for the album by photographer Willy Vanderperre were released. The images portrayed West wearing a grey
glen plaid Glen plaid (short for Glen Urquhart plaid), also known as Glenurquhart check or Prince of Wales check, is a woollen fabric with a woven twill design of small and large checks. It is usually made of black/grey and white, or with more muted colou ...
suit, large
browline glasses Browline glasses are a style of eyeglass frames where the "bold" upper part holding the lenses resembles eyebrows framing the eyes. They were very popular during the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the US. The glasses were first manufactured by ...
, and a heart-shaped pin. The artwork for ''808s & Heartbreak'' followed the minimalist style of the album. The cover art features a deflated heart-shaped balloon. It was photographed by Kristen Yiengst and designed by
Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh (; September 30, 1980 – November 28, 2021) was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transfor ...
and Willo Perron, and the deluxe edition's artwork was made by pop artist
Kaws Brian Donnelly (born November 4, 1974), known professionally as Kaws (stylized as KAWS), is an American artist and designer. His work includes repeated use of a cast of figurative characters and motifs, some dating back to the beginning of his ...
. The album's artwork also includes photographs of West, taken by Willy Vanderperre, and a photograph of West kissing his mother on the cheek, taken by
Danny Clinch Danny Clinch (born 1964) is an American photographer and film director. Early life and education Born in Toms River, New Jersey, Clinch graduated from Toms River High School East in 1982. After attending Ocean County College, he attended the New ...
. In 2013, ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' named it the best rap album cover of the past five years. 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 Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
's ''
The Fame Monster ''The Fame Monster'' is a reissue of American singer Lady Gaga's debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). It was released on November 17, 2009, by Interscope Records, Streamline Records, KonLive Distribution, and Cherrytree Records. Initially ...
''. It was canceled on October 1, 2009, without explanation. Several songs from the album were performed by West during his live
VH1 Storytellers ''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network. In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...
performance, such as "Heartless", "Amazing" and "Say You Will".


Public reaction

Before its release, reaction to ''808s & Heartbreak'' was mixed, ranging from anticipation to bewilderment and indifference to the album's concept. Upon the premier of "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. 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. Numerous hip-hop fans and certain rappers mocked West for becoming "sappy" while others deemed the upcoming LP as a throwaway experimental album. Comparisons were drawn to ''
Electric Circus ''Electric Circus '' (also known as ''EC'') is a Canadian live dance music television program that aired on MuchMusic and Citytv from September 16, 1988, to December 12, 2003. The name originated from a nightclub that once existed at Citytv's fir ...
'', an album recorded by West's labelmate and close friend
Common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...
. 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." 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." 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. 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.
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
was an admirer of the album, with his daughter
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
saying he played it for her "all the time." West went on to assert in October 2015 that despite many people rating his successor album ''
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010. Retreating to a self-imposed exile in Hawaii after a period of ...
'' as his best, ''808s & Heartbreak'' is "so much stronger" in comparison.


Sales

In its first week of sales, ''808s & Heartbreak'' reached the number one spot on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with sales of 450,000
album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
s, significantly underselling ''Graduation'' in spite of an extra day of sales amidst a holiday week. The following week, the album descended three places to number four on the chart and experienced a 69% sales decline, selling 142,000 units. In the last week of 2008, ''808s & Heartbreak'' sold 165,100 album-equivalent units, jumping six places from the eleventh spot to number five on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was reported to have sold 1,023,000 units by the end of 2008, of which 183,000 came from digital sales. The album moved up again in the first week of 2009, selling 70,000 album-equivalent units and landing at number three. On January 27, 2009, ''808s & Heartbreak'' was certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), serving as West's fourth album to ship one million copies in the United States. As of June 14, 2013, the album has sold 1.7 million copies in the US, according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
; 1.63 million of these copies had apparently been sold by February 24, 2010. It was later certified triple platinum on November 23, 2020. ''808s & Heartbreak'' attained a peak position of number four on the
Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...
. On July 13, 2009, the album was certified platinum by
Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...
for selling 80,000 copies. ''808s & Heartbreak'' peaked at number 11 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and lasted for 29 weeks on the chart. The album was certified platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) for shipments of 300,000 copies on April 14, 2017. ''808s & Heartbreak'' also reached number 11 on the
Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by t ...
. In 2008, the album was certified platinum by the
Irish Recorded Music Association The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is a non-profit association set up in 1999 to promote certain interests of the music industry in Ireland. It is particularly active in addressing copyright issues, and it compiles the official music ...
(IRMA), indicating shipments of 15,000 copies. On the
ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, ''808s & Heartbreak'' peaked at number 12, standing as West's second lowest charting album in Australia. As of December 31, 2008, the album has been certified gold by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) for shipments of 35,000 copies. Despite the polarizing response to ''808s & Heartbreak'', its singles performed successfully on record charts. Upon its release, the lead single "Love Lockdown" debuted at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 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 10th song of the millennium to debut in the top three. 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. On September 23, 2020, it was certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, for shipments of 4,000,000 units in the US. The single was also met by positive reviews from music critics, eventually culminating with being crowned "Song of the Year" by ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''. The second single, "Heartless" performed similarly and became West's second consecutive "Hot Shot Debut" by debuting at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was certified septuple platinum by the RIAA, having shipped 7,000,000 units in the US. 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 during 2008. The 10th track "See You in My Nightmares" became yet another "Hot Shot Debut", peaking at number 21 in the US and number 22 in Canada, while the fourth track "Amazing" initially charted at number 81 on the Hot 100. Following suit, "Welcome to Heartbreak" peaked at number 87 on the US
Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...
. ''808s & Heartbreak'' and its singles helped West top the year-end ''Billboard'' 2009 charts as both the top male ''Billboard'' 200 and Hot 100 artist.


Critical reception

''808s & Heartbreak'' was met with generally positive reviews. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an
average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 75, based on 36 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave ''808s & Heartbreak'' 7.3 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. Reviewing in November 2008, Chris Richards from ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' called the album "an information-age masterpiece", while ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' 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." Dan Cairns from ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' 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." ''Rolling Stone''s
Jody Rosen Jody Rosen (born June 21, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist and author. He is a contributing writer for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Career Journalism Rosen served as critic-at-large for '' T: The New York Times Style Magaz ...
commended West's incorporation of the Roland TR-808 drum machine and described the album as "Kanye's would-be ''
Here, My Dear ''Here, My Dear'' is the fourteenth studio album by the American soul music, soul singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye, released as a double album on December 15, 1978, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. allmusic - Here, My Dear overviewRec ...
'' or '' Blood on the Tracks'', a mournful song-suite that swings violently between self-pity and self-loathing." He further wrote, "Kanye can't really sing in the classic sense, but he's not trying to. T-Pain taught the world that Auto-Tune doesn't just sharpen flat notes: It's a painterly device for enhancing vocal expressiveness and upping the pathos ... Kanye's digitized vocals are the sound of a man so stupefied by grief, he's become less than human." In the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'',
Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
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." ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' 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".Heaton, David
Review: ''808s & Heartbreak''
. ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
''. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
Writing for ''
MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...
'', 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". Other reviewers were more critical. In the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'',
Jim DeRogatis James Peter DeRogatis (born September 2, 1964) is an American music critic and co-host of ''Sound Opinions''. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as ''Rolling Stone'', '' Spin'', ''Guitar World'', ''Matter'' and '' Modern Drummer'' ...
contended that, "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 John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
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." Andy Gill of ''The Independent'' found West's "immersion in personal misery" uncomfortable and commented that the "stylistic tropes quickly become irritating". AllMusic editor Andy Kellman stated, "no matter its commendable fearlessness, the album is a listless, bleary trudge along West's permafrost."
Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal life Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia ...
from ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' criticized the songs' musical structures, calling the album "a long processional that starts and restarts and never reaches the ceremony". West's singing was panned by ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
''s Wilson McBeeMcBee, Wilson
Slant Magazine Music Review: Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak
.
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
and Jon Caramanica from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', who singled it out as the "weakness for which this album will ultimately be remembered, some solid songs notwithstanding". Caramanica added 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."


Rankings

''808s & Heartbreak'' was named one of the 10 best albums of 2008 by a number of publications, including the ''
Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...
'' (number seven), ''
Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...
'' (number four), ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' (number eight), ''
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
'' (no order) and ''Time'' (number six). ''Pitchfork'' named ''808s & Heartbreak'' the twenty-first best album of 2008. Dan Leroy of ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...
'' cited it as one of the top 10 hip-hop albums of the year.
Jam! Jam! was a Canadian website which covered entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outl ...
named it the top album of 2008. DeRogatis included the album on his list of the year's 10 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." ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...
'' 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". The album was placed at eighth on ''The Guardian''s top 50 albums of 2008 list, stating; "He has always been more complex and unpredictable than his peers, but even by Kanye West's standards, ''808s & Heartbreak'' was an unexpected curveball. Knocked completely sideways by the 'Shakespearean tragedy' of the death of his devoted mother following plastic surgery, and the split from his fiancée, West poured out his soul, showing glimpses of a hitherto unseen humility. In a complete departure from his preceding trilogy of albums, the rapper's fourth saw him barely rapping. Instead, half singing, half talking, his voice given a cracked, ethereal feel by hip-hop's gadget du jour, the Antares Auto-Tune, West laid himself bare, questioning the fame and materialism he had always coveted against a minimal backdrop of 808s and haunting strings. It's lonely at the top." '' BPM'' named it the eighth best album of the year. In 2009, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 63 on its list of the "100 Best Album of the Decade", then in 2014 they named it one of "The 40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time", 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. In 2020, ''Rolling Stone'' placed ''808s & Heartbreak'' at number 244 on the magazine's revision to "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indu ...
" list.


Industry awards

Despite the critical accolades, ''808s & Heartbreak'' was largely overlooked by
The Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...
as a contender for the
52nd Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...
. According to ''Vibe'' magazine editor-in-chief Jermaine Hall, while West's controversial incident at the
2009 MTV Video Music Awards The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was ...
and the ensuing backlash "probably hurt him", the album's stylistic shift was the primary reason for it not being nominated. West received one solo nomination,
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group was awarded between 1991 and 2011, alongside the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. The award was discontinue ...
for "Amazing", and five other nominations for his guest appearances and collaborative work.52nd Grammy Awards: Nominees
. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
The album also contended for the following industry awards:


Legacy

Although West conceived ''808s & Heartbreak'' as a melancholic pop album, it proved to have a significant effect on hip-hop music. 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. During the marketing of ''The Blueprint 3'', Jay-Z said 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." Jay-Z elaborated that like West, he was unsatisfied with contemporary hip-hop, was being inspired by indie-rockers like
Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
and asserted his belief that the indie rock movement would play an important role in the continued evolution of hip-hop. 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, including B.o.B, Kid Cudi,
Childish Gambino Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his musical stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker. While he studied at New York University and after working in Derrick ...
,
Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...
, and
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
.Rabin, Nathan
Review: ''Thank Me Later''
. ''The A.V. Club''. Retrieved June 15, 2010.
While not considered among West's best, ''808s & Heartbreak'' is arguably his most influential album, according to ''Complex''. In 2011, 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 Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...
's synthesizer challenged the boom-bap of the early '90s." ''
Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...
'' described the record as an "
art-pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's ...
masterpiece
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
broke the shackles of generations of one-upmanship n hip-hop" In ''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." Drake's 2009 mixtape '' So Far Gone'' received comparisons from critics to ''808s & Heartbreak''. Todd Martens of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' cited ''808s & Heartbreak'' as "the template ..for essentially the entirety of Drake's young career," and that he "shares West's love for mood and never-ending existential analysis." In a 2009 interview, Drake cited West as "the most influential person" in shaping his own sound. Similarly to ''So Far Gone'', Drake's 2010 debut album ''
Thank Me Later ''Thank Me Later'' is the debut studio album by the Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 15, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown Records. Production for the album took place at various record ...
'' was compared to ''808s & Heartbreak'' by critics. ''808s & Heartbreak'' is credited with giving rise to the
emo rap Emo rap is a subgenre of Hip hop music, hip hop with influence from emo. Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s, the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as trap-style beats with vocals that are usually sung. Some ...
subgenre. According to Greg Kot, ''808s & Heartbreak'' initiated the "wave of inward-looking sensitivity" and "
emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...
"-inspired rappers during the late 2000s: " tpresaged 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 Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...
's
Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best-known as the primary songwriter and Lead vocalist, frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. He is also a member o ...
and British dub-step balladeer James Blake." For ''Pitchfork'',
Jayson Greene Jayson Greene (born ) is an American author, music critic and editor. He has served as a senior editor of online music magazine ''Pitchfork'' and is the author of ''Once More We Saw Stars'', a memoir about the death of his two-year-old daughter, i ...
wrote: "The only thing more influential than the album's sound might be its tone: bitter, confused, self-pitying, defensive, and accusatory." '' Consequence'' 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 ames Blake and the Weeknd">the_Weeknd.html" ;"title="ames Blake and the Weeknd">ames Blake and the Weekndhave carved their brands out of today." 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." Marcus Scott of ''Giant (magazine), 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 Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (, ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; , ), was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed ...
-inspired" music as influences. ''Billboard'' writer Michael Saponara credits its influence on the late-2010s music of
Juice Wrld Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He emerged as a leading figure in the emo rap ...
, who himself admitted, "I was singing 'Street Lights' like I had shit to be sad about. Kanye is a
time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...
er. ... went to damn near 2015 and came back with some sauce."
Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, they gained initial recognition following the release of the commer ...
, another emo rapper, said that the album changed his life. The
Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
hired ''808s & Heartbreak'' recorder and mixer Andrew Dawson to produce their album ''
Elysium Elysium (), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields (, ''Ēlýsion pedíon''), Elysian Plains or Elysian Realm, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cult ...
'' (2012), based on their admiration for the "luxurious" sound of West's album. In the opinion of ''Billboard'' senior editor Alex Gale in 2016, 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." In 2014, ''Rolling Stone'' named the album as one of the 40 most groundbreaking albums of all time, noting that it "served as a new template for up-and-comers in hip-hop and R&B." Speaking with ''Pitchfork''s Ryan Dombal that year, Tom Krell said his music project How to Dress Well "would not be possible" without West's album, which Dombal described as an "emo&B opus". On the album's 10th anniversary in 2018, ''
The Boombox Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
'' writer Bobby Olivier found its continued influence evident in the works of
Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
and
Travis Scott Jacques Bermon Webster III (born April 30, 1991), known professionally as Travis Scott (formerly stylized as Travi$ Scott), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Scott has had five number-one hits on the U.S. ''Bil ...
, as well as the commercial dominance of hip-hop in the US in general, although he said it remains West's least valued album. Olivier contended that, by "morph nghis shattered soul into a piece of wondrous millennial art-pop", West had "played anti-hero to his acclaimed collegiate trilogy" and begun "the demolition between rap, pop and EDM genre lines in earnest", drawing "a blueprint for hip-hop in the 2010s, where minimalism and melancholy could prove just as propulsive as boom-bap and classic gangster bravado, and where oft-maligned auto-tune could weaponize a voice and reshape it as a compelling new instrument". In a March 2024 interview, West credited "the autotune album" as having invented a style of music used by the likes of the Weeknd, Travis Scott and Drake, as well as rappers
Future The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ex ...
and
Young Thug Jeffery Lamar Williams II (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper. Known for his eccentric vocal style and fashion, he is considered an influential figure in modern hip hop music, hip hop and trap music ...
.
Lil Boosie Torence Ivy Hatch Jr. (born November 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Boosie BadAzz or simply Boosie (formerly Lil' Boosie), is an American rapper. Hatch began rapping in the 1990s as a member of the Southern hip hop collective Concentr ...
reacted to West's statement via
Instagram Stories Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
by writing that West is not influential nor relatable to him, while Kid Cudi responded by posting a screenshot of the Wikipedia page showing his influence on ''808s & Heartbreak''. On September 25 and 26, 2015, West performed a re-arranged version of the album in its entirety at the
Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...
in Los Angeles. The performance involved numerous collaborators, including vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, orchestral performers, more than sixty dancers, rappers Kid Cudi and Young Jeezy, as well as actress
Zoë Kravitz Zoë Kravitz (born December 1, 1988) is an American actress and filmmaker. She made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film ''No Reservations (film), No Reservations'' (2007). Her breakthrough came with portraying Angel Salvadore (Tempest) ...
. On October 20, 2015, West released a studio version of "Say You Will" featuring vocals by American composer and violinist
Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices''. Shaw received the 2022 G ...
, from Roomful of Teeth, onto his
SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
account, similar to the version performed at the Hollywood Bowl.


Track listing

Information is largely taken from the album's liner notes; songwriting credits for track 12 are from BMI. Notes * signifies a co-producer *"Welcome to Heartbreak" contains background vocals by
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
*"Amazing" contains background vocals by
Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer from Birmingham, England. He formed the band Mr Hudson and the Library in 2006, for which he served ...
and Tony Williams *"Paranoid" contains background vocals by
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
*"RoboCop" contains background vocals by Tony Williams and Jeff Bhasker *"Street Lights" contains background vocals by
Esthero Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself ...
and Tony Williams Sample credits *"RoboCop" embodies portions of " Kissing in the Rain", written by
Patrick Doyle Patrick Doyle (born 6 April 1953) is a Scottish composer and occasional actor best known for his film scores. During his 50-year career in film, television and theatre, he has composed the scores for over 60 feature films. A longtime collaborato ...
. *"Bad News" contains a sample of the recording "
See Line Woman "Sea Lion Woman" (also "Sealion Woman", "Sea-Line Woman", "See heLyin' Woman", "She Lyin' Woman", "See-Line Woman", or "C-Line Woman") is a traditional African-American folk song originally used as a children's playground song. History The song ...
" as performed by
Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...
and written by
George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early life Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George B ...
. *"Coldest Winter" embodies an interpolation of "Memories Fade", written by Roland Orzabal.


Personnel

Musicians * Lula Almeida – drums/percussions (track 5) * Davis Barnett – viola (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10) *
Jeff Bhasker Jeffrey Nath Bhasker (born March 4, 1974) is an American record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. He won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the award in 2013. Bhasker cam ...
– 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 Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself ...
– background vocals (track 8) * Larry Gold – string arrangement and conducting (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10) *
Mr Hudson Benjamin Hudson McIldowie (born 26 June 1979), better known by his stage name Mr Hudson, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer from Birmingham, England. He formed the band Mr Hudson and the Library in 2006, for which he served ...
– 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 Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
– 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 Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
– 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 Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
– lead artist * Tony Williams – background vocals (tracks 1, 4, 7, 8) *
Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...
– 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 Holomalia – 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 Vlado Meller (born in 1947 in Humenné as ''Vladimír Meller'') is a Slovak audio mastering engineer, currently with Vlado Meller Mastering in Charleston, South Carolina. Meller works across many genres of music, with credits on rock, hip-hop, p ...
– mastering * Montez Roberts – string engineering assistance (tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, 10) *
Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...
– mixing (tracks 1–4, 6–11) * Christian Mochizuki – recording assistance (tracks 1–4, 6–11) *
No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), known professionally as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well a ...
– co-production (tracks 3, 10, 11) *
Plain Pat Patrick Reynolds, known professionally as Plain Pat, is an American record producer, Talent Manager#Music manager, talent manager, record executive and disc jockey (DJ). He is perhaps best known for his work with American rapper Kid Cudi, havin ...
– 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


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2008 * List of ''Billboard'' number-one R&B albums of 2008


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:808s and Heartbreak 2008 albums Albums produced by Jeff Bhasker Albums produced by Kanye West Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Albums produced by Mr Hudson Albums produced by No I.D. Albums produced by Plain Pat Alternative R&B albums Art pop albums Contemporary R&B albums by American artists Def Jam Recordings albums Electropop albums Kanye West albums Roc-A-Fella Records albums Synth-pop albums by American artists