808s

''808s & Heartbreak'' is the fourth studio album by the American rapper Kanye West, released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 24, 2008, having been recorded earlier that year in September and October at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dominating its production, West was assisted by fellow producers No I.D., Plain Pat, Jeff Bhasker, and Mr Hudson, while also utilizing guest vocalists for some tracks, including Kid Cudi, Young Jeezy, and Lil Wayne.

Conceived following the death of his mother Donda 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 processor against an electronic production and minimalist sonic palette, including prominent use of minor keys and the Roland TR-808 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 stardom.

''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", 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; however, its third single " Amazing" was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.

Among West's most influential records, ''808s & Heartbreak'' made an immediate impact on hip-hop, pop, 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 and experimental R&B subgenres in particular. ''Rolling Stone'' 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". By 2013, it had sold 1.7 million copies in the United States, and by 2020, it received a triple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Background

After the release of his third studio album ''Graduation'' in 2007, Kanye West 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 and breast reduction. 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 stardom 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 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 and at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii. The 808 of the title is a reference to the Roland TR-808 drum machine, used heavily in the album. Drawing inspiration from 1980s synth-pop and electropop performers such as Phil Collins, Gary Numan, TJ Swan, and Boy George, 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. 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, who had signed to his GOOD Music record label, with helping create the album's stark, brooding sound. After receiving a copy of his 2008 mixtape ''A Kid Named Cudi'', West became an avid fan, especially of the hit single "Day 'n' Nite". 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'' 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'', "His writing is just so pure and natural and important. hat'smore important than where things chart." No I.D., West's collaborator and former mentor, added that tracks for the album also originated from their concurrent recording for Jay-Z'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. He had experimented with it on his 2004 debut album ''The College Dropout'', specifically the background vocals of "Jesus Walks" and "Never Let Me Down", but he had not used the technology for lead vocals until 2008. "We were working on the remixes for Lil Wayne's 'Lollipop' and Young Jeezy's 'Put On' and he fell in love with the Auto-Tune", producer Mike Dean recalled. Towards the end, West enlisted T-Pain for coaching on how to utilize the technology. In an interview with ''Billboard'', T-Pain said that West told him he had listened to his debut album ''Rappa Ternt Sanga'' (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 provided the few female vocals found on the album; credited under birth name Jenny-Bea Englishman, she co-wrote three tracks. When "RoboCop" 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 before the album's release.

Music and lyrics

''808s & Heartbreak'' is a radical departure from West's previous hip-hop albums. According to ''The Independent'', West abandoned his customary hip-hop sound in favor of sparse, drum machine-based electropop. ''Pitchfork''s Scott Plagenhoef described the album as "an introspective, minimal electro-pop record," and writer Kirk Walker Graves categorized it as avant-garde 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'' 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, 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 writes of the music, "Several tracks have almost as much in common with irrefutably bleak post-punk albums, such as New Order's '' Movement'' and The Cure's ''Pornography'', as contemporary rap and R&B". These musical elements help convey moods of despair and dejection that reflect the album's subject matter. For ''The A.V. Club'', Nathan Rabin described the album's music as "splitingthe difference between the auto-tune R&B of T-Pain and the glacial electronic atmospherics of '80s new wave at its loneliest". NJ.com columnist Trist McCall wrote that the record "stripped modern art-pop down to its iconic rudiments — beats, charismatic personalities, hand-selected melodies, and computer-assisted vocals".

West's singing has been characterized as " flat" and "nearly unmelodic", which "underscores his own cyborg