SoundNexx

KANYE, 808s & HEARTBREAK!
Retro-transition is the only word that I could create to describe what his new musical experience sounds like. I know plenty of the traditional and hardcore Kanye fans are going to reject this latest endeavor with the quickness. Change this drastic is difficult for the average fickle fan. The new singing version of Kanye is definitely not equal to the skills of a Phonte or Mos Def vocally, but he’s tolerable. My suggestion for any fragile listener reading this is to delete all memories of Mr. West’s musical past. Act like he’s a new artist just coming onto the music scene, and view this album as his debut release. Try not to have any preconceived expectations. Personally, I dig the 808 type of production to the 5 power on this project. It has that retro feel of one my favorite 808 conductors from the past, Egyptian Lover.


However, the overuse of the strange vocal effects is annoying at times. At some points throughout the album it sounds like Kanye is singing through a motorized window fan while yelling through an analog microphone. Other times it’s like he’s harmonizing with his face submerged in a tub of full of bath water. I can just hear the bubbles forming on the surface underneath the soap suds. The vocal effects seem to distort his lyrics leaving my first couple of listening experiences a little bit strained. Hopefully, this uneasy feeling can be reversed with a few more focused listens to the album. As strange as this may sound, I actually think that Kanye will probably get plenty of awards for this album. I think the mainstream-radio friendly audience will eat this project up, which will make it that much more successful overall. Lets hope so anyway, because if not I expect that Kanye will be having a hissy-fit about it...

That is all...

The album "808s & Heartbreaks" drops on November 24, 2008, but until then...