Dec 9, 2014 "Kanye West's Auto-Tune-heavy, emotionally naked fourth album came after a brutal year during which his mother died and his engagement broke up, but the album's cavernous sound and exposed-soul lyrics confused even those who had been aware of West's recent trials. Its core aesthetic was like nothing in hip-hop: freshly butchered feelings enumerated in detail, but masked by digital processing; beds of spare synths used to balance a mix of singing and rapping. However, over time it served as a new template for up-and-comers in hip-hop and R&B. Drake cited West as his budding sound's "most influential person" when he was hustling mixtapes, while artists like Future further tweaked the idea of using Auto-Tune as a way to convey emotions that evoke too much feeling when spoken of explicitly" http://www.rollingstone.com/most-groundbreaking-albums-of-all-time#808s-and-heartbreak
Dec 9, 2014 I was so pissed off whenever details of this album were released. I wanted the college dropout or late registration kanye west not this s---. Thankfully, upon listening to the project in full I realised how amazing this album was and to this day remains one of my favorite albums by him
Dec 9, 2014 Amazing album. But whether you like it or not, the assessment that it was groundbreaking and influential is indisputable
Dec 9, 2014 hated the album at first, and my friend is a huge kanye fan (like myself now) and I blindly made fun of him back in the day. Fast forward and this could very well be my favorite Kanye album aside from MBDTF. Paved the way for rappers like Drake and Kid Cudi
Dec 9, 2014 Love this album, its third only to mbdtf and late registration imo, Also think it is kanye's most influential and creative album of all...
Dec 9, 2014 Love it or hate it, it ushered in a new era. This is where I give him credit influence wise. I still think Kanye gets too much credit for the dissolving off "gangster rap" though. That's a claim without substance.
