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808s & Heartbreak

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AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:

808s & Heartbreak

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  • Artist: Kanye West
  • Rating: StarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: November 24, 2008
  • Total Time: 54:33
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rap

Review

Remember when Kanye West threatened to make an album where he would bear his heartbroken soul, align with T-Pain, sing on every song with the then inescapable Auto-Tune effect, and lean on the Roland TR-808 drum machine? It could have been a wreck, a case of an artist working through paralyzing heartache while loose in a toy store. Except West wasn't joking. In various spots across 808s & Heartbreak, the constant flutter of West's processed voice is enlivened by the disarming manner in which despair and dejection are conveyed. Several tracks have almost as much in common with irrefutably bleak post-punk albums as contemporary rap and R&B. For anyone sifting through a broken relationship and self-letdown, this could all be therapeutic. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

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808s & Heartbreak

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808s & Heartbreak
Studio album by Kanye West
Released November 24, 2008
Recorded September–October 2008
Glenwood Studios
(Burbank, California)
Avex Recording Studio
(Honolulu, Hawaii)
Genre Pop, electronica, synthpop, R&B
Length 52:01
Label Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Producer Jeff Bhasker, Mr Hudson, No I.D., Plain Pat, Kanye West (also exec.)
Kanye West chronology
Graduation
(2007)		 808s & Heartbreak
(2008)		 My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
(2010)
Singles from 808s & Heartbreak
  1. "Love Lockdown"
    Released: September 18, 2008
  2. "Heartless"
    Released: November 4, 2008
  3. "Amazing"
    Released: March 10, 2009
  4. "Paranoid"
    Released: March 24, 2009

808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American recording artist and producer Kanye West, released November 24, 2008 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii during September to October 2008. It was produced primarily by West, No I.D., and Jeff Bhasker. Conceived in the wake of multiple events that distressed him in the previous year, the album marked a major musical departure for West from his previous work, lyrically, vocally, and production-wise.

Classified by West as a pop album, 808s & Heartbreak incorporates elements of synthpop, electronica, R&B, and electropop, while its tracks are primarily sung rather than rapped by West and contain lyrical themes such as love, loneliness, and heartache. The album also contains extensive use of the Auto-Tune voice processor and the Roland TR-808 drum machine, which was utilized and manipulated by West to produce a distorted, electronic sound. Approaching the album's production in a minimalist fashion, West intended to contravene the typical sound of hip hop beat and instead evoke a presence of tribal drums.

The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 450,145 copies in its first week. It produced four singles, including the hit singles "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless". Despite a divided reaction from music audiences towards West's stylistic change, 808s & Heartbreak received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. It impacted hip hop music stylistically, as a new wave of rappers adopted the album's aesthetic. 808s & Heartbreak has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold 1.63 million copies in the United States.

Contents

Background

Following the release of his third studio album Graduation, the remainder of 2007 and the following year featured events that profoundly affected Kanye West. On November 10, 2007, West's mother Donda West died due to complications arising from cosmetic surgery involving a tummy tuck and breast reduction procedure.[1] Months later, West and fiancée Alexis Phifer ended their engagement and their long-term on-off relationship, which had begun in 2002.[2] At the same time, West struggled to adapt to his new found pop star status he had once striven to achieve, often becoming the subject of media scrutiny. The loss, loneliness and longing for companionship and a sense of normality served to inspire 808s & Heartbreak. West stated that "This album was therapeutic — it's lonely at the top."[3] A photograph taken by Danny Clinch of West kissing his mother on the cheek was included in the album's booklet liner notes.[4]

West felt that the emotions he felt could not be fully expressed simply through rapping, saying that aside from the fact that rapping had limitations, there were "melodies that were in me — what was in me I couldn't stop."[5] West went to classify 808s & Heartbreak as a pop album, asserting his disdain towards the contemporary backlash to the concept of pop music and expressed admiration for what some pop stars have accomplished in their careers.[6] He later stated that he wishes 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. "Either call it 'pop' or 'pop art', either one I'm good with."[7]

Recording

West (center) working on the album with his former mentor, producer No I.D. (left).

The album was recorded over a span of approximately three weeks from September to October 2008.[8] Recording sessions took place at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and at Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii.[4] As implied by its title, 808s & Heartbreak prominently features the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Drawing inspiration from 1980s synthpop and electropop performers such as Phil Collins, Gary Numan, TJ Swan and Boy George, West felt that the 808 is a resourceful instrument that can be used to evoke emotion; the concept was introduced to him by Jon Brion.[9][10] 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.[7] 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.[11] The realization inspired him to pursue his direction with the album, however.[8] In terms of musical direction, West's intentions, according to Mike Dean, were to go against the typical sound of hip hop beat, instead evoking the presence of tribal drums.[12] Overall, West maintained a "minimal but functional" approach towards the album's studio production.[10][13]

The album makes prominent use of the voice audio processor technology of Auto-Tune. West had previously experimented with the technology on The College Dropout for the background vocals of "Jesus Walks" and "Never Let Me Down", but he had not used it 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 explained.[12] Towards this end, West enlisted T-Pain for coaching on how to utilize the technology.[14] West himself openly stated that he loves using Auto-Tune and is dismayed that the term has been commonly associated with being "wack".[15] He considers the technology "the funnest thing to use" and compared the situation to when he was a child and thought the color pink was cool until someone told him "it was gay", producing an analogy of how the views of society can rob people of their confidence and self-esteem.[15] He later went on to state that he enjoyed the electronic feel produced by Auto-Tune and sought out to juxtapose the mechanical sounds with the traditional sounds of taiko drums and choir monks.[16]

Rapper Kid Cudi, who had signed onto West's G.O.O.D. Music label, contributed to two of the album's songs.[17] 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.[18] When "RoboCop" appeared on the Internet, West refuted responsibility and was upset that the leak had occurred as the track was an unfinished version.[19] Mike Dean had previously stated that the track was expected to receive additional treatment by Herbie Hancock before the album's release.[12]

Composition

808s & Heartbreak is a radical departure from West's previous hip hop albums.[20] 808s & Heartbreak is primarily made up of virtual synthesis, the Roland TR-808 drum machine, and explicitly auto-tuned vocal tracks.[21] Tracks on the album utilize step input drum machine and synth-bass parts.[21] Step input sequencing, a product of vintage analogue devices limited to recording only 16 individual notes, was popular in music production during the 1980s,[22] but also became available in digital workstations.[23]

The album's music features austere production and elements such as dense drums, lengthy strings, droning synths, and somber piano.[24] 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."[24] These musical elements help convey moods of despair and dejection that reflect the album's subject matter.[24] Most of the lyrics are directed at an ex-lover; West refers to her treatment of him as "the coldest story ever told" on "Heartless", and on "RoboCop", she is called a "spoiled little L.A. girl" and is compared to the antagonist in the 1990 film Misery.[24] On "Welcome to Heartbreak", West's character faces an existential crisis as he dispassionately recounts sitting alone on a flight, with a laughing family seated ahead of him.[24] He longs for his late mother on the album's penultimate track "Coldest Winter", which samples the desolate 1983 song "Memories Fade" by Tears for Fears.[24][25]

Pitchfork Media's Scott Plagenhoef categorizes the album as "an introspective, minimal electro-pop record steeped in regret, pain, and even more self-examination than a typical Kanye West album".[26] Music writer Robert Christgau dubs it "a breakup album" and analyzes that West's choice to "robotize as well as pitch-correct his voice both undercuts his self-importance and adds physical reality to tales of alienated fame that might otherwise be pure pity parties".[27] Josh Eelis of Blender characterizes West's singing as "flat" and "nearly unmelodic", writing that it "underscores his own cyborgish detachment."[28] Canadian writer Stephen Marche views that West used "the shallow musical gimmickry of Auto-Tune, a program designed to eliminate individuality, and produced a hauntingly personal album."[29]

Release and promotion

West performed at the Virgin Mobile Festival leading up to the album's release.

On September 24, 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".[30] West later stated that the album would be released on November 25, 2008.[31] However, Island Def Jam, the distributing label, brought the date forward by one day to capitalize on Thanksgiving weekend.[32] 808s & Heartbreak was also released on November 24, 2008 in the United Kingdom and the Philippines.[33] A limited edition in a digipak case was first released in Germany on November 21, 2008.[33] A special edition of the album was released on December 16 that contains the album in CD and dual LP format, and also features album artwork redone by the artist of the original cover, KAWS.[34]

On October 16, West released an excerpt of "Coldest Winter" on the radio station Power 106 in Los Angeles. The track recreates elements of the song "Memories Fade" by the band Tears for Fears.[35] The song "Paranoid" later leaked onto the Internet and features Mr. Hudson in the chorus. A remixed version of "Paranoid" was reported to feature pop singer Rihanna, but did not materialize.[36] Also appearing prior to the release date were "Amazing" featuring Young Jeezy, "See You in My Nightmares" featuring Lil Wayne, "Street Lights", "Say You Will", "Welcome to Heartbreak" and "Bad News". An additional track, "Pinocchio Story" is a freestyle recorded at a live concert in Singapore. It was included in the album at the request of Beyoncé Knowles.[37]

On October 14, West, in collaboration with Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft, hosted a promotional album listening event at Ace Gallery.[38] 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 women were illuminated by multicolored lights that would change as the music progressed.[38] 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.[38] Five days later, promotional photos for the album by photographer Willy Vanderperre were released. The images portrayed West wearing a grey glen plaid suit, large browline glasses, and a heart-shaped pin.[39]

In October 2009, West was scheduled to embark on a tour, The Fame Kills Starring: Lady Gaga and Kanye West Tour, in promotion of Gaga's The Fame, and West's 808's & Heartbreak. It was canceled on October 1, 2009, without reason.[40]

Reception

Initial reaction

[I]t wasn't really the traditional Kanye hip-hop album. He went out of the box, which some people loved, but for others, it took a while to grow on them.

— Jermaine Hall, Vibe editor in chief, on the reaction to the album.[41]

Before its release, reaction to 808s & Heartbreak was mixed, ranging from anticipation to bewilderment and indifference to the album's concept. Upon the unveiling of the lead single "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.[42] 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.[5][43]

Numerous hip hop fans and certain rappers mocked West for becoming "sappy" while others deemed the upcoming LP as a throwaway experimental album.[11] Comparisons were drawn to Electric Circus, an album recorded by West's labelmate and close friend Common.[44] 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."[45]

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."[46] 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.[42] 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.[47]

Commercial performance

In its first week of sales, 808s & Heartbreak reached the number one spot on Billboard 200, selling 450,145 units in its first week.[48] In the last week of the year, 808s & Heartbreak sold 165,100 copies, jumping from the eleventh spot back up to the number five on the Billboard 200.[49] The album moved up again the following week, selling 70,900 units and landing at number three.[50] On January 27, 2009, 808s & Heartbreak was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, serving as West's fourth album to ship one million copies in the United States.[51][52][53] As of February 2010, it has sold 1.63 million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[54]

Despite the debate and uncertainty surrounding the album's conception, its preceding singles demonstrated outstanding chart performances. Upon its release, the lead single "Love Lockdown" debuted at number three on the 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 tenth song of the millennium to debut in the top three.[55] 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.[56] On August 18, 2010, it was certified triple platinum by the RIAA, for shipments of three million units in the US.[51] The single was also met by positive reviews from music critics, eventually culminating with being crowned "Song of the Year" by Time.[57] The second single, "Heartless" performed similarly and became his second consecutive "Hot Shot Debut" by debuting at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[58] It was certified double platinum by the RIAA, having shipped two million units in the US.[51] 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. The tenth track "See You in My Nightmares" became yet another "Hot Shot Debut," peaking at number twenty-one in the U.S. and at number twenty-two in Canada while the fourth track "Amazing" charted at eighty-nine on the Hot 100.[59][60][61] Following suit, "Welcome to Heartbreak" peaked at number eighty-seven on the Pop 100.[62]

Critical response

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 2/5 stars[24]
Robert Christgau A−[27]
Entertainment Weekly A−[63]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[64]
Los Angeles Times favorable[18]
Pitchfork Media 7.6/10[26]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[65]
Spin 6/10[66]
The Times 5/5 stars[67]
The Village Voice favorable[68]

808s & Heartbreak received generally positive reviews from music critics.[69] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 36 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[69] Alex Macpherson of The Guardian praised its "stylised, minimal music".[64] USA Today's Steve Jones commented that "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".[70] Dan Cairns of The Times 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."[67] Tom Breihan of The Village Voice found it to be "a work borne of depression" and dubbed it West's "superstar-freakout album: his Low, his Trans, his Kid A. The one where he decides that frozen remoteness is the only thing that makes sense".[68] Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen commended West's incorporation of the Roland TR-808 drum machine and described the album as "Kanye's would-be Here, My Dear or Blood on the Tracks, a mournful song-suite that swings violently between self-pity and self-loathing".[65] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly wrote that its "frosty, minimal sound backs lyrics of surprisingly raw emotion".[63]

However, Allmusic editor Andy Kellman stated "no matter its commendable fearlessness, the album is a listless, bleary trudge along West's permafrost".[24] Charles Aaron of Spin expressed a mixed response towards the songs' musical structures, calling the album "a long processional that starts and restarts and never reaches the ceremony".[66] Slant Magazine's Wilson McBee panned West's singing,[71] and Jon Caramanica of The New York Times singled it out as the "weakness for which this album will ultimately be remembered, some solid songs notwithstanding."[9] On his general view of the album, Caramanica wrote 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".[9] Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis stated, "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 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."[72]

Jaimie Hodgson of NME called the album "a surprising, but bold and brave progression from last year’s confused Graduation".[73] Dave Heaton of PopMatters complimented West's "winning ways with both 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".[74] Blender's Josh Eelis called it "a chunk of emotional permafrost—a beautiful soundtrack for a long, harsh winter", and praised West's incorporation of the drum machine and Auto-Tune, stating "The 808 features just 16 sounds, but Kanye works wonders with this limited palette, turning lo-fi kick drums into an austere artistic statement [...] He’s found a way to turn numbness into art".[28] Chris Richards of The Washington Post called it "an information-age masterpiece".[75] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, Robert Christgau found the album to have "its own dark sound and its own engaging tunes", and gave it an A– rating,[27] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction".[76]

Accolades

The album was named one of the ten best albums of 2008 by a number of publications, including The Hartford Courant (number seven), NOW (number four), The Observer (number eight), Vibe (no order) and Time (number six).[77][78][79] Pitchfork Media named 808s & Heartbreak the twenty-first best album of 2008.[80] Dan Leroy of LA Weekly cited it as one of the top ten hip hop albums of the year.[81] Jam! named it the top album of 2008.[82] Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis included the album on his list of the year's ten 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."[83] Time Out New York 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."[84] 808s & Heartbreak received a nomination for Outstanding Album at 40th annual NAACP Image Awards.[85] The album also received a nomination for Best Album at the 2009 MOBO Awards.[86] In 2009, Rolling Stone ranked it number 63 on its list of the 100 Best Album of the Decade.[87]

Despite its accolades, 808s & Heartbreak was largely overlooked as a contender for the 52nd Grammy Awards.[41] According to Vibe magazine editor-in-chief Jermaine Hall, West's controversial incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and the ensuing backlash against West "probably hurt him", but perceived West's stylistic change on the album as the primary reason for it not being nominated.[41] West received one solo nomination, Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Amazing", and five other nominations for his guest appearances and collaborational work.[88]

Legacy and influence

Drake was part of the wave of rappers that followed the album's aesthetic.

Although West designed it as a melancholic pop album, 808s & Heartbreak had a significant effect on hip hop music.[89] 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.[42][45] Jake Paine of HipHopDX dubbed the album "our Chronic", noting West's effect on hip hop with 808s & Heartbreak as "a sound, no different than the way Dr. Dre's synthesizer challenged the boom-bap of the early '90s."[90]

During the release of The Blueprint 3, New York rap mogul Jay-Z revealed 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."[91] Jay-Z elaborated that like West, he was unsatisfied with contemporary hip hop, was being inspired by indie-rockers like Grizzly Bear and asserted his belief that the indie rock movement would play an important role in the continued evolution of hip hop.[92]

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, Frank Ocean,[93] The Weeknd, and Drake.[90][94] Music writer Greg Kot views that the album "set off" the "wave of inward-looking sensitivity" and "emo"-inspired rappers during the late 2000s, writing that it "presaged 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's Justin Vernon and British dub-step balladeer James Blake."[95] Marcus Scott of GIANT writes that rappers such as B.o.B, Drake, and Kid Cudi followed West's album with similarly-minded works, with Scott noting West's introspective, emotional themes and his synthpop and "Vangelis-inspired" music as influences.[96] Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times has cited 808s & Heartbreak as "the template [...] for essentially the entirety of Drake's young career", and that wrote that Drake "shares West’s love for mood and never-ending existential analysis".[97]

Track listing

No. Title Producer Length
1. "Say You Will"   Kanye West 6:14
2. "Welcome to Heartbreak" (featuring Kid Cudi) Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Plain Pat 4:23
3. "Heartless"   Kanye West, No I.D. 3:31
4. "Amazing" (featuring Young Jeezy) Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker 3:58
5. "Love Lockdown"   Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker 4:30
6. "Paranoid" (featuring Mr Hudson) Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Plain Pat 4:37
7. "RoboCop"   Kanye West 4:34
8. "Street Lights"   Kanye West, Mr Hudson 3:09
9. "Bad News"   Kanye West 3:58
10. "See You in My Nightmares" (featuring Lil Wayne) Kanye West, No I.D. 4:18
11. "Coldest Winter"   Kanye West, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker 2:45
12. "Pinocchio Story" (freestyle live from Singapore, bonus track) Kanye West 6:03

Personnel

Information adapted from album liner notes.[4]

# Title Notes
1 "Say You Will"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker
  • Producer: Kanye West
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl.
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem. Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Vocals: The Kadockadee Kwire
  • Background vocals: Mr Hudson and Tony Williams
2 "Welcome to Heartbreak"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Patrick Reynolds, Scott Mescudi
  • Producers: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Plain Pat
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer, Ryan West
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem. Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Background vocals: Jeff Bhasker
  • Mixer: Manny Marroquin
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek.
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl
3 "Heartless"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Ernest Wilson, Scott Mescudi, Malik Jones
  • Producers: Kanye West, No I.D
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata and Erik Madrid
4 "Amazing"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Malik Jones, Dexter Mills, Jeff Bhasker, Jay Jenkins
  • Producers: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Background vocals: Mr Hudson and Tony Williams
  • Mixer: Manny Marroquin
5 "Love Lockdown"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Jenny-Bea Englishman, Malik Jones, Jan Menzies
  • Producers: Kanye West and Jeff Bhasker
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Drums/Percussion: Gibi, Zé Bruno, Lula Almeida and Rodney Dassis
6 "Paranoid"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Patrick Reynolds, Scott Mescudi, Dexter Mills, Jeff Bhasker
  • Producers: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Plain Pat
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers by Christian Plata, Erik Madrid
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Background vocals: Kid Cudi
7 "RoboCop"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Jenny-Bea Englishman, Malik Jones, Dexter Mills
    Scott Mescudi, A. Williams, Jeff Bhasker, Faheem Najm, Jay Jenkins, Patrick Doyle
  • Producer: Kanye West
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata, Erik Madrid
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem. Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Background vocals: Tony Williams and Jeff Bhasker
  • Samples: "Kissing in the Rain" by Patrick Doyle (from the Alfonso Cuarón film Great Expectations)
8 "Street Lights"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Jenny-Bea Englishman, A. Williams, B. McIldowie
  • Producers: Kanye West, Mr. Hudson
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata, Erik Madrid
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Background vocals: Esthero, Tony Williams
9 "Bad News"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, George Bass
  • Producer: Kanye West
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Mix engineer: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata and Erik Madrid
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem. Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Samples: "See Line Woman" by Nina Simone
10 "See You in My Nightmares"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Ernest Wilson, Jeff Bhasker, Dwayne Carter
  • Producers: Kanye West, No I.D.
  • Recorders: Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Strings arrangements: Larry Gold
  • Violins: Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec, Luigi Mazzochi, Gregory Teperman, Olga Konopelsky, Charles Parker
  • Viola: Davis Barnett, Alexandra Leem.
  • Cello: James J. Cooper, III, Jennie Lorenzo.
  • Bass: Miles Davis
  • Mixer: Manny Marroquin
  • Engineer: Jeff Chestek
  • Assistant engineers: Montez Roberts, Rick Friedrich, John Stahl
11 "Coldest Winter"
  • Songwriters: Kanye West, Ernest Wilson, Roland Orzabal
  • Producers: Kanye West, No I.D., Jeff Bhasker.
  • Recorders by Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer
  • Mix engineers: Manny Marroquin
  • Assistant engineers: Christian Plata, Erik Madrid
  • Keyboards: Jeff Bhasker
  • Recreates elements of "Memories Fade" by Tears for Fears
12 "Pinocchio Story"
  • Songwriter: Kanye West

Charts and certifications

Chart positions

Chart (2008)[98][99][100][101][102] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 1
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 1
Australian Albums Chart 12
Irish Albums Chart 11
New Zealand Albums Chart 15
UK Albums Chart 11
Swiss Albums Chart 13
Canadian Albums Chart 4
Belgian Albums Chart 21
Norwegian Albums Chart 19
Dutch Albums Chart 42
Austrian Albums Chart 50
European Top 100 Albums 23
Italian Albums Chart 65
French Albums Chart 52
German Albums Chart 30

Certifications

Country Provider Certification
Australia ARIA Gold[103]
Canada CRIA Platinum[104]
Ireland IRMA Platinum[105]
UK BPI Gold[106]
United States RIAA Platinum[51]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
I Am... Sasha Fierce by Beyoncé		 U.S. Billboard 200 number-one album
December 13–20, 2008		 Succeeded by
Circus by Britney Spears
Preceded by
I Am... Sasha Fierce by Beyoncé		 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums number-one album
December 13–20, 2008		 Succeeded by
I Am... Sasha Fierce by Beyoncé

See also

Portal icon Kanye West portal

Notes

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  100. ^ "Classifica settimanale dal 28-11-2008 al 04-12-2008". FIMI. FIMI. 2008-12-04. http://www.fimi.it/classifiche_result_artisti.php?anno=%202008&mese=11&id=210. Retrieved 2009-04-11. 
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  102. ^ "Music SoundScan Charts: MARCH 5, 2009". Jam!. Canoe, Inc. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html. Retrieved 2009-04-11. 
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  104. ^ "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum - January 2005 [sic] (actually July 2009)". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  105. ^ "2008 Certification Awards – Platinum". The Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/platinum08.htm. 
  106. ^ "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2011-08-04. 

References

External links

Kanye West
Studio albums
Collaborations
Live albums
Mixtapes
DVDs
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