Additional InformationThe enigmatic hip-hop superstar returns after the hardest 2008, a bit more somber, slightly more urgent, still pushing boundaries.
Reviews"Sonically, West pushes the envelope by relying on the drum machine from which the album takes its title, as well as the ever-popular vocoder.", "His lyrics he tempers with humour, and these enormous tracks, built like New Orleans blues-like dirges, have the soft touches of piano and chords given the full sustain.", 4 stars out of 5 -- "808S AND HEARTBREAKS' bravery makes it compelling...it feels honest....It is his most fascinating, and bewildering, record to date.", 4 stars out of 5 -- "A chunk of emotional permafrost -- a beautiful soundtrack for a long, harsh winter....He's found a way to turn numbness into art.", "His flair for wordplay remains gratifyingly intact....He offers this glimpse of the soul beneath the swagger, and we like him better for it." -- Grade: A-, "Given the reduced palette with which Kanye is working, it's amazing there is such a spectrum of styles and influences covered.", 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Thankfully, there are those 808s. Kanye constructed the songs using a classic Roland TR-808 drum machine, and the results are a pleasant shock: stark, spacey tracks, which owe far more to Eighties electro and synth pop than anything on hip-hop radio."