2008 changed everything
It was September 7th, 2008, and no one really knew what was about to happen. In spite of Graduation being released in September of the previous year, Kanye West had already announced the new single from his new album 808’s & Heartbreaks, and he was set to debut it live as the closing act of the 2008 MTV VMAs. Ye’s performance was scintillating and emotional, and it spurred non-stop conversation. What was this new genre of music Kanye was exploring? It was neither R&B nor pop, and there were hoards of Hip-Hop elements, but it wasn’t rap, or too much like anything we’d ever heard before. The instrumentals were African drum-inspired, and the lyrics were fueled by heartbreak, despair, and at times, depression.
Shortly after the performance, on November 24th, Kanye would release 808’s & Heartbreak, his first and only album not to feature rap as it’s primary genre. 808’s would go on to debut at #1, be certified platinum and garnered a Grammy nomination for his Young Jeezy collaboration, “Amazing.” 6 years later, 808’s is undoubtedly the drawing board for scores of artists today. From Kid Cudi to Drake, Kanye’s 4th LP has caused far-reaching ripples that will be remembered in Hip-Hop for decades to come. It was for this reason, upon several others, why Rolling Stone decided it is The Most Ground-Breaking Album Of All-Time.
According to RS:
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.
