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Review Summary: For an album with the word 'heart' in its title, it sure is half-hearted. I will start by saying I actually really like Kanye's music. His first three albums were awesome, MBDTF was pretty good, I enjoyed Yeezus, and The Life of Pablo, although it was probably one of the weirdest rap albums I've ever heard, was very enjoyable as well. So. Where does that leave his late 2008 LP, 808s & Heartbreak for me? Well...if you read the rating I've given this one, I think you can guess where this one falls...
I will say that this album has one strength that the Dropout Bear trilogy didn't have, and that's this: it does something completely different. You can't exactly compare this to The College Dropout or Kanye's sophomore release because - let's be honest here - this album really can't be classified as hip-hop. There are a few tracks that feature rap verses from fellow emcees (if you can call Lil Wayne an emcee), but most of the album is recognized by Kanye's singing. He doesn't rap on this LP; he sings. Better yet, sings with Auto-Tune. Whether that's a negative or positive depends on who you ask. Now, personally I feel that if he just sang without the use of Auto-Tune on here, it would be a lot better. As seen at the end of RoboCop and on the live track Pinocchio Story (which was one of the best tracks on here and was for some reason only a live version), Kanye sings without Auto-Tune. And he actually sounds...well, really good! If it had just been him singing all the way through, I think I would've enjoyed this a little more. But that's just me nitpicking. Really, I don't have a huge problem with the use of Auto-Tune on here because it actually serves a purpose here: along with the simple robotic production (which in my eyes is the best thing about the album), it's trying to convey his emotions in a barren, stark manner.
Okay, so just because I might not be a huge fan of the album does not mean there are no gems on here. Paranoid is an energetic 80s-styled track that's more than likely guaranteed to get you moving. Love Lockdown is a great progressive track that is much more than likely to have your head bobbing up and down by the middle of it (Plus it has some killer bongo banging in the background.) And like I said, the electronic rhythms throughout the entire LP are definitely the highlight of this Auto-Tune driven album. So. If I have so many good things to say about the LP, then why would I give it a mere 2.5? Well...unfortunately there's really not enough I like about this to give it a positive rating. A problem I have with 808s & Heartbreak is that there isn't very much replay value to it at all for me. The album, while I realize that this is a direction it decides to take, is really lacking in variety. There are a few factors that lead to this problem, such as the fact that it's only 12 tracks long. While one could argue that it is still nearly an hour long, another thing that causes the variety problem I mentioned is the overarching style and theme. Sure, the production on this album is great, and the beats have a great atmosphere to them. But what holds this LP back is the repetition; it's a very samey album for me. Overall it's just really slow, and kind of drags on a lot, and this isn't helped by the fact that Kanye's Auto-Tuned voice has the same air to it in every song. One track that I'd definitely find myself coming back to a lot more than the rest is ironically Paranoid, the most energetic track on here, as it just feels different from the samey, spacey air to the rest of the LP. At some points, the album just feels half-hearted (see what I did there?), and...empty.
So. Overall, while I really like some aspects of 808s and Heartbreak, like the production and some really great tracks on here that I will definitely find myself coming back to, it just lacks in the variety department. The approach and idea he went for was really smart, but the execution failed badly. Although I can say that this album is a great opportunity to use a horrible pun to describe my feelings about it: I didn't feel heartbreak over this release, but it certainly didn't lift my heart or anything.
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Album Rating: 4.5
this review is absolute gutter trash. hard ass neg. there's no need for all the generalizations and sweeping statements and your sentences are all over the place. "He doesn't rap on this LP; he sings. Better yet, sings with Auto-Tune." come on man there's not even a subject in that sentence
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
thank you for the constructive criticism. "absolute gutter trash" is a very nice and helping way to put it, and you gave some great advice on how to do improve my reviews. anyway, it's my second review. i'm really new to this reviewing thing, i've hardly had a chance to get used to this site.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
constructive criticism: proofread your writing, make sure your sentences are complete and if they're not that there's a reason for it, give definitive reasoning as to your ratings instead of vague suggestions (like what exactly does samey mean, i mean i get it but it's not substantive enough), use other rhetoric devices than 'this music will make your head bob' / 'this song will get you moving,' vary your language, keep a consistent tone (you go from personal casual to cnon casual criticism several times and it's jarring to read)
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
ok. yeah honestly i can see where i failed here. thank you for the advice
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
keep workin at it! it takes time and practice
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Fck this album tbqh
And I'm a Kanye diehard
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"if you can call lil Wayne an emcee"
Hilarious
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
people who dislike this album are boring
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"people who dislike this album are boring"
What happened to generalizations?
So easy to take criticism when the person giving it is biased
| | | Album Rating: 1.0
review fits the album..
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
im joking dummy
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
"if you can call lil Wayne an emcee"
Hilarious
ha! yeah that's something that can definitely be agreed on
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
"Now, personally I feel that if he just sang without the use of Auto-Tune on here, it would be a lot better."
You're missing the whole point of the album
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^^^^^
Lil Wayne is dope
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Not a badly written review, keep working on it. One thing is I'd argue that reviews tend to come across as more well thought out and entertaining if they don't reference themselves. It's a small thing, but I feel referencing your score for instance within the actual writing sorta takes the reader out of the piece, and is a tad superfluous. Also, with grammar, try to find a good balance between a form that is at once grammatically and structurally sound, and no less imbued with personality. You do very well in the latter, and as such this was an entertaining read, but for instance your consistent use of "so" at the beginning of sentences -- although the full-stops emphasise an extra pause -- would work a little better if you were to use a comma after them, which tends to be the way people use it within sentences. It's a common conjunction/sentence starter, so people will understand to pause without you having to allow it its own full clause/sentence.
But yeah, as I said, not a badly written review, it was quite a fun read, so I'm interested to see what you write in the future. (:
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
thanks!
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
People still hate this album in 2017?
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I listened to this basically for the first time a few days ago and decided it is bad
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
"(if you can call Lil Wayne an emcee)"
I've never been the biggest Wayne fan, but the mere fact that you put that quote in the review makes me want to neg. Why should I or anyone even care about your opinion/take your opinion seriously in regards to any hip hop album, let alone 808s and Heartbreak, when you are saying shit like that?
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My point exactly
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