Kanye West Fights the Good Fight for Futuristic Retro- Pop!!

Kanye West, for all his flaws, does not rest on his laurels.

As evidenced by his latest album, self-conscientious may be the best way to describe West. On the one hand not afraid to share his own vulnerabilities, he also has no shortage of swagger, or sense of self-worth. He surrenders his weaknesses, but not his power. He is also a champion of one of hip-hop's most vital characteristics- self promotion. And while his ego may be larger than life, so too is his career. His actions and mannerisms imply he is the biggest deal on the planet... but, isn't he? His public meltdowns are nothing short of nuclear, but always somehow magnetic. And while his Bush/ Katrina observations were unfortunatly inflamitory, they spoke to SOMEthing real, something that was weighing heavily on the American collective conscious. Then as throughout his career, he, simply and honestly, expressed emotion. Shit, that's what we pay him for.

It would be fair to say that Kanye's latest project, 808s & Heartbreak, comes off as one long song. A technotronic experimental ballad, it has such obvious binding characteristics that one might be tempted to write it off as a lazy, thrown together work. And, I mean, you could, but that would just be completely missing the point.



The obvious element of this record is perpetual use of the Auto-Tune/ Vocoder effect. This production instrument has a long history in pop music, but was never so unapologetically embraced until the emergence of T-Pain, who has thus far defined a career with its automated magic. Using it so blatantly opens artists using the effect to quick dismissals by many vocal purists. This, it seems, is like a pianist guffawing the talents of a skilled synthesized keyboad player- to focus completely on the instrument ignores the skill and ingenuity required to effectively manipulate the noise.

By relying so heavily on this sound on his most conceptual album, Kanye transformed the gimmick into a tool.



Kanye didn't need Auto-Tune to make an album- he needed it to make an R&B album.

The first note of the albums spills all of its sercrets; an off-kilter Heartbeat pumps on from first track to last. It inserts readers into the emotion's belly, succesfully dominating mood and ambiance. The consistency of Kanye's stilted, faux-voice has a transformative effect, alternately tugging and striking the heart's every chord. The sharpness of the computer-inflected vocal notes underscore the steady but aggressive pounding of the beat, particularly on the track Amazing, a syrupy, haunted song. But each and every track picks a specific method of heartbreak, be it a blunder or a betrayal. Kanye plays pretty close emo, just by relishing his each emotion so fiercely. He's awful worked up, but if he's worked up than he is of the absolute belief that you should experience his outrage, or hurt. Can't really argue with him, he'd never give you the choice.



Still, the effect and production is almost as if it were a video game roller coaster; you know the reality is virtual, yet the knowledge fails to diminish the capacity to induce vertigo.

West's attitude regarding the record seems to be, “I could shit gold,” but I don't think this is a lazy record. I think it may just be that the young artist has a strong intuition about his abilities. I don't even really think this is up for debate, since he finishes the record with Pinnocio Story, a freestyle seemingly from the time in which he was pioneering his new style.



I think his previous albums were of a more intelectual brand; College Dropout, Late Registration, and Graduation, each make no secret of the educational themes driving his creative evolution. There's a reason this record isn't called Post-Grad. Instead, he has taken the advice of Enter the Dragon- “Don't think, feel.”



He forswore the intellectual pursuit for the emotional one.

The 808s & Heartbreak sound is straight out of Saturday morning cartoons. Beyond that, it sounds like the music you imagined you'd hear in the future. And all these signs point to us actually being in the future. So it's worth considering. Too emotive to pass for simple disco, but too rowdy too be taken seriously, the sound exists in some in-between.

I'm just saying, this is what Mega Man would jam to on his ipod.



I think sooner or later, we will get that Post-Grad album. But this isn't it. This is something new, something different, something Fun. Kanye tooled around with some new toys, and shared it with us. He'll probably end up screaming at someone who doesn't “get” it, another meltdown in the litany for the perhaps intentionally misunderstood creator. Maybe he needs to create demons to maintain some sort of balance, or maybe just doesn't have any. But this sound is worth deciding for yourself on. You may love it, you may hate it, but for better or worse Kanye will have your attention.