“You get a sample, loop it, ask somebody to shout “throw your hands up in the sky” over the top and that’s 80 per cent of it right there”.
Kanye West certainly seems to be bored with hip-hop as a genre, which goes a long way to explaining the radical departure with ‘808s and Heartbreak,’ his fourth studio album. Eschewing the grandiose orchestral soundscapes and conscious lyrics that catapaulted him to superstar status on ‘Graduation’, Kanye sees himself as able to transcend rap entirely, creating a new musical style he has branded “Pop Art” in the process.
This is the inner turmoil common to producers-turned-performers. Coming into the industry from a perspective of creating good music first causes their creativity to run amok once they are making it on their own terms. Does this result in better music, or just more self-indulgent?
With Kanye, this new aural style manifests itself as harsh, imposing drum loops (created on an 808 analogue synthesiser) drenched in pop overtones, with verbal dexterity placed to one side to turn his hand to crooning with the aid of Autotune.
Despite making both Cher and T-Pain (ask your daughter) millionaires overnight, vocal enhancements via this device has led to derision in the music industry at large, as formerly hardcore rappers attempt to warble melodic choruses with varying degrees of awfulness.
With this album due for release in late November, there is no rapping, save for two guest verses courtesy of Lil’ Wayne and Young Jeezy. All of the rest is digitally tuned and distorted to perfection.
As a hip-hop artist who convinced the world to become interested in rap music, Kanye West is probably the only person who can take vocal remodelling, 80s retro grooves and a unique taste in clothes and bring it straight into 2008.
With 808s & Heartbreak we will discover whether it is a remix too far, or if he convinces everyone to move to a new beat once again.
