In light of Donda being released, we look back at one of Kanye’s most influential albums of all time. The legendary artist Kanye West’s fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreaks was released on November 24, 2008. This album has a mixture of eclectic pop, rap, and experimental R&B with features from Kid Cudi, Jeezy, Mr. Hudson, and Lil Wayne. 

808s & Heartbreaks are about the feelings Kanye had during a rough time in his life. During the making of this album, Kanye was suffering from the loss of his mother Donda West, and a breakup with his ex-fiancé Alexis Phifer that cheated on him. This album features 12 songs where Kanye would sing with autotune throughout the whole album. During an interview, Kanye has stated that Michael Jackson inspired him to make the album. 

Some of my favorite songs on the album are, “Welcome to Heartbreak”, “Street Lights”, and “Bad News”. On the track “Welcome to Heartbreak” Kanye raps about the money and fame he received in his career. Throughout the songs, he just brags about his fame, but in the chorus, Kid Cudi talks about having a vision. This can be referred to as the vision Kanye had when making this song. One of my favorite Kanye songs “Street Lights” talks about life passing by too fast. He wants to do more in life but some of the things might be too late. On the track “Bad News” Kanye finds out that his now ex-fiancé Alexis Phifer was cheating on him, quoting the track “Bad News”. 

This album influenced many artists today like Kid Cudi, Juice Wrld, Travis Scott, and many more. Many critics say that this album was ahead of its time with the autotune and 808 drums. I say this because many artists nowadays use autotune and 808s. This album would be Kanye’s most heartfelt album that he has released so far. I would definitely give this album a listen but it is not meant for everybody.