Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 2008
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Length
12 tracks
808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released November 24, 2008 on Roc-A-Fella Records. It was recorded after the death of his mother and subsequent dissolution of his engagement to a long-time girlfriend in 2008, and marked a major sonic departure for West. Taking influences from 80s new wave, synthpop, and art pop, West produced the album with heavy use from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and Auto-Tune. Lil' Wayne, Young Jeezy, Kid Cudi, and Mr. Hudson appear as featured artists on the album. Due to the lack of profanity, 808s & Heartbreak is West's first album without the Parental Advisory logo.
Commercially, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album has (as of 2022) sold over 3,700,000 copies, and has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA. Lead single Love Lockdown peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and second single Heartless peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2009.
Released to a polarizing reaction from the public and critics alike, 808s & Heartbreak has since gone to become hailed as one of the greatest and most influential albums of the all time, with the album being attributed to the breakout popularity of more 'emotionally vulnerable' hip-hop artists such as Kid Cudi and Drake, and pioneering the 'emo rap' and 'alternative R&B' subgenres in particular. Rolling Stone magazine selected 808s among its '40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time' list in 2014, and eventually ranked the album at 244 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
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