Regardless of your feelings towards 808s & Heartbreak’s robotic and idiosyncratic experimentation, its influence on hip-hop is incalculable. Runners up: Flashing Lights, Stronger, Can’t Tell Me Nothing 4. “Common passed on this beat”, but I’m pleased that he did because Ye tapped into some admirable clarity here. This personal reflection is aptly backed by minimal production, a Rhodes piano, and some excessive record scratching that somehow works, as well as a sample of Prince Phillip Mitchell’s beautiful If We Can’t Be Lovers. Probably a controversial pic, considering the unforgettable techno-emancipation better known as Stronger which occupies this record, but allow me to explain why I’m not a hipster fuckwit for backing the down-tempo tune.Īssessing yourself accurately and honestly is incredibly difficult, but Kanye provides the perfect couplet that not only exercises self-awareness but also addresses his social impact: “ People talking shit but when the shit hit the fan, everything I’m not made me everything I am.” Runners up: Hey Mama, Gold Digger, Diamonds From Sierra Leone – Remix 3. Mix in some aspirational lyrics ( “I gotta testify, come up in the spot lookin’ extra fly, ‘fore the day I die, Imma touch the sky”), some percussive drum-work, and a stellar debut verse from Lupe Fiasco, and you got the ultimate feel-good, self-love anthem. The inclusion of horns from Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up culminates into such an uplifting, effortless groove that it truly is love at first listen. We all know Kanye is the king of sampling but hit single Touch The Sky is the song that earned him his crown.

Expanding from his debut, Kanye serves up even more bangers destined for the USBs of club DJs all over, while also trying his hand at some compelling string arrangements. Late Registration proved that Kanye’s brilliance was only in its inception. Runners up: Jesus Walks, Through The Wire, We Don’t Care 2. All Falls Down remains a cruisy listen that explores a relevant cultural issue without exhausting its audience. Ye’s verses revel in tongue and cheek, but his ability to make the nuanced issues surrounding materialism accessible is seriously impressive for a debut. “ We living the American dream, the people highest up got the lowest self-esteem,” Kanye raps in response to the socio-economic complexities dissected in Hill’s original. The result? Not only slick pop/rap sensibility but a powerful statement regarding expectations and consumerism of a mass audience.

808s and heartbreak album cover hd