After reading the most recent article "Kanye's Pity Party" by one of our mentors, Mark Anthony Neal, we were enthralled with the scope of Black Musical expression. In his assessment of Kanye West's polar release "808s and Heartbreak", Neal plays into the tradition of a blues meter which offers a time for West to grapple with the loss of his mother and long-term relationship.
Interestingly enough, Neal has been heavily criticized for finding lots of meaning in an album which many critics are calling a departure from West's general creativity. Although the album has a very "T-Pain...ian" backdrop, it is a masterpiece for a different reason, perhaps.
Here is a snippet from the article.
"As West reminds listeners on the haunting co-lead single "Heartless," he is man who has "lost his soul." It doesn't take the music critic moonlighting as a therapist to understand that the lyric—directed at "a woman so heartless"—captures what feels like a profound sense of guilt for a man whose lack of public tact and restraint is quite legendary. West tries mighty hard to make 808s and Heartbreak about the woman who done him wrong—the Nina Simone "See Line Woman" sample on "Bad News" hints at charges of philandering on the woman's part—but what West leaves listeners with is only a sense of tremendous heartbreak."
Check out the entire piece at The Root.
Also, check out "Bad News" from the album.
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