There’s a theory that Cudi’s melody-heavy singsong style inspired West to do 808s in the first place.įive months prior to West recording 808s, Plain Pat (who has managed both Cudi and West), sent A Kid Named Cudi, to West. While in the studio, the pair began to play around with Good-Ass Job. But we never would have had 808s & Heartbreak without Kid Cudi.Īfter a chance meeting at a Virgin Megastore in 2004, West called on Cudi to reference hooks for Jay-Z. Without 808s & Heartbreak, we may never have known the robotic trap of Travis Scott or the sad crooning of Drake.

The raw exploration of emotional upheaval was for all intents and purposes, unchartered territory in hip hop. Ten years later, 808s & Heartbreak remains to be the coronation of Kanye “The Innovator” West and also an introduction to a man alienated by fame. “From now on, I want to be seen alongside only the musicians you see in the old black-and-white photographs - Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles.” “Hip hop is over for me now,” he started saying, dismissively, in interviews. Renowned for his heavy use of auto-tune on lead vocals, inspired by T-Pain, Lil Wayne’s Lollipop and Young Jeezy’s Put On, West moved to change the landscape of music. Recorded and produced in just three weeks, West’s fourth studio album is arguably his most polarising. And the fourth is Good-Ass Job.' West scrapped Good-Ass Job and on November 24th, 2008 released the iconoclastic 808s & Heartbreak. 'Then my third album is going to be called Graduation. 'I'm calling the next one Late Registration,' he told MTV. In an interview from 2003, West outlined his ambitious vision for his first four projects before he’d even released his debut record, College Dropout. He also put a stop to completing his planned tetralogy. Months later, West ended his six-year relationship with fiancée Alexis Phifer. When Donda West died of complications from cosmetic surgery in 2007, Kanye’s world was shattered.

“This is a song I wrote for my mother back in 2000,” says a fresh-faced 28-year-old Kanye West. “I saved it for the opportunity to be on the Oprah show and perform it for her.” In 2005, the televised world premiere of Hey Mama saw Donda West beaming with joy, dancing next to Oprah as Kanye emboldened a middle-aged studio audience to clap along to his emotional sermon.

808s and heartbreak