In an era that preceded the social media boom, the response to 808s & Heartbreak was vociferous, many listeners averse to the divergence in sound.

A victim of his own ascent, the level of infamy that marred the 808s campaign - from pre-production to his vilification during the 2009 Video Music Awards – resembled a pandemonium. However, this signifier of commercial success in a recession-addled era belied the beginnings of his demise. Many expected his winning streak to continue, banking on another instant classic, and when 808s & Heartbreak, released in the fall of 2008, debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 selling just under half a million records, his streak of consecutive hits was lauded. He ventured much further down the outré path he was signaling on Graduation, synthesizing his hip-hop DNA with the pulse of pop-punk and electro-infused pop.įrom his debut The College Dropout to 2007’s Graduation, West had released a triumvirate of uber-successful records that cemented his role as a progressive rap progenitor. He took the biggest gamble of his already eminent career with 808s, throwing caution to the wind and effectively redefining who Kanye was as an artist.

Kanye’s fourth LP was predicated around a philosophy of reinvention, risk, and rebirth - arguably no hip-hop artist had enacted a sharp pivot on this gargantuan level before.

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