Kanye West Finds Life After Graduation Lonely
Rapper Discovers Love, Loss, and Humility on "808s and Heartbreak"
Dec 2, 2008
Life After Graduation
Remember that college friend of yours who majored in art history but ended up in some corporate job? Or the political scientist who becams a plumber? What about the business major who moved to New York to become an actor?
Consider the case of Kanye West, whose post-Graduation career has taken a similarly surpising turn. West rose to prominence as a rapper with the release of The College Dropout. His star (and ego) continued to rise as his follow-up CD, Late Registration, climbed the charts. More recently, the West college trifecta concluded with Graduation.
Fans likely expected West's fourth album to feature the same braggadocio of his prior releases, accompanied by the beats and eclectic samples that made Kanye a top hip-hop producer long before he ever released his own albums.
Two Pictures Are Worth...
But a not-so-funny thing happened on the way to 808s and Heartbreak, as noted in the album's liner notes. The notes unfold to form a two-sided poster that explains the solemn tone of the new CD. One side depicts Kanye with his arm around his mother and planting a kiss on her left cheek as she smiles proudly.
On the other side, however, his mother is gone -- a symbolic representation of her recent death. West stands alone, stripped of the joy of the former photograph. The arrogance that makes him arguably the most polarizing figure in hip-hop is nowhere to be found. Instead, the rapper's gray-and-white outfit isaccented by a large pendant of a broken heart on his left breast. (Subtlety, it would seem, is not his strong suit.)
The New Kanye West
The loss of West's mother has affected him in ways that appear to have changed him as an artist and a person. The man who appeared on a telethon after Hurricane Katrina and uttered the seven most inflammatory words since the days of George Carlin is now a lonely, confused young man. He is known around the world, yet he feels alone. In the live bonus track that concludes the disc, he alludes to Pinocchio in his desire to be "a real boy" with a normal life.
The cynic might find it easy to dismiss such a claim as the self-serving ramblings of an egomaniac. However, the album is filled with so many similar examples of West's dilemma and so much raw emotion that open-minded listeners (and even a few critics) might find themselves feeling sympathy for West.
As we see in 808s and Heartbreak, West wants what we all do. He wants to fall in love and be loved. He wants a family to support with the lucrative fruits of his labor. Instead, he can only respond to pictures of his friends' kids (in "Welcome to Heartbreak") with news about his possessions: "He said his daughter got a brand new report card / And all I got was a brand new sports car."
Professor Arrington's GradeThis album is sure to catch many West fans by surprise. Those who were content with his older work might not find much to enjoy here. However, listeners who want to see artists mature over their careers will find 808s and Heartbreak a creative adventure.
The disc is a noble failure in some ways -- West's mediocre singing cannot be hidden on some tracks, regardless of how many synthesizers are thrown into the mix -- but a triumph in others. The emotion and vulnerability he exhibits in his lyrics could signal a new direction for the hip-hop genre, and that kind of risk deserves some reward. Kudos to Kanye for a solid B effort.
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