Kanye adds another accolade to his already extensive resume.
Out of all the classic Kanye albums including The College Dropout and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Rolling Stone have decided to label Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak as one of The 40 Most Groundbreaking Albums of All Time.
“Kanye West’s Auto-Tune-heavy, emotionally naked fourth album came after a brutal year during which his mother died and his engagement broke up, but the album’s cavernous sound and exposed-soul lyrics confused even those who had been aware of West’s recent trials. Its core aesthetic was like nothing in hip-hop: freshly butchered feelings enumerated in detail, but masked by digital processing; beds of spare synths used to balance a mix of singing and rapping. However, over time it served as a new template for up-and-comers in hip-hop and R&B. Drake cited West as his budding sound’s “most influential person” when he was hustling mixtapes, while artists like Future further tweaked the idea of using Auto-Tune as a way to convey emotions that evoke too much feeling when spoken of explicitly.”
Some other inclusions on the list were Dr. Dre’s The Cronic, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Michael Jackson’s Thriller and The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The full list can be seen here.
Stream the album in its entirety below.
