808's & Heartbreak
| 808s & Heartbreak | ||||
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| Studio album by Kanye West | ||||
| Released | November 24, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | September – October 2008 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 51:58 | |||
| Label | ||||
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| Kanye West chronology | ||||
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| Singles from 808s & Heartbreak | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10 |
| Metacritic | 75/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The A.V. Club | B |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| MSN Music | A− |
| Pitchfork | 7.6/10 |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| The Times | |
| USA Today | |
808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop producer and vocalist Kanye West. It was released on November 24, 2008, by Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album during September and October 2008 at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the help of producers No I.D., Jeff Bhasker and others.
Conceived in the wake of a series of distressing personal events, 808s & Heartbreak marked a major musical departure for West from his previous rap records, instead featuring a sparse, electronic sound and West singing through an Auto-Tune vocal processor. His lyrics explored themes of loss, alienated fame, and heartache, while the album's production abandoned conventional hip hop sounds in favor of a minimalist sonic palette, which included prominent use of the titular Roland TR-808 drum machine.
808s & Heartbreak debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 450,145 copies in its first week. Despite varying responses from listeners, the album received positive reviews from most critics and was named one of 2008's best records in several year-end lists. Four singles were released to promote the record, including the hit singles "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless".
808s & Heartbreak has since been cited as a prominent influence on subsequent hip hop, pop, and R&B music, as a new wave of rappers, singers, and producers came to adopt aspects of its style and thematic content. By 2013, it had sold 1.7 million copies in the United States.
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