The (Friday Night) Sissy Fight

From what I've heard so far of Kanye West's highly anticipated (and highly leaked) 808's and Heartbreak I must admit I'm a little underwhelmed. Initially when he premiered "Love LockDown" on his blog, I had interpreted the simplicity of its verses as a work-in-progress, and the overuse of Autotune on Kanye's voice as an experiment that wouldn't last. Turns out the new Autotuned Kanye is here to stay, at least for this album. While "Love LockDown" is one of those songs that grows on you with each listen (especially after Kanye admitted that the song needed work and promptly rerecorded it, with modified vocals and Japanese Taiko drums), it still feels like such a strange departure from his previous release, Graduation.
Also, it appears that 808s is largely rap-free; at least from Kanye. He does, however, enlist the help of Young Jeezy and Lil' Wayne for two tracks, "Amazing" and "See You In My Nightmares" which depending on who you speak to, sound like a slightly better and a slightly worse version of "Love LockDown". Even the latest leak, the equally Autotuned, yet more complex "Heartless" has been repeatedly compared to "LockDown", which kinda leaves me wondering, is that all there is?
Consider the progression from the critically-acclaimed debut College Dropout to the more confrontational Late Registration (my personal favorite) and his latest, Graduation, where Kanye attoned for his shortcomings as an MC and a lyricist with his sparkling production. It only seems natural that 808s would emerge as a logical next step. However, I've become increasingly concerned that Kanye's well-documented (over)confidence (he was recently quoted as saying he is the "voice of this generation") may lead to his own artistic demise, that he may see himself as shock-proof. While the commerical success of 808s is inevitable, I'm curious to see what will become of his next album, which West has already confirmed the release of in July. Will he return to rapping or finally lay to rest the Kanye of old in favor of a hybrid electro hip-hop?

An artist's progression is essential to relevance, because no one wants to hear the same album over and over, but there is a need to remain true to the beginning. A band who's championed this theory is Radiohead, who've made a steady evolution (most notably from OK Computer to Kid A to Amnesiac to Hail to the Thief, etc.) with dedication to the instrumentation found in Pablo Honey and The Bends while consistantly delivering welcome twists in their stories, synthesizers, abstract sounds etc.. I know Kanye West is capable of overcoming his musical cabin fever but in a flailing music industry, he may have any choice but to continue his wild departures as a way of staying afloat.

Ashley D. MaGee