Kanye West《808s & Heartbreak》專輯入選《Rolling Stone》40 大開創性唱片榜單

近日，著名音樂媒體《Rolling Stone》評選出了歷史上 40 大最具開創意義的唱片榜單， Kanye West 個人第四張錄音棚專輯 《808s & Heartbreak》也出現其中。大量 Auto-Tune 音效處理技術和 Roland TR – 808 電子鍵盤的運用使這張專輯打破了以往 Hip-Hip 音樂一貫的製作手法，所呈現音效甚至讓業界很難把它劃分在 Hip－Hop 目錄下。而母親的逝世、與未婚妻 Alexis Phifer 長達 6 年戀愛關係的結束也讓 Kanye West 把專輯所表達主題定格為孤寂、迷失。Mr West 在解釋自己為何用這樣一種打破常規 Hip-Hop 的音樂形式來抒發自己情感時這樣說到：「當時的情感是很難僅僅用說唱的形式就能完全表達出來的，在我的腦中充斥著無數的旋律，我很難控制它們。」儘管 《808s & Heartbreak》發布之時飽受爭議，但其風格之後卻成為一種音樂模板被許多新晉 Hip-Hop 歌手採用，入選《Rolling Stone》40 大開創性唱片榜單也可謂名副其實。以下文字則是《Rolling Stone》對於《808s & Heartbreak》入選理由的闡述，感興趣的朋友可以點擊此處查看完整榜單。

“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.”