Kanye West hosts 808s & Heartbreak listening party

By now you've probably heard about Kanye West's bizarro listening party this week for his upcoming LP 808s & Heartbreaks . More than 700 guests showed up for the L.A. exhibition curated by artist Vanessa Beecroft, not to mention the 40 nude women in faux-lambswool masks that lined the walls.

If 2007's Graduation was a tender flirtation with computerized sound, 808s & Heartbreaks is the kind of stuff that takes place between consenting adults behind closed doors. The album is, according to reports from the party, one long paean to Euro-tinged electronica and lost love.

Bad news for the hip-hop establishment: as rumored, 808s & Heartbreak is devoid of rapping and sung almost entirely with the autotune contraption that's all the rage these days. Young Jeezy holds it down with the only bit of spoken word, though West does manage to sneak in a duet with hip-hopper du jour Lil Wayne.

“These are pieces of real life that I’m putting out for people to judge,” West thundered. “It’s from my heart. I don’t give a fuck if someone rates it ‘hot’ or ‘not.’ I’m here to bring positivity that cannot be judged. It’s like judging a grandmother’s love, and someone says, ‘Your grandmother gets two and a half mics.’ Or, ‘You grandmother didn’t sell a million the first week.’”

After ending the party with a soliloquy about artistic freedom, autotune and how album closer "Coldest Winter" is dedicated to his recently-departed mother, Yeezy promised a straight up hip-hop album by next June, possibly the much-rumored Good Ass Job.

Is 808s & Heartbreak just a cynical crossover play for the accolades that Kanye is so gung-ho for? Or could it be that Mr. West Mr. West by-himself-he-so-impressed has stretched the boundaries of his art past Absolut Vodka and farm equipment to parts unknown? Take some time to digest his new single "Heartless" and decide for yourself:



This much is certain: anything that can unite Kanye and Ellen DeGeneres is awesome in our books. 808s & Hearbreaks drops Nov. 25 on Roc-A-Fella.

Related links:
Cover Story: Kanye West - Pomp and Circumstance
KanyeUniversecity.com
YouTube: Kanye West "Can't Tell Me Nothing" feat. Zach Galifianakis

Got a news tip for Paste? E-mail news@pastemagazine.com.