Kanye West -- 808's & Heartbreak

Rating: 4/5 stars

Pros: The eclectic mash-up of T-Pain and Phil Collins works.

Cons: When does the auto-tune backlash begin?

Bottom Line: Kanye's creative gamble pays off in a big way.

Recommended Tracks:

Love Lockdown

So Amazing


After defeating 50 Cent during last-year's same-day album
"showdown", Kanye West was at the top of his game. Graduation
pulled off a delicate balancing act -- on critic's top 10 lists while
producing top 10 hits.

But after a tumultuous year personally, his latest album 808's
& Heartbreaks differs drastically from his previous work. While
Graduation and Later Registration re-used songs and concepts
from his days as an underground rapper, 808's was completed
within the span of a few weeks. It's the rare album from a rapper
released sooner than expected, perhaps because Kanye isn't
rapping anymore.

For someone who rapped before he produced, his Andre
3000-like turn towards musical experimentation is surprising.
As is his decision to make a break-up album that sounds like a
mash-up of Phil Collins and T-Pain. Most surprising of all, he
manages to pull it off.

Lately Auto-Tune, the computerized synthesization of vocal
melodies, has become inescapable. So if you've become weary
of it, be forewarned. 808's is an Auto-Tune overload, with the
vast majority of Kanye's lyrics sung through it. It's a good decision
-- Andre 3000 can carry a tune while Kanye largely can't.

The album beautifully merges the main song archetypes of modern R&B -- the up-tempo club songs and the melodramatic personal ones. He varies the instrumentals, moving seamlessly from the violin ("RoboCop") to the piano ("Welcome to Heartbreak"). Instantly catchy melodies abound; singles "Love Lockdown" and "Heartless" have several different refrains.

The one lesson he learned from his previous work is brevity; 808's clocks in at only 11 songs. It's aiming to be larger-than-life, with music meant to be blared from stadium speakers. As Kanye noted in an interview, he spends the majority of his time touring the world in stadiums and auditoriums.

He's become one of the rare rap stars -- like Eminem, Jay-Z and Snoop -- so successful they're bigger than rap. 808's is a reaction to the absurdity of pop stardom: "Chased the "Good Life" my whole life long / Looked back on my life and my life gone." It echoes many of the same themes of Britney Spears prescient hit "Lucky", where she bemoans how unsatisfying fame is and how it overwhelmed her previous identity.

His lyrical meltdown was triggered by personal tragedy -- the untimely death of his mother and a broken engagement. The result is a string of break-up songs that wouldn't be out-of-place on an emo album, as Kanye swings from triumph ("I'm not loving you the way I wanted too / Where I'm going I don't need you") to heartbreak ("lost his soul to a women so heartless").

Such vulnerability is unusual in the macho world of rap, where the perils of fame and heartbreak are often ignored. The genre’s roots in the lower class make it harder for rappers to complain about their success. And while Kanye’s raps on a bonus track don’t vary lyrically from the rest of the album; they come across as more petulant and self-absorbed.

Where he goes musically after 808’s is unclear, but the album ensures the spotlight won’t be leaving him anytime soon.

Gnarls Barkley -- The Odd Couple

Rating: 2/5 stars

Pros: Cee-lo's emotion-rich and genre-bending voice.

Cons: Sounds like the b-side of their great debut St. Elsewhere.

Bottom Line: Might be time for two music industry vagabonds to disband this odd couple.

Recommended Tracks:

Who's Gonna Save My Soul

Blind Mary


The odd couple, from "Grumpy Old Men" to "Lethal Weapon," is as old as show business. Two mismatched characters are forced together, personalities clash and wackiness ensues. Before "Rush Hour," Jackie Chan had been a Hong Kong martial-arts legend for 20 years without crossing over, while Chris Tucker was known more as a comedian than an actor. But together, the wise-cracking, fast-talking black guy and no-nonsense Asian martial arts expert grossed more than $100 million.

Gnarls Barkley had similarly humble beginnings. The core of their debut album St. Elsewhere was recorded when Southern rap veteran Cee-Lo met underground Gorillaz producer Danger Mouse on tour. Both men had long existed on the mainstream fringe, and they poured their frustrations into their new side project.

From the odd name to the wacky costumes, the group was supposed to be a lark. That was, until "Crazy" happened. Cee-Lo's plaintive wailing blended perfectly with the darkly hypnotic neo-soul/R&B beat, and "Crazy" became one 2006's biggest songs.

St. Elsewhere sounded like nothing else on the charts, and both artists earned some long-deserved commercial success. Of course, a sequel was inevitable. But The Odd Couple is more "Rush Hour II" than "Empire Strikes Back."

Everything about the original is back, from Cee-Lo's dark lyrics ("I know I'm out of control now / Tired enough to lay my own soul down") to the fast-paced "Crazy" remake ("Run"). While his soulful anguish felt genuine the first time around, it just seems forced now. The Odd Couple plays like a b-side of St. Elsewhere — a collection of tracks that couldn't make the cut the first time. Creatively, it's an album that didn't need to be made.

Both men are immensely talented solo artists, but if they're not careful, they're going to be marginalized as parts of a one-trick pony. Chris Tucker made $20 million for each "Rush Hour" movie, but they're all he's done in the last decade.

Snoop Dogg -- Ego Trippin

Rating: 4/5 stars

Pros: Snoop and production team dabble successfully in wide range of genres.

Cons: Bloated tracklist could be shortened significantly.

Bottom Line: Snoop displays star-power and charisma that made him a star.

Recommended Tracks:

Sensual Seduction

Can't Say Goodbye

In the opening scene of the "Sensual Seduction" video, Snoop wails on talk box under flashing disco lights while shimmying in flamboyant 70's-era outfit. It's a classic Snoop moment -- ridiculous yet still captivating. He called it a mix of Prince, Roger Troutman, Rick James and Michael Jackson. Add some rapping and you have a good description of his new album Ego Trippin.

And while his trademark laid-back rapping is still sharp, Snoop is more entertainer than rapper these days. Freely admitting to no longer writing his own lyrics, he's a rapper whose transcended rap. Ego Trippin is a fearless album that finds Snoop signing over a remake of the 80's hit "Cool" and dedicating "My Medicine", a country song about a dope fiend, to his "main man Johnny Cash".

He has reason to celebrate, as he explains on the darkly nostalgic "Never Have to Worry": "15 years in the game and I'm still relevant, it's a blessing." There's been enough drama for 5 careers -- from debuting on Death Row, the 'most dangerous label in rap' through a widely publicized murder trial, a stint with Master P and a long-running feud with Suge Knight.

His care-free attitude extends to the genre-bending production, masterminded by 80's maestro Teddy Riley. It blurs the line between rap, soul, g-funk and 80's pop, while still leaving room for gems like the Irish-melody "Why Did You Leave Me" and the gospel-tinged "Can't Say Goodbye".

At over 80 minutes long with 20 skit-free songs, Ego Trippin could have tightened significantly. It's a credit to Snoop's mic presence and the album's cohesiveness that you don't really mind.