The writing process involved a number of people such as T-Pain and also Kid Cudi, the latter having 4 writing credits on the album. 808’s & Heartbreak’s simple beats were created with the TR-808, a computer-controlled rhythm machine from the 1980s. Different from his prior albums, which cemented his talents for chopping down soul samples, Kanye stated he wanted to make an album that stands on its own. His 4th studio album which was released on November 2008, has Kanye singing on most of the songs, heavily using autotune. These losses would inspire the raw emotion, which served as a turning point in West’s life and his musical career. The months leading up to the release of the album had Kanye experience the dissolution of a six-year relationship with his then-fiancee Alexis Phifer and the tragic death of his mother, Donda West, following cosmetic surgery. Like losing an arm and a leg and having to find a way to walk through it. At a 2008 press conference to promote his then-new album 808’s & Heartbreak, Kanye West described the inspiration for the album as suffering a multitude of losses at the same time.

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