Life After Graduation

Life After Graduation

Kanye West is back in the industry spotlight a little more than a year after he released his critically praised album, Graduation. On November 25^th, his new album, 808s and Heartbreaks, is being released nationwide. Finishing his saga of ‘college-based’ albums, West is ready to grow up and focus on different aspects of his soul. However, West probably was not expecting to grow up so quickly. Within the past year, West broke up with his long-term girlfriend, been arrested for assault, and, most tragically, lost his mother. Judging by the handful of track leaks within the past few weeks, West has clearly been affected.

Kanye’s first single, Love Lockdown, has set the tone for what appears to be more serious times for the artist. Probably being influenced by the end of his relationship, Kanye puts his heart on his sleeve for the first time in a single. Personal lyrics such as, “I know I said ‘I'm through’, but I've got love for you/But I'm not loving you the way I wanted to,” and “I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong/And that haunted me all the way home” show that Kanye West is in an extremely vulnerable position with his love, and he cannot control the inevitable. However, he tries to hide this fact by hiding his voice behind an auto-tuner and blaring taiko drums during the chorus. Still, it is apparent that Kanye became a changed man during this time of distress.

The rest of the recent song leaks prove that Kanye West has been hurt in more ways than one could imagine. In his supposed second single, Heartless, West is going in-depth into what could have gone wrong in his relationship. Declaring that she could be so ‘Dr. Evil’ and that they will remain enemies from this day forward, he also proves that he is livid about how he and his lover ended up in the long run. A similar statement is shown in Gold-Digger-esque Robocop, where he compares her to ‘the girl in Misery’ and turning his life ‘to Stephen King’s’.

Finally, the saddest song out of the bunch would be Coldest Winter. Having a close relationship with his mother up until her death, this is clearly the biggest heartbreak out of everything that he has been through within the past year. West has lost a huge influence on his life, and he doesn’t know how to cope without her. Stating how “Its 4 AM and I can’t sleep/Her love is all that I see”, the death is haunting him more than anything else. He has lost a part of him, and he is not sure when he’ll get out of this depression mainly brought about by her death.

Although all of the current leaks show a depressing time for the artist, Kanye West is expected to not disappoint. Kanye will continue to innovate and blow fans’ minds with his lyrical masterpieces. Although, if one should not exponentially appreciate Kanye’s vulnerability and distress, he has already promised to release another album in 2009.