It is extremely rare these days for artists of any genre to perform the entire track listing from any given album amongst their discography. Concerts are methodically planned, and set lists tend to cater towards the mainstream fans. Kanye West has done away with the norm (surprise, surprise) and announced a special concert for September 25th at the Los Angeles venue the Hollywood Bowl, in which he will perform 808’s and Heartbreaks in its entirety.
The album is one of West’s most polarising projects, with many fans lauding the synth and autotune that engulfs each and every track, while there is a solid group who did not appreciate the direction shift from Kanye’s previous albums. It’s an interesting choice for a full album play through, but we are used to Mr West doing what he wants, and never sticking to the status quo, particularly when it comes to concerts.
808’s is full of hidden Kanye gems, and any fan that gets to see the likes of Robocop, Street Lights and Say you will should consider themselves very lucky. We can only hope that this is not just a one off, and that Kanye, and other rappers for that matter, choose to indulge fans in full album play throughs. It’s often the knowledge and appreciation of the hidden gems that really establishes your support of an artist.
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