In 2004, before most of us reached the first grade, Kanye West debuted “The College Dropout.” This was his first big release and would come to be the dawn of one of our generation’s most influential artists. Kanye is still making music today, as he just released “The Life of Pablo.” Everyone seems to be thinking about Mr. West once again, but many people aren’t noticing his immense stylistic changes over the years.
Kanye West quickly gained notoriety for his use of vocal samples woven into all of his songs. Many would say the human voice was his primary “instrument”. This was until 2008 when Mr. West came out with “808s & Heartbreak,” an album that shifted his distinct style to a side of hip-hop based on electronic sounding samples. This is where Kanye truly introduced autotune into his music, and since then, it has been found regularly in his songs.
These changes are undeniably extensive. Since then, the style of Kanye West is noticeably less clear cut and is now arguably a modern art form. His songs include random, out of place samples, as well as some songs that don’t even have an apparent structure. Whether or not these changes are for the good is really up to the individual, but the fact that Kanye is doing things his way now should be self-evident. “The Life of Pablo” includes songs like “Father Stretch My Hands,” and “FML,” which really show how Kanye West has become less of a rapper, and has evolved more into a producer.