They do not have the telltale sound drums to tell them how West’s feels. However in “Robocop” and “Paranoid,” the vocals express the same feelings of distrust and waning love as the songs around them, but the upbeat production of West, Jeff Bhasker, and Plain Pat creates the illusion that everything is fine West is putting on a happy face that the listener can easily be betrayed by if they don’t listen closely to the lyrics. He delivers each line truthfully and wholeheartedly, as the songs’ percussion backs him up. Up until this point, where the listener is about 6 songs into the album, West’s authenticity is not questioned. These songs, unlike previous tracks by West, have the feeling of artificiality. The drums in these songs are less pronounced and tend to be overshadowed by the flowery additional instrumentation of both songs. Songs like “Robocop” and “Paranoid,” on the other hand, work to explain a separate side of not letting emotions show through in excess. The drums and beeping resume after a few seconds, representing a kind of revival of West’s life or his unwillingness to allow his emotions to get the best of him. The beeping sound in “Say You Will” can be likened to a heart rate monitor used in emergency rooms when the beeping stops - in time with a break in the drum sequence - the background vocals change from a major key to a minor key, creating a somber tone reminiscent of funeral music. At points in both, the drum sequences overpower West’s vocals, allowing the heaviness of the drums to speak to the heaviness in his heart more than his vocals could.
The drums in these two songs last between one and three minutes longer than West’s vocals, suggesting that, in looking at the drums as an embodiment of West’s heart, he’s showing more vulnerability and more of himself in these tracks. However it is in this simplicity that West becomes his most vulnerable on the album. West’s lyrics of “don’t say you will unless you will” and finding the finish line in a “ time” are delivered with not much more than a selection of drums, piano/keyboard arrangements, and a string section.
808S AND HEARTBREAK SWEATER FULL
The instrumentation of these songs is not as full as on songs like “Touch the Sky” or as up-tempo as on songs like “The Glory,” on albums prior. Most of which is shown in songs like “Love Lockdown” and “Say You Will.” In these songs, West appears in one of his most unadorned forms. On lonely nights, I start to fade Her love’s a thousand miles away However, it is not just his lyrics that propel the album’s emotional drive, it is in the way the vocals, paired with the varying prominence of drums - embodying West’s own heartbeat - and other instrumentation, work to create the emotional impact of the entire project. Coming at a time of great emotional drain, with the loss of his mother and the ending of his engagement to his longtime girlfriend, West uses the album as a form of musical therapy, providing his audience with a glimpse into his emotional state in the 12 songs that make up the album. Artists like Frank Ocean and Prince regularly use their songs to communicate various “ condition of the heart ” in 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West provides a similar expression of emotions. It is not uncommon for musicians to use their art as an avenue to express emotions.