West has decreed that all beats on 808S be derived from the Roland TR-808 for a more "tribal feel," and he distorts his voice at will, producing a surreal sound, one bordering on a robot having a mental breakdown. On this adventurous album, West is King Lear's Edgar, a sharp-minded philosopher lost in the forest of despair, unsure how to react, how to perceive reality. That's not to say that he's simply wallowing, even on the most despondent "Welcome to Heartbreak," a tribute to his mother. While 808S is an album that may be challenging at times, it's also often hypnotic and unquestionably catchy--basically, everything one might want from a Kanye West album.