Like a prophecy foretold in a dream, a new Kanye West album appeared on several online retailers yesterday, despite the lack of any formal announcement. According to listings on Amazon.com and Target.com, West will release an album called 808's & Heartbreak on December 16.
Although a 2008 album has been heavily rumoured, West has still not released any official information about the record, not even an album title or release date. The Amazon and Target listings are either an inadvertent scoop - or just a database error.
West did debut a new song, Love Lockdown, at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards. That single was again performed on Tuesday night at a showcase for his label, G.O.O.D. Music.
While 808's & Heartbreak seems like a believable album title, Amazon's listing becomes more dubious when we consider the release's purported label, Pendulum Records. This boutique gospel label isn't exactly the powerhouse major that Kanye West is signed to.
Then again, SOHH reported yesterday that West's new album isn't even finished – making a December release impossible. "[Kanye] is a perfectionist," an anonymous source told the magazine. "He expects nothing but the best and right now he doesn't have enough material for a full-length album."
Though the 808's & Heartbreak story may yet end in heartbreak, West is working to bring smiles and neon sunglasses to stages across the globe with his international tour beginning on October 22. He is also working on another will-it-or-won't-it 2008 hip-hop release – Jay-Z's forthcoming Blueprint III.
