By: Leslie Monét
It’s the ten year anniversary for 808s & Heartbreak and super-producer Malik Yusef, also known as DJ Good Music the Angel, announced plans to spearhead a U.S. tour to celebrate one of the most influential albums of the new millennium. The 15-city tribute tour is slated to kick off in Los Angeles on an undisclosed date, but Yusef will dedicate this production to local artists by way of an online selection process.
“Any musicians have the ability to be a part of the tour, as the musical acts will be curated through an open application audition,“ said Yusef. “Each artist or group will perform songs from the ‘808s & Heartbreak’ album in their own style, paying tribute to Kanye West’s original tracks.”
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Yusef exposed the painful creative process in the studio with Kanye as he suffered the indescribable loss of his mother and other personal trials. “I don’t know about the other writers, but me and Kanye argue profusely. I think through 808s & Heartbreak, I probably got kicked off the label two or three times,” Yusef said, fondly, of the early recording sessions. Kanye’s iconic 4th studio album was curated in part by Tony Williams, Consequence, a newcomer at the time Kid Cudi and Esthero.
“When we sat back and we listened to it, I think we were like, ‘Either this gonna change the game or people are going to hate it.’ I think that was the bet and I think we walked out the casinos winning with this one,” Consequence stated to Rolling Stone. The final performances will be selected by fans in each city through an online voting process. Sponsored and hosted by Malik Yusef, the tour will act as a large-scale homage to the album and provide an exclusive opportunity for unknown artists to put on for their hometowns. Check out the full list of tour cities to be on the lookout for:
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
New York, NY
Nashville, TN
New Orleans, LA
Atlanta, GA
Houston, TX
Dallas, TX
Washington, DC
Austin, TX
Las Vegas, NV
Miami, FL
Boston, MA
Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco, CA
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