Kanye West’s “Love Lockdown”

“Love Lockdown” is the latest stylistic shift from Kanye West. It’s a predictable move similar to West’s prior co-opt of French electro-house (“Stronger,” ironically just months after his beef with Justice) and Portishead-style downtempo (“Diamonds from Sierra Leone”). This one builds on the craze for autotunin’ and the-Dream’s syllabic riffs. It follows West’s guest shot on Jeezy’s “Put On,” where he tries to replicate T-Pain’s vocoder magic with surprisingly powerful results.

Much like his mentor Jay-Z, West is widely misunderstood as an innovator when, in fact, he’s a stylist who builds other people’s innovations into his own style. The fact that people tend to copy his interpretations rather than the original is a testament to his power as an artist. And yeah, it’s a cliche that all great rap artists want to be singers, so of course West is singing on this one. But the most remarkable thing about “Love Lockdown” is that, for all its derivatives, it works. West has an uncanny ability to locate the emotional center of a song and enhance it. In that sense, he exemplifies the best of hip hop — making something new out of something borrowed — and its inherent pop crossover potential.

I’m not sure who the director is, but the video is incredibly evocative, turning West’s pain from the breakup with longtime girlfriend Alexis Rainey into a colorful modern-primitive drama.

“Love Lockdown” is the first single from 808’s and Heartbreak, which drops November 25 on Def Jam.