October 07, 2008

Kanye West Reveals '808s And Heartbreak' Release Date During Surprise Appearance At T.I. Concert

By Shaheem Reid (MTV.com)

"November something" now has an official number: November 25. On Friday night in Los Angeles, Kanye West announced the exact release date of his new album, 808s and Heartbreak, when he appeared as a special guest during T.I.'s MySpace concert at the Key Club.

West came out and surprised the audience, performing "Swagger Like Us" with Tip. The King of the South then turned the stage over to Kanye's command, and the Chicago native went into the first verse of "Love Lockdown."

"I just pushed my album up to November 25," he told the audience. "We just finished the album. I just got back from Hawaii earlier today."

West followed with a piece of what he's called the album's second single, "Heartless," part of which he debuted in August during the ONE Campaign concert at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

"A woman so heartless/ How could you be so heartless?" he sings in the hook. Then he raps: "There's a whole bunch of sh-- you ain't told me/ Yeah, I did some things, but that's the old me ... You got new friends. / Well, I got homies/ But in the end it's still so lonely."

On Friday morning before the show, Kanye's patience was tested in another encounter with a member of the paparazzi at LAX airport, according to a video posted on E! Online. In the video, the cameraman repeatedly asks West if he wants to apologize for his recent run-in with a pap at LAX. After mutely staring at the cameraman for a while, 'Ye finally says, "I'm gonna ask you as a man to leave me alone."