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Originally Posted by louder
Starting to think Kanye might've been influenced by Kraftwerk on MBDTF (and perhaps other albums too).. "Hell of a Life", as well as his red and black outfits during that era..
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I think you're 100% right. I think the Kraftwerk influence started around '07, when he was famously embracing synths and electronic sounds for the first time. I think it continued in earnest through Yeezus at least.
You don't even need to make the connection to post punk or synth pop (via 808's) to see the Kraftwerk influence. Kanye sampled Can, who were in many ways peers of Kraftwerk even though they had entirely different approaches. He also sampled Daft Punk, of course, and Daft Punk has sucked from the Computer Love teat more than just about anyone. There's also the Aphex Twin connection.
But seriously, you're right. Anyone who's familiar with Kraftwerk and Kanye should be able to see an influence there. "Hell of a Life" is a good example, but also "Paranoid," "Guilt Trip," "On Sight," lots of WTT stuff... it all contains shades of Kraftwerk's twisted digital arpeggios and alien vocals.