Like I said, 808's is definitely a pop sounding album. There's no question about that. Lyrically, I think you would find it hard to compare that album to any modern "pop" music. Sonically, it's pop. Thematically, it's considerably different from anything happening in rap and popular music at the time of it's release. Like I said, Kanye could have put out another album that was very similar to Graduation or Late Registration and it would have been widely successful both commercially and critically. So I guess it does depend on your definition of pop, but anything that so obviously goes against the current trends of the time is definitely not what I would consider traditional pop music.
As for Yeezus, the whole point of that album was to defy (similarly to 808s) what the public expected and wanted from Kanye. As the sample goes from "On Sight": "He'll give us what we need, it may not be what we want." Just because an album isn't what the general public wanted, does't make it any less great. Critical acclaim is more important than popular opinion. Not to say that we should only listen to what critics say is good, but if you have to choose between following the advice of the public or the critics, it seems clear to me that critics are a more valuable, informed resource than what the charts tell us. Developing your own taste of music is essential, but doing so doesn't require that you tune out what others say about the album completely. You seem to be judging that people "don't like Yeezus" off of the opinions of your friends. That's fine, but, on the flip-side, my friends all really like the album so that's not exactly a fair measure of public opinion. Those "over-simplified beats" you were talking about are a huge step forward for Kanye. Coming off of the blatant maximalism of MBDTF, the minimalism of Yeezus is a nice progression for Kanye. Some artists, such as bands like Beach House, don't need to change their sound significantly every album. They can thrive off of simply honing their specific sound. Kanye can't really do that. Can you imagine how boring his career would be if every album sounded like College Dropout or Graduation? Kanye needed to change and he did.
As for his "biting Death Grips," if you had actually listened to Death Grips three albums you would understand that they really have hardly any similarities besides making dark-toned electronic-based music.
