Famous (Kanye West song)
| "Famous" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kanye West | ||||
| from the album The Life of Pablo | ||||
| Released | April 1, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2014–15 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Kanye West singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Famous" on YouTube | ||||
"Famous" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, produced and co-written by fellow American hip hop artist/producer Havoc. It serves as the lead single from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016). The song features vocals from Barbadian singer Rihanna and ad-libs from American hip hop artist Swizz Beatz, and enlists samples of Jamaican singer Sister Nancy's song "Bam Bam" and "Do What You Gotta Do" by American singer Nina Simone. The single was serviced to US urban and rhythmic contemporary radio stations on March 28, 2016, and was confirmed for release three days before.[2] It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio stations on April 15 by Universal.
Upon its release, "Famous" was met with both critical acclaim and scrutiny for a controversial lyrical reference to American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, partially in relation to West's interruption of her 2009 VMA acceptance speech. After West claimed to have obtained Swift's approval over the criticized lyric, Swift denied the claim, criticizing West and denouncing the lyric as "misogynistic" in a statement. Several months later, West's wife Kim Kardashian released a three-minute video capturing parts of a conversation between Swift and West in which Swift appears to approve a portion of the lyric.[3][4] In 2020, a 25-minute uncut version of the video surfaced, establishing that West did not appear to tell Swift about the specific line ("I made that bitch famous") which she had objected to.[5][6]
In June 2016, West released a music video for "Famous" depicting wax figures of West, Swift, Kardashian, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, Anna Wintour, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Ray J, Amber Rose, Caitlyn Jenner and Bill Cosby all sleeping nude in a shared bed. It was released to a polarized response. The wax figures used in the video were later exhibited as a sculpture. The song was nominated for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.
Background and composition[]
In May 2016, Chance the Rapper shared a snippet of a demo version of the song during an interview with Zane Lowe of Beats 1 that featured a verse from him.[7] "Famous" was originally slated to be released under the title of "Nina Chop", as it was called in West's handwritten notes, and include vocals from American musician Young Thug.[8][9] In October 2016, another demo version leaked online, featuring two verses from Young Thug and him singing alongside the Nina Simone sample.[10][8] Ab-libs were also provided by Young Thug for West's vocals, with the demo revealing more explicit lyrics about Taylor Swift from West and him insulting his ex-girlfriend in American model and actress Amber Rose.[10][8] "Famous" features a segue from "braggadocious, bell-ringing hip-hop" into samples of Sister Nancy's dancehall song "Bam Bam" chopped up over the chord progression featured in Nina Simone's "Do What You Gotta Do".[11] After the initial release of The Life of Pablo, "Famous" was among the several tracks to receive alterations in West's March 2016 update of the album; changes included a different mix and slightly altered lyrics.[12] On August 6, 2020 rapper Rick Ross played a version with an unreleased verse from him in the song during his Verzuz battle with 2 Chainz.[13]
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot called the song "an example of just how brilliant and infuriating West can be at the same time", noting its controversial Swift-referencing lyric while going on to praise the production and Rihanna's guest vocals.[14] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote that the controversial lyric "feels like a piece of bathroom graffiti made to purposefully reignite the most racially-charged rivalry in 21st-century pop".[15] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis described the song's position on The Life of Pablo as being "a flatly fantastic piece of music that may be the best thing on the album".[16]
Time staff named "Famous" one of the best songs of the year 2016 and wrote of it that:
Kanye West is a genius musician and a world-class provocateur, and "Famous" is yet another piece of proof those two qualities are inextricably intertwined. He weaves The Life of Pablo's hardest-knocking beat, chords cribbed from Nina Simone, and Sister Nancy's reggae classic "Bam Bam" into a vibrant tapestry, and he uses all of that beauty to crack open his long-simmering spat with the biggest pop star on the planet. The court of public opinion won't ever reach a verdict on Taylor [Swift] v. Kanye — did she consent to being mentioned? Did she double-cross Kanye? At least we can all agree that "Famous" captures West in all of his complicated, vital glory.[17]
Accolades[]
The track was positioned at number 10 on Time's list of 2016's best songs.[17] Slant named it the second best single of 2016.[18] German magazine Juice named it the seventh best international rap song of 2016.[19]
The song received Grammy nominations for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards in 2017, but ended up losing both to "Hotline Bling" by Canadian rapper and singer Drake.[20]
Controversy[]
The song includes a controversial lyric in reference to West's interruption of Taylor Swift's 2009 VMA acceptance speech and its aftermath:
For all my South Side niggas that know me best
I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex
Why? I made that bitch famous
(Goddamn!)
I made that bitch famous.[22]
Upon the song's release, the lyric was heavily publicized and criticized by media outlets, though West defended the line, saying, "I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings."[22][23][24][25][26][27] In response, Swift's spokesperson adamantly denied that West asked for her approval for the controversial lyric,[28] with an official statement claiming that Swift had only been asked to release West's song on her Twitter page, and had instead warned him not to release a track "with such a strong misogynistic message".[22] In Swift's 2016 Grammy Awards victory speech for Album of the Year, she seemingly made a veiled reference to West's lyric, referring to "those people along the way who are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame."[29]
In a June 2016 interview with GQ, West's wife Kim Kardashian claimed the couple possessed a video recording of West's phone call with Swift, in which Swift could be heard amiably discussing and approving the lyrics.[30] She clarified that Swift's camp had threatened legal action should the video be released, and argued that "I swear, my husband gets so much shit for things [when] he really was doing proper protocol and even called to get it approved."[30] In July 2016, Kardashian posted a 3-minute recording of the phone conversation online, in which Swift can allegedly be heard approving West's lyric, describing it as a "compliment" and a show of friendship.[31][32] Due to the release of this video, Swift has been accused of lying about approving the lyric. In the edited video, Swift appears to say:
Yeah, go with whatever line makes you feel better, it's obviously very tongue-in-cheek either way. And I really appreciate you telling me about it, that's really nice [...] I don't think anyone would listen to that and be like 'that's a real diss, she must be crying.' You've gotta tell the story the way that it happened to you and the way that you experienced it. You honestly didn't know who I was before that. It doesn't matter that I sold 7 million of that album before you did that which is what happened, you didn't know who I was before that. It's fine. [...] If people ask me about it, I think it would be great for me to be like, 'Look, he called me and told me about the line.'[22]
West can be heard telling Swift, "I just had a responsibility to you as a friend, you know, and thanks for being so cool about it."[22] The recording of the call without Swift's consent was illegal and broke Californian telephone call recording law.[33] Following the video's release, Swift released a statement stating "being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination", claiming West did not tell her she would be referred to as "that bitch".[22]
On the same day as the video's release, Kardashian tweeted about National Snake Day, saying "They have holidays for everybody, I mean everything these days!