Famous (Kanye West song)

"Famous"
Single by Kanye West
from the album The Life of Pablo
Released April 1, 2016 (2016-04-01)
Format Streaming
Recorded 2015
Genre
Length 3:14
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Kanye West singles chronology
"One Man Can Change the World"
(2015)		 "Famous"
(2016)		 "Pop Style"
(2016)

"Famous" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West. It serves as the first single from his seventh studio album The Life of Pablo (2016). The song features an uncredited chorus from singer Rihanna and ad-libs from fellow hip hop artist Swizz Beatz. The single was formally added to US Urban and Rhythmic radio stations on April 1, 2016.[1][2]

Composition

"Famous" contains samples of "Do What You Gotta Do", written by Jimmy Webb and performed by Nina Simone; samples of "Bam Bam", written by Winston Riley and performed by Sister Nancy and contains samples of "Mi Sono Svegliato E... Ho Chiuso Gli Occhi", written by Luis Bacalov, Sergio Bardotti, Giampiero Scalamogna, and Enzo Vita, and performed by Il Rovescio della Medaglia.

The song includes a lyric in reference to singer Taylor Swift and concerning the aftermath of West's interruption during her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards: "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous/Goddamn, I made that bitch famous." The lyric was heavily publicized and criticized by media outlets.[3][4][5][6][7]

For the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot called the song "an example of just how brilliant and infuriating West can be at the same time," going on to praise the production and Rihanna's guest vocals. The song 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."

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[8] 31
Denmark (Tracklisten)[9] 21
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 93
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 28
Italy (FIMI)[12] 59
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 55
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 28
Norway (VG-lista)[15] 17
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 23
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 45
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[18] 33
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 34
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 13

References

  1. ↑ "Kanye West & Rihanna's "Famous" Will Be the First Single Off 'The Life of Pablo'". Idolater. March 27, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Kanye Releases 'Famous' Ft. Rihanna As 1st Single From 'The Life of Pablo'". HipHop-N-More. March 27, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  3. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (2016-02-12). "Kanye West Defends Controversial Taylor Swift 'Famous' Lyric". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  4. ↑ Evan Minsker (2016-02-11). "Kanye on Taylor Swift Controversy: "It’s Actually Something Taylor Came Up With"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  5. ↑ Renner, Eric (2016-04-11). "Kanye West addresses Taylor Swift controversy". EW.com. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  6. ↑ Chris Payne. "Kanye West Defends Controversial Taylor Swift Lyric in Twitter Spree". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  7. ↑ Mark Molloy (2016-02-12). "Kanye West defends controversial lyrics about Taylor Swift in Twitter rant". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  8. ↑ "Kanye West – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Kanye West. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Danmarks officielle hitlister". Hitlisten.NU. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  10. ↑ "Kanye West Feat. Rihanna: Famous" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 15, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Top Digital - Classifica settimanale WK 15 (dal 2016-04-08 al 2016-04-14)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Swizz Beatz – Famous" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  14. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  15. ↑ "VG-lista - Topp 20 Single uke 14, 2016". Lista.vg.no. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  16. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan.se. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  17. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Kanye West feat. Rihanna & Swizz Beatz – Famous". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2016-04-14" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Kanye West – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Kanye West. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Kanye West – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Kanye West. Retrieved April 12, 2016.

External links

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