Through the Wire

"Through the Wire"
Single by Kanye West
from the album The College Dropout
B-side "Two Words"
Released September 30, 2003
Format 12" maxi single, CD single
Recorded November 2002
The Record Plant
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Hip hop
Length
  • 3:41 (album version)
  • 4:34 (single version)
Label Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Writer(s) Kanye West,[1] David Foster, Tom Keane, Cynthia Weil
Producer(s) Kanye West
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Kanye West singles chronology
"Through the Wire"
(2003)		 "Slow Jamz"
(2003)

"Through the Wire" is the debut single from American hip-hop artist Kanye West.

West wrote and recorded the song with his jaw wired shut after a car accident in October 2002. The song samples Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire" and was released on the last day of September 2003 as the lead single from his debut studio album, The College Dropout (2004).

"Through the Wire" peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and received positive reviews from music critics. The song was nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, but lost to Jay-Z's "99 Problems". The music video was financed by West, who was inspired by an Adidas advertisement. It won Video of the Year at the 2004 Source Hip Hop Awards.

Conception

On October 23, 2002, West was in a California recording studio producing music for Beanie Sigel, Peedi Crakk, and The Black Eyed Peas. After leaving the studio at around 3 a.m. in his rented Lexus, he had a near-fatal accident when he was cut off by a car, ran head-on into traffic, and collided with another car near the W Hotel.[2][3][4] He was taken to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, mentioned in the song as "the same hospital where Biggie Smalls died," and had his jaw wired to his face in reconstructive surgery. Two weeks after being admitted to hospital, he recorded the song at the Record Plant Studios with his jaw still wired shut.[5][6] The song's title refers to the wires used to hold his broken jaw together.[7] When asked about how the incident changed his music, West stated:

Well, the only thing this accident's is saying is, "I am about to hand you the world, just know at any given time I can take it away from you." To nearly lose your life, to nearly lose your mouth, your voice, your whole face, as a rapper...and I had to be on TV! My face looks crazy to me now... But I have to just thank God for the situation that I am in... "Through The Wire" is the worst thing that could've possibly happen to me, and now it's obviously the best thing. Look how it exploded![8]

The track circulated on West's mixtape Get Well Soon... before being officially released in re-recorded form in late 2003.[9] Although he initially had trouble convincing Roc-A-Fella Records executives to let him make his own album as a rapper, he was able to change their minds after the song's release.[10]

Music and reception

Kanye West at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

"Through the Wire" was inspired by the 2002 car accident and West has provided a comedic account of his difficult recovery.[7] The chorus and instrumentals samples a "pitched up" version of Chaka Khan's 1985 single "Through the Fire".[11] West did not receive writing credit for the song, which instead went to David Foster, Tom Keane, and Cynthia Weil, who wrote "Through the Fire".[12] West's rapping is described as "a Snoop-meets-Hova flow, twisting up his words with the patented 'izz' inflection."[13] PopMatters called it "as riveting and moving as everyone says it is" and it "may be the album's most startling personal horror story (though it's also a song of hope and gratitude)".[14] Allmusic's Andy Kellman said it was "a daring way to introduce himself to the masses as an MC" and it "couldn't have forged his dual status as underdog and champion any better." Kellman described the content as "heartbreaking and hysterical" and that despite his "inevitable slur, his words ring loud and clear".[11]

The New York Times' Kelefa Sanneh described him as "a wounded hero beating the odds" and it "gave him a chance to prove that he was the exception to the rule that producers can't rap."[15] Stylus Magazine called it "a poignant, pop-culture-packed account of Kanye’s near-fatal run-in with Chaka Khan".[16] By rapping with his jaw sewed up, The Source noted that West used "the element of surprise to his advantage".[17] HipHopDX listed the track as one of "the classics that created" the album's hype,[18] and Pitchfork Media stated it was "chock-full-of-clever".[19] Vibe magazine wrote that "West's sideways approach to music making stands out" on the track and the "raw, teeth-clenching narrative falls in line with his gutwrenching soul beats."[20] At the 2005 Grammy Awards, the track was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance, which was won by Jay-Z's "99 Problems".[21]

Chart performance

"Through the Wire" debuted at number ninety-four on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number fifteen for five weeks. It remained on the chart for twenty-one weeks.[22] It performed better on the urban contemporary charts, reaching number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and number four on the Hot Rap Tracks.[23] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number nine on the UK Singles Chart where it peaked for two weeks and exited the chart after nine weeks. The track charted lower in other European countries, where it reached the top thirty in Ireland, Sweden, and the Netherlands, the top fifty in Belgium and Switzerland, and number sixty-one in Germany. Its maximum peak time in those countries lasted one week. The single entered the New Zealand Singles Chart at number twenty-four and peaked at number sixteen.[22]

Music video

The music video was directed by Coodie and Chike and it premiered in November 2003.[24] Kanye West, who financed the video, conceived ideas for the clip after seeing an Adidas advertisement in BlackBook magazine. He stated, "I don't like gettin' ideas from direct shit ... I like to pull ideas from all the way over here. Sometimes my vision can't be explained in words, 'cause I couldn't have even told you in words how I envisioned that video ending up."[25][26] Chike recalled the making of the clip, saying, "one day Coodie calls me out the blue about a concept he and Kanye had for a video revolving around Polaroid snapshots. I was leaving work at 7 PM only to come back at 10 PM, work all night then go home at 7 AM".[27] Coodie stated that "If we would have wrote a treatment" for the video, "they would have shot that down. They had to see it to understand. Otherwise they'd have said, 'No, Kanye should be rapping at a party, with lots of girls poolside'".[27] It was awarded the Video of the Year at the 2004 Source Hip Hop Awards.[28]

Track listing

CD single[29]

  1. "Through the Wire"
  2. "Through the Wire" (instrumental)
  3. "Two Words" (main)
  4. "Two Words" (clean)
  5. "Two Words" (instrumental)

UK CD single[30]

  1. "Through the Wire" (radio edit)
  2. "Two Words" (radio edit)
  3. "Through the Wire" (instrumental)
  4. "Through the Wire" (multimedia track)

Personnel

Information adapted from The College Dropout liner notes.[5]

Charts

Chart (2004)[22][23][31][32] Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart 81
Belgian Singles Chart 48
Dutch Top 40 23
Danish Singles Chart 11
European Hot 100 Singles[33] 39
German Singles Chart 61
Irish Singles Chart 24
New Zealand Singles Chart 16
Scottish Singles Chart[34] 18
Swedish Singles Chart 27
Swiss Singles Chart 48
UK Singles Chart 9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 15
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 8
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Tracks 4
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs 32

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000*

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 While he produced the backing track and wrote the rap for "Through the Wire", West did not receive writing credit for the song, which instead went to the composers of the sampled song "Through the Fire".
  2. ↑ Rosario, Boo (March 2003). "Story to Tell". The Source magazine, p. 60.
  3. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (October 23, 2002). "Kanye West Injured in L.A. Accident". MTV. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  4. ↑ Jones, Steve (August 21, 2005). "Kanye West, hip-hop's writer-in-residence". USA Today. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  5. 1 2 Album notes for The College Dropout (2004) by Kanye West. Roc-A-Fella Records (986 173-9).
  6. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (December 10, 2002). "Kanye West Raps Through His Broken Jaw, Lays Beats for Scarface, Ludacris". MTV. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  7. 1 2 Kearney, Kevin (September 30, 2005). "Rapper Kanye West on the cover of Time: Will rap music shed its "gangster" disguise?". World Socialist Web Site. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  8. ↑ Johnson Jr, Billy (April 11, 2004). "Live Wire". Yahoo! Music. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  9. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (December 10, 2002). "Kanye West Raps Through His Broken Jaw, Lays Beats For Scarface, Ludacris". MTV. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  10. ↑ Eliscu, Jenny (August 19, 2007). "Genius Is As Genius Does". USA Weekend. Accessed October 23, 2007.
  11. 1 2 Kellman, Andy (2004). "The College Dropout Review ". Allmusic. Accessed August 3, 2007. Archived June 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ The Words and Lyrics of Kanye West: Through the Wire. New York: Atria Books. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4165-3775-5. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  13. ↑ D., Spence (April 19, 2004). "The College Dropout". IGN. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  14. ↑ Heaton, Dave (March 5, 2004). "The College Dropout Review". PopMatters. Accessed August 3, 2007.
  15. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (February 9, 2004). "The College Dropout Review". The New York Times. Accessed August 3, 2007.
  16. ↑ "The College Dropout Review". Stylus magazine. Accessed April 26, 2010.
  17. ↑ Rosario, Robert "Boo" (March 2004). "Record Report". The Source magazine, p. 157.
  18. ↑ "Kanye West - College Dropout". HipHopDX. Accessed August 3, 2007.
  19. ↑ Mitchum, Rob (February 20, 2004). "The College Dropout Review". Pitchfork Media. Accessed March 27, 2014.
  20. ↑ Frosch, Dan (October 16, 2003). "Kanye West-College Dropout (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)". Vibe magazine. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  21. ↑ "Grammy Awards: Best Solo Rap Performance". Rock on the Net. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  22. 1 2 3 "Kanye West - Through The Wire". aCharts.us. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  23. 1 2 "Through the Wire - Kanye West". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  24. ↑ "Through the wire". mvdbase. Accessed August 3, 2007.
  25. ↑ "The Set Up". XXL magazine (March 2004). Accessed August 3, 2007.
  26. ↑ Ryan, Chris (February 9, 2004). "Kanye West". Spin magazine. Accessed August 3, 2007.
  27. 1 2 Bolden, Janeé (November 28, 2005). "Kanye West's Video Directors Coodie and Chike". SOHH. Accessed April 26, 2010.
  28. ↑ "The Noonie G. Story". Black Film (July 19, 2005). Accessed August 3, 2007.
  29. ↑ "Kanye West | Through the Wire | Album". MTV. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  30. ↑ "Kanye West | Through the Wire UK CD | Album". MTV. Accessed October 24, 2007.
  31. ↑ "Through the Wire - Kanye West" (PDF). Pandora Archive. ARIA. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
  32. ↑ "Kanye West Through the Wire @ Top40-Charts.com". Top40-Charts.com. Accessed August 3, 2007.
  33. ↑ "Kanye West – Through The Wire: Full History". http://top40-charts.com. External link in |publisher= (help)
  34. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Chart Top 100: 28 March 2004 - 03 April 2004". Retrieved 2015-06-29.
  35. ↑ "American single certifications – Kanye West – Through The Wire". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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