"Devil in a New Dress" is a song by American hip hop recording artist and rapper
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
from his fifth studio album, ''
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released by Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records on November 22, 2010, following a period of public controversy for West. Re ...
'' (2010). Originally released through West's
GOOD Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
initiative, a weekly free music giveaway started by the rapper to promote ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', it later appeared on the album with an added
guitar solo
A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...
by producer Mike Dean and an additional guest verse featuring rapper
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper.
Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...
. "Devil in a New Dress" was produced by
Bink Bink may refer to:
* Bink Video, a video format popular in many video games
* Bink (The Magicians of Xanth), a character of the Xanth series by Piers Anthony
* Bink (producer)
Roosevelt Harrell III (born February 20, 1972) professionally know ...
. It was the only song on the album not to be produced by West. The song
sample
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
s
Smokey Robinson
William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...
's slow jam recording "
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
", and is themed lyrically to lust and heartache. Both the topics of love and religion serve as the main inspiration to the song.
The song received acclaim from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, who praised the delivery of West's verse, the lush production and the guest appearance by Ross. It has been
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
ed by several musicians, such as
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
,
Jay Electronica
Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...
and
Young Chris
Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He is a member of Philadelphia rap duo Young Gunz alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck, signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. The duo ...
. Ross promoted the song releasing a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
in which he showcased his verse. The song was prominently featured in West's
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
"Devil in a New Dress" was first released on September 3, 2010, and was the fourth song to be featured as a part of
Kanye West
Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
's GOOD Fridays, a music giveaway that provided free
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
downloads every week. The intention was to release a free new song every Friday for a few months. The weekly tracks generally featured various rappers from his label,
GOOD Music
GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...
, as well as other artists that he usually collaborated with. Though "Devil in a New Dress" was the fourth GOOD Fridays song released, it was the second completely original track premiered. During its initial release,
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
reported, "the
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
-based rapper has shared Devil in a New Dress, a song which is rumoured to be included on West’s still untitled fifth studio album. Compared to his other recent joints, the track is rather minimal in nature. It clocks in at less than three minutes and features no guest contributors. In fact, it’s the accompanying beat which actually makes the post-midnight release worth our time." The song was rumoured to be featured on West's new album, appearing on a leaked tracklist. It was later confirmed to appear on the album, albeit as a vastly different version. It was released digitally following the release of the album.
Recording
Following some media controversies, West chose to record the majority of his fifth studio album ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' in a reclusive manner in
Oahu
Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...
,
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
Retrieved on 2010-11-30. Like the majority of the album, "Devil in a New Dress" was also composed in Oahu. Rapper Rick Ross was invited to Hawaii to work with West because West was set to produce the song "Live Fast, Die Young", which appeared on '' Teflon Don'', an album by Ross. Ross was not initially intended to be featured on West's album, however, he walked in while West was recording the track, "
Monster
A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
". Ross was impressed with what he heard and asked if he could deliver an intro to the song. West enjoyed what Ross brought to the song and invited him back to his studio during the final stages of the album, to record a guest verse on "Devil in a New Dress". According to Ross, the verse was added the day before the album had to be turned into the record label. In an interview with
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
discussing the composition of the song, Ross commented:
I got a call, they wanted me to be a part of that record. ..It was actually the last day before Kanye had to turn the record in, and I think that pressure just made it that much more special to me. So I just sat there, approached the record openly and as straightforward as I could. When I laid the verse, 30 minutes later, I was extremely happy. I sent it to him, and he was too. I think it was one of the dopest verses I did this year."
Ross favorably compared the recording sessions to his past in school. He mused, "it's like everybody is a student: You walk into a session, and it's all about the subject at hand." The remastered album version featured a new guitar solo, composed by producer Bink!. Bink! is most famous for his contributions to Jay-Z's album, ''
The Blueprint
''The Blueprint'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on September 11, 2001, through Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam Recordings. Its release was set a week earlier than initially planned in order to combat bootlegging. ...
'', which has been described a "pioneering album" by
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
's Ryan Dombal and was West's big break as a producer. West and Bink! originally became friends while producing another Jay-Z album, '' The Dynasty: Roc La Familia'' in the late 1990s. Bink! described that the two producers quickly developed a mutual respect for each other. Bink! commented on the first time he showed the composition to West, saying "the reaction I got from him after I played the beat for the first time was real intense." Immediately Bink! knew that West was going to use the production. Initially, he wasn't sure whether or how West was going to use the song for his album, and expressed surprise that West dropped the song as a free track prior to the album's release.
Composition
The song is 5 minutes, 52 seconds long, though the originally released version was less than 3 minutes. The song is built on a soulful sample of Smokey Robinson's recording "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", with an extended
guitar solo
A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular m ...
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. Retrieved on 2010-11-19. The song features a synth-heavy breakdown, complete with guitar riffs, before Ross arrives, spitting: "I never needed acceptance from all you outsiders/ Had cyphers with Yeezy before his mouth wired/ Before his jaw shattered, climbing up the lord's ladder/ We still speeding, running signs like they don't matter." It is the only album track without production by West, but features his characteristic style of manipulating the pitch and tempo of classic soul samples.Credits: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-21. West raps in a flow similar to that of rapper
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air ( ...
MSN Music
''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008.
History
I ...
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
. Retrieved on 2010-11-22. Ann Powers of ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' commented that the track reveals West's true feelings on women;
His tormenters are usually untrustworthy temptresses, though occasionally they're authority figures who judge him as a criminal trespasser or a cultural arriviste. And songs such as the
porn
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,
o fantasy " Hell of a Life" and the siren-slaying "Devil in a New Dress" (featuring the consummately macho Ross) revive familiar mythologies about women — that they're monsters, killers, fallen angels — in language vibrant enough to fully revive these old stereotypes.Powers, Ann (2010-11-23) Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''. Retrieved on 2010-12-08.
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
stated that "'Dress' continues anye'sreturn to the soulful old-school sounds he championed in his early work" and that "West works an easy flow over the midtempo joint replete with feathery falsetto backing vocals an overall buttery '70s feel. Despite the laidback groove, West shows his vulnerable side, as he laments being loved and left." "Devil in a New Dress" contains lyrics about lust and heartache, with sexual and religious imagery described by one critic as "part bedroom allure, part angelic prayer".Conner, Thomas (2010-11-21) Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' . ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
''. Retrieved on 2010-11-21.
Rap-Up
''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...
called it a "female-focused song" and a " soulful track, boasting a slow-rolling beat with a haunting vocal sample.” Alex Koening of Knightnews wrote "over
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
flourishes and a scintillating string section contain some of the funniest
tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...
lyrics about women Kanye ever managed: 'I hit the Jamaican spot, at the bar, take a seat/ I ordered the jerk, she said you are what you eat.' Kanye might be on his quest for love, but he still isn’t able to tolerate gold-digging girls who are only after his cash: 'And outta all the colors that are still up the skies/ You got green on your mind, I can see it in your eyes.'"
Reception
"Devil in a New Dress" has received widespread acclaim from music critics, and was noted for its soulful production, as well as the verse provided by Ross. It was considered a highlight of ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and Kanye's career, and has been described as "perhaps the easiest song to like on first listen." It was compared favorably to songs from West's debut studio album ''
The College Dropout
''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received pra ...
'' by Jon Caramanica of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic felt that the track brought out the best in Ross.Freeman, Channing (2010-11-11) Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' Sputnikmusic. Retrieved on 2010-11-12.
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
viewed that on "Devil in a New Dress", West perfected the sampling style he helped make popular, and commented that West "manipulates the pitch and tempo of Smokey Robinson's 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow?' until it crawls luxuriantly out of the speakers like wine poured in slow motion. It's a gorgeous slow burner that turns tragic in its third act, as Kanye's rhymes swap lust for heartache before distorted guitar lines and a muscular verse from Rick Ross close it out".
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
praised West's vocal delivery, saying "he rips more hard raps on 'Devil in a New Dress' -- chuckling through lines like, 'We love
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
/ but you done learned a lot from Satan / We ain't married / but tonight I need some consummation,' and later chewing through an impersonation of a preacher, 'Say-tan! Say-tan! Say-tan!'—all over a fluttery, high, quiet-storm soul vocal that's part bedroom allure, part angelic prayer."
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
stated "West's breezy GOOD Fridays release gets a wintertime tune-up with Ross riding shotgun. The Miami Don's majestic contribution comes with a revamped breakdown setting up his slick boats. Still, Yeezy's verse holds up over the Boss's even with the refinement." Dan Vidal of '' URB'' stated Ross brought his best to the track, writing that he "steps his tired old coke-rhymes up to intense lyrical portraits on the final version of 'Devil In A New Dress'."
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
's Amrit Singh described the production style as a throwback to vintage hip-hop beats, and praised West's extended use of metaphors on the track.
AbsolutePunk
''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...
's Drew Beringer cited the track as an example of West's "penchant for soul", calling the track excellent.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Andy Kellman also described the beat as a "throwback soul production", writing that it was "provided by the Smokey Robinson-sampling Bink, it’s as gorgeous as any of West’s own early work, yet it’s marred by an aimless instrumental stretch, roughly 90 seconds in length, that involves some incongruent electric guitar flame-out."
''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''s Sean Fennessey commented that the production by Bink! was gorgeous in nature. He compared the original three-minute long version of the song to the one on the album, writing that the original "was affecting, funny (“I ordered the jerk, she said 'You are what you eat.'”) and soulful—a touch of the old Ye. And just three minutes long. But the album version is something bigger, with a magisterial guest verse from Rick Ross (appearing twice here) that comes after an odd but sumptuous acid-jazz breakdown."Fennessey, Sean (2010-11-17) Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' . ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
''. Retrieved on 2010-11-17. Craig Jenkins of Prefix Music opined that "Bink’s beat for 'Devil in a New Dress' peters out midway through, and a live band plays a sultry, emotive take on that beat."Jenkins, Craig (2010-11-24) Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (New Album) Prefix Magazine. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. Andrew Barber of ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' stated that for the people disappointed in the briefness of the verses provided by Ross on "Monster", this track more than makes up for it.Barber, Andrew (2012-12-07) Kanye West f/ Rick Ross "Devil In A New Dress" (2010) ''Complex''. Retrieved on 2010-11-30. Barber favorably compared the track to the style of West's older songs, and commented that it showcased West's "softer, more vulnerable side, opening up about a woman."
Marketing
Promotion
The song appears in West's short film ''Runaway'', an extended 35-minute-long music video which features a majority of the tracks featured on ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. The song is played halfway through the short during the introduction to the dinner party sequence. Ross had a music video directed containing his portion of the song, which was released on January 27, 2011. According to Rap Radar, "Kanye couldn’t make it, so Ross took matters into his own hands and shot a video for his portion of 'Devil In A New Dress' from ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.''
Anthony Osel of ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' wrote that "Rick Ross gives us visuals for just about every freestyle, verse and song he's ever recorded. Rozay dropped off a Spiff TV-directed video for "Devil In A New Dress" from Kanye's ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. It's him smoking a blunt while cruising the streets of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in the back seat of his 62S Maybach glancing out the window. Standard, but awesome, clip from Ross." Ross would perform the song during his live concerts and it has even become a mainstay of his live sets. During a live performance on October 23, 2010, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, West joined Ross and performed it along with "Monster".
Covers
The song has been frequently covered and remixed by several notable rappers.
Roc Nation
Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
's
Jay Electronica
Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...
recorded his own freestyle and had a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
created for his version.
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
nominated
Young Chris
Christopher Francis Ries (born March 9, 1983), known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He is a member of Philadelphia rap duo Young Gunz alongside his childhood friend, rapper Neef Buck, signed to Roc-A-Fella Records. The duo ...
did a freestyle over the original version of the song. Fiend released a freestyle onto his
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
''Life Behind Limo Tint'' and a filmed a music video.
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...
.
Fabolous
John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...
used the song's instrumental to record "Wolves In Sheeps Clothing" which was featured on mix-tape '' The S.O.U.L. Tape''. He directed a music video to promote the song. JJ Demon recorded his own song using the instrumental. In addition,
J. Cole
Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...
performed a freestyle over the song, which he had stated was a tribute to West, writing “That beat is incredible, shout out to Yeezy. Much Love.” The song, titled "Villematic" was featured on his '' Friday Night Lights'' mixtape.
AllHipHop
AllHipHop is a hip hop news website founded by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur in 1998.
History
The website was founded in 1998 by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur. In 1997, Watkins registered the allhiphop.com domain to promote the artists on ...
praised his version, saying "'Villematic', '2 Face', and 'Higher' are all songs which make up a strong midsection – it is easy to become lost in this mixtape."