"Hell of a Life" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kanye West from his fifth studio album, '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). The song was produced by West, Mike Caren, Ernest Wilson and Mike Dean. The song features a number of samples and contains backing vocals by Teyana Taylor, signed to West's

G.O.O.D. 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 ...

label. The song features a production style with influence from rock and

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...

, and is notably bombastic and aggressive in nature. The song expresses a narrative about West marrying a

pornographic film actress A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...

and the traumatic events that follow. It employs highly sexual, nightmarish imagery, and was inspired by West's relationship with model Amber Rose among other real-life events. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics who noted the song for its sexual subject matter, praising the performance provided by West and the aesthetically pleasing imagery created by the song. The song was featured during West's Coachella Music Festival setlist and briefly appeared in his short film ''

Runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

'', during a dinner sequence. It charted on the South Korean Gaon Chart at position 57.

Background

"Hell of a Life" was recorded in Oahu, Hawaii, along with the majority of ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''.Callahan-Bever, Noah (December 12, 2010)
Kanye West: Project Runaway
. '' Complex''. Retrieved on November 30, 2010. Kanye West had faced various media controversies and expressed a desire to record his next album in a reclusive manner, straying away from collaborating with artists he didn't consider himself personally familiar with.Rodriguez, Jayson (May 25, 2010)
Kanye West's 'Power' Producer Explains How Song Happened

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 November 30, 2010.Anderson, Kyle (November 19, 2010)
Inside Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: 'Hell Of A Life'

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

. Viacom Retrieved on November 30, 2010. The track takes inspiration from "

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

", a song first recorded by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their second studio album '' Paranoid'', which is also sampled on the song. Another source of music influence that the track drew from was

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

, an influential electronic music project from the 1970s.

artist Teyana Taylor contributes backing vocals to the song, primarily within the last minute of the track. Lyrically the song draws from West's relationship with model Amber Rose.Baron, Zach (November 18, 2010)
Why You Can't Hate Kanye West and Love My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy At the Same Time
'' The Village Voice''. Retrieved on November 17, 2010. West had first gotten into contact with Rose in 2008 and developed a romantic relationship with her. The couple had a dramatic break-up in 2010, due to allegations of adultery.Staff (January 12, 2012)
Amber Rose Cries While Discussing Kanye West In An Interview
'' The Huffington Post''. Retrieved on January 29, 2011. The song is unique among songs featured on ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' as it is the only song on the album featuring vocals solely provided by West, who chose to otherwise collaborate extensively on the project.

Composition

"Hell of a Life" tells the story of marriage between West and a porn star.Vozick-Levinson, Simon (November 12, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
. '' Entertainment Weekly''. Retrieved on November 12, 2010. The porn star in question has been interpreted as an allusion to Amber Rose, a former

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

. Along with "Iron Man", the song samples "She's My Baby," by Sylvester Stewart, and performed by

The Mojo Men The Mojo Men was an American rock band based in San Francisco. Formed in 1965, the group underwent several name and personnel changes until their 1969 breakup. Their highest-charting ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single was a cover of Buffalo Springfie ...

; and of "Stud-Spider" by Tony Joe White. It is inspired by

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, and features

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

braggadocio Braggadocio may refer to: *Braggadocchio, a fictional character in the epic poem ''The Faerie Queene'' *A braggart or empty boasting *Braggadocio (rap), a type of rapping *Braggadocio (typeface), a typeface *Braggadocio, Missouri Braggadocio is ...

inspired rapping delivered by West.Embling (2010–11)
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , Music Review , Tiny Mix Tapes
Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on April 30, 2011.Fennessey, Sean (November 17, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on November 17, 2010. Aesthetically the production of the song draws from both stoner rock and progressive rock. It has been described as "feverish", "nightmarish", "grimy" and "grotesque" in nature.Cole, Matthew (November 22, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''

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 ...

. Retrieved on November 20, 2010. The primarily bombastic production is littered with heavy

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

and brooding, abrasive riffs.Paine, Jake (October 4, 2010)
Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
. HipHopDX. Retrieved on November 27, 2010. The song expresses West's thoughts on relations and features highly sexual themes and imagery, sneering at people who judge him negatively. During the song's climax, West muses "how could you say, 'They live their life wrong?" before launching into the repeated refrain of "when you never fuck with the lights on?"Weiner, Jonah (November 22, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

''. Retrieved on January 29, 2011. The melodic, riff-ridden chorus is sung by West, boasting about how "pussy and religion is all eneed "Staff (July 27, 2012)
"Hell of a Life" (2010)
'' Complex''. Retrieved on November 30, 2010. Pitchfork Media's Ryan Dombal summarized the song, writing:

"'Hell of a Life' attempts to bend its central credo-- 'no more drugs for me, pussy and religion is all I need'-- into a noble pursuit. As a woofer-mulching synth line lurks, Kanye justifies his dreams of not sleeping with but marrying a porn star, peaking with the combative taunt, 'How can you say they live they life wrong/ When you never fuck with the lights on.' Inspired by his two-year relationship with salacious model Amber Rose, the song blurs the line between fantasy and reality, sex and romance, love and religion, until no lines exist at all. It's a zonked nirvana with
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
s underneath; a fragile state that can't help but break apart on the very next song."Dombal, Ryan (November 21, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-11-21.

According to

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 ...

's Chad Grischow, the track is fueled by "the fuzzed-out synth and melody borrowed from Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man'," stating that "Hell of a Life" plays like it was inspired by "the latest season of '' Entourage'', as Kanye falls hard for a porn star and spins rapidly out of control as he plans their future."Grischow, Chad (November 23, 2010)
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Review – Music Review at IGN
.

. Retrieved on April 30, 2011.

Reception

"Hell of a Life" garnered critical acclaim. David Amidon of PopMatters commented that much like every song on ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', the song "contains an underscore as ambitious as the beats upfront", concluding that tracks "Hell of a Life" and " So Appalled" alone "carry enough auditory sugar to make listening to this album on any regular sort of listening device almost a fool's errand."Amidon, David (November 20, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
PopMatters Retrieved on November 12, 2010 '' Chicago Sun-Times'' writer Thomas Conner cited the song as one of the album's "temporary highs" describing it as a "mixture of metal strut,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

keyboards and a bender gone off the rails."Conner, Thomas (November 21, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
. '' Chicago Sun-Times''. Retrieved on November 21, 2010. Andy Gill of '' The Independent'' cited the song as a highlight of ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', describing the song as a "brutal rumination on West's sexual appetite" and stating that the track contained a "buzzy synth motif" and "racing minimalist keyboard flourishes".Gill, Andy (November 19, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
'' The Independent''. Retrieved on November 19, 2010.

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 stated that the track featured a "sleazy beat", noting that the song "takes us further into West's dark psyche." J. Tinsley of the Smoking Section described the track as an admirable effort by West, but commented that it was one of the lesser tracks on the album ultimately. Andrew Barber of '' Complex'' complimented the song for successfully providing an escapism fantasy, musing that "Kanye takes us on a spaced-out journey to a world where excess is the norm—a world most of us will never encounter."Barber, Andrew (December 7, 2012)
31. Kanye West "Hell of A Life" (2010)
''Complex''. Retrieved on November 30, 2010. Sean Highkin of the website Beats Per Minute cited the sampling of "Iron Man" as one of the album's most ambitious moments, writing that "any time Kanye has to make a choice between under and overdoing something, he always opts for the latter". Baron Zach of '' The Village Voice'' praised the story and production of the song, stating that the song contained a "great" sample. The song charted on South Korean Gaon Chart at position 57.

Marketing

The song was also featured as in ''Runaway'', a 35-minute music video directed by West set to music from ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''. The beginning of the song is featured at the end of the dinner sequence. The song was featured during West's setlist during his 2011 performance at Coachella. At a concert in New York City, West performed the song with Justin Vernon of

folk band Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

Bon Iver, a musician who West had extensively collaborated with on the album.Dombal, Ryan (November 24, 2010)
Report: Kanye Raps, Sings, Rants at NYC Gig
Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on November 21, 2010. Vernon sang the chorus while West provided the rapping verses.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). *Produced by Kanye West *Co-produced by Mike Caren, No I.D. and Mike Dean *Recorded by Andrew Dawson,

Anthony Kilhoffer Anthony Kilhoffer is an American hip hop record producer, songwriter and engineer, best known for his collaborations with Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Keyshia Cole and John Legend. Select discography Albums 2020s *'' Free The Beast(album)'' - B-Free 201 ...

and Mike Dean at the Avex Recording Studio, Honolulu and Noah Goldstein at Electric Lady Studios, NYC *Mixed by Mike Dean, Anthony Kilhoffer and Andrew Dawson at Electric Lady Studios, NYC & Platinum Sound Recording, NYC – Assisted by Gaylord Holomalia, Christian Mochizuki and Pete Bischoff *Additional drum programming: Anthony Kilhoffer *Keyboards: Mike Dean *Additional vocals: Teyana Taylor & The-Dream

Chart position

Certifications

References

External links

* (34:33) {{Authority control 2010 songs Kanye West songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Song recordings produced by No I.D. Songs about marriage Songs written by Bill Ward (musician) Songs written by Geezer Butler Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Mike Caren Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by No I.D. Songs written by Ozzy Osbourne Songs written by Sly Stone Songs written by Tony Iommi Songs written by Tony Joe White