"Hell of a Life" is a song by American hip hop recording artist

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). The song was produced by West,

Mike Caren Michael Caren is an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, A&R representative, and music executive. He is the current CEO (and founder) of Artist Partner Group and Creative Officer at Warner Music Group. He is also the founder o ...

, Ernest Wilson and Mike Dean. The song features a number of samples and contains backing vocals by

Teyana Taylor Teyana Me Shay Jacqueli Shumpert ( Taylor; born December 10, 1990) is an American singer, actress, dancer and choreographer. In 2005, she signed a record deal with Pharrell Williams' Star Trak Entertainment imprint. Afterwards, she choreographe ...

, 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 Amber Rose Levonchuck (born October 21, 1983) is an American model and television personality. She first gained attention after she appeared in the music video for Young Jeezy and Kanye West's single " Put On". In 2008, Rose began a high-profil ...

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 The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert ...

setlist and briefly appeared in his short film '' Runaway'', during a dinner sequence. It charted on the South Korean Gaon Chart at position 57.

Background

"Hell of a Life" was recorded 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, along with the majority of ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''.Callahan-Bever, Noah (December 12, 2010)
Kanye West: Project Runaway
. ''

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 ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-30. 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 2010-11-30.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 2010-11-30. 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 Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

from their second studio album ''

Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy c ...

'', 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 Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

project from the 1970s.

artist

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 ''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. 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 Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

.Staff (January 12, 2012)
Amber Rose Cries While Discussing Kanye West In An Interview
''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. Retrieved on 2011-01-29. 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 ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-12. 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 Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

, 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 Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ma ...

. 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 inspired rapping delivered by West.Embling (2010–11)
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , Music Review , Tiny Mix Tapes

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...

. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.Fennessey, Sean (November 17, 2010)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on 2010-11-17. Aesthetically the production of the song draws from both

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

. 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 2010-11-20. 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 2010-11-27. 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 2011-01-29. 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)
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-30.

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 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 ''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 ...
. 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 An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', 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 2011-04-30.

Reception

"Hell of a Life" garnered critical acclaim. David Amidon of

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 ...

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 "So Appalled" 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, along with No I.D. and Mike Dean, and features verses by Jay-Z, Cy ...

" 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''

Retrieved on 2010-11-12 ''

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 ...

'' 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''
. ''

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-21. Andy Gill of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' 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''
''

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-19.

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 ''

'' 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 2010-11-30. Sean Highkin of the website

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

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 ''

'' 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 Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

of folk band

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

, 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 2010-11-21. Vernon sang the chorus while West provided the rapping verses.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes for ''

'' (2010). *Produced by

*Co-produced by

No I.D. Ernest Dion Wilson (born June 23, 1971), professionally known as No I.D. (formerly Immenslope), is an American hip hop and R&B producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and former rapper, having relea ...

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 20 ...

and Mike Dean at the Avex Recording Studio,

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and Noah Goldstein at

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

NYC 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 ...

*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:

The-Dream Terius Youngdell Nash (born September 20, 1977), better known by his stage name The-Dream, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His co-writing credits include songs with "Me Against the Music" (2003) for Britney Spears, "Ride ...

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