"Low Lights" (also stylized as "Lowlights") is a song by American 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 seventh studio album, ''
The Life of Pablo
''The Life of Pablo'' is the seventh studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 14, 2016, through GOOD Music and distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2013 to 2016, in I ...
'' (2016). It was produced by West,
DJDS and
Mike Dean, while the lyrics were written by West, Dean, Jerome Potter,
Samuel Griesemer and
Sandy Rivera
Sandy Rivera is an American house music DJ, record producer and label owner. Born in New York City, he is now based in New Jersey.
Biography
Rivera, born January 18th 1971 and started his career at age 13 as a DJ in his native Spanish Harlem. ...
. DJDS worked on the album for three consecutive weeks after meeting West, with the latter sharing a snippet of the song on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'' the day before release in February 2016.
The vocals used in "Low Lights" are sampled from the
a cappella version of "So Alive" by Kings of Tomorrow, with the sample being performed by
Kelly Price
Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboar ...
; they run over piano chords and bass production. A
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
track that looks at spirituality and references
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
throughout, it is the sixth track on ''The Life of Pablo'' and leads into "
Highlights". The song received positive reviews from music critics, with them mostly commending its religious nature, though some critics commented on the song's position on the album.
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
sampled the song in her 2017 track "That's What's Up". "Low Lights" charted at number 22 on the US ''
Billboard''
Bubbling Under Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
in 2016.
Background
"Low Lights" was co-produced by
DJDS, a production duo consisting of Jerome LOL and
Samo Sound Boy
DJDS (formerly DJ Dodger Stadium) is an American production and DJ duo consisting of Jerome LOL (Jerome Potter) and Samo Sound Boy (Sam Griesemer), based in Los Angeles.
Members
Griesemer was born in Manhattan, New York and grew up in New H ...
.
They co-wrote the song along with West,
Mike Dean and
Sandy Rivera
Sandy Rivera is an American house music DJ, record producer and label owner. Born in New York City, he is now based in New Jersey.
Biography
Rivera, born January 18th 1971 and started his career at age 13 as a DJ in his native Spanish Harlem. ...
.
DJDS also co-produced ''The Life of Pablo'' tracks "
Ultralight Beam
"Ultralight Beam" is a song by American recording artist Kanye West from his seventh studio album ''The Life of Pablo'' (2016). The song features vocals by R&B singers The-Dream and Kelly Price, rapper Chance the Rapper, gospel singer Kirk Fr ...
", "
Father Stretch My Hands, Pt. 1", "
Freestyle 4" and "
Fade". In an interview with ''
Billboard'', Samo Sound Boy explained how they became involved with West: "A bunch of different people from his team just reached out on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
,
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
DM, and it basically said Kanye West requests your presence tomorrow."
After meeting West, DJDS worked on his then-upcoming album for three consecutive weeks. West explained "the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
nature of it" to the duo, with the gospel elements of their work making sense out of West wanting to collaborate.
Samo Sound Boy revealed that every song was being worked on at the same time and that the recording process "wasn't a really systematic way." Jerome LOL named West as one of DJDS' biggest inspirations and claimed for their sampling style to be "directly influenced by his old production."
The rapper discovered the duo in January 2016. West had previously used the word "light" in the titles of his tracks "
Flashing Lights", "
Street Lights
A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, street lamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution ...
" and "
All of the Lights
"All of the Lights" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). It was produced by West and features additional vocals from several other reco ...
". It further makes appearance on ''The Life of Pablo'' tracks "Ultralight Beam" and "
Highlights" as well as "Low Lights".
Composition and production
![Kanye West SWU Music & Arts Festival 2011 (crop)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Kanye_West_SWU_Music_%26_Arts_Festival_2011_%28crop%29.jpg)
"Low Lights" is a gospel track that includes similar elements to the album's opener "Ultralight Beam".
It contains a sample of the
a cappella version of "So Alive" by American
dance duo Kings of Tomorrow for the entirety of it, which is layered over piano chords and
synth bass production.
West does not contribute with vocals on the song, with them being solely delivered by an unknown woman sampling Rivera of the duo.
Throughout "Low Lights", the woman preaches about
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
and his connection to spirituality.
Lyrically, a descriptive picture is painted of faith in God by her and the miracles that will one day be created for her in life by the lord.
This message is related to the spirituality that West's mother Donda taught him, as well as to the religious themes found throughout his career. Such themes are also included on ''The Life of Pablo'', and the message speaks to the spirituality which helps people stay strong during their lives.
The song concludes with a final dedication to
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 religiou ...
by Rivera.
"Low Lights" precedes "Highlights" on ''The Life of Pablo'', serving as an intro to the track.
The transition from the track's
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
references to those in "Highlights" suggests that West attributes his success to his spirituality.
Release and promotion
"Low Lights" was released on February 14, 2016, as the sixth track on West's seventh studio album, ''The Life of Pablo'' through
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 ...
and
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The l ...
. The day before the album's release, during his appearance on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', West played a snippet of the song while he stood onstage by himself.
West segued from the snippet into a performance of "Highlights" joined by
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
,
El DeBarge
Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include " Time Will Reveal", " Who's Hold ...
,
Kelly Price
Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboar ...
and
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, " Rid ...
.
The song was one of five that West added to ''The Life of Pablo'' tracklist on the day of release.
During a Twitter rant in February 2016, West sent out various tweets related to the album.
He explained the song's presence, tweeting: "I put Lowlights on my album just thinking about all the moms driving they kids
'sic''to school then going to work…"
On November 1, 2016, West performed it live at
The Forum in
Inglewood, California as part of the
Saint Pablo Tour.
Reception
"Low Lights" was met with positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised the religious nature.
Alexis Petridis of ''
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 ...
'' described the song, along with fellow album tracks "Ultralight Beam" and "Highlights", as not feeling "episodic so much as fractured." Ej Moreno of ''Monkeys Fighting Robots'' labelled it as being a "gospel-heavy song" and a "powerful track." Iyana Robertson of ''
Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' wrote that "a passionate testimony of deliverance is shared with West's congregation." Zach Schonfeld of ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' viewed the song as what "comes in the form of a spoken testimony to Christ." When ''
Premier Gospel'' looked into ''The Life of Pablo'' possibly being the gospel album of 2016, Jamie of the site voiced the belief that if "Low Lights", "
Jesus Walks
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 of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
" or fellow album track "Ultralight Beam" had been put out by anyone else, then "we'd be hailing them as the new hero of gospel music."
Jamie claimed that the song "is basically just a prayer."
When reviewing the
eponymous album by
Kids See Ghosts
Kids See Ghosts (stylized in all-caps) was an American hip hop duo composed of musicians Kanye West and Kid Cudi. Formed in 2018 during West’s Wyoming sessions, the duo released their eponymous debut album in June of that year, through ...
, the duo of West and
Kid Cudi, in June 2018, Kiana Fitzgerald 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 ...
'' looked back on the presence of "Low Lights" on ''The Life of Pablo'' as "the closest the entire album comes to gospel."
In the same week that the album was released, "Low Lights" debuted at number 22 on the US ''Billboard''
Bubbling Under Hot 100
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...
and lasted for one week. Alongside its debut on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, the track peaked at number 1 on the US
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
chart and spent a total of two weeks on it. The track further opened at number 134 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Other usage
American singer-songwriter
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
sampled the track's monologue in her 2017 song "That's What's Up", from her album ''
Here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here
Television
* Here TV (form ...
'' (2018). An accompanying
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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for the song was shared by Keys on January 25, 2017, which includes her lounging and dipping in a bathtub.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from West's official website.
*Production – Kanye West & DJDS
*Additional production – Mike Dean #MWA for Dean's List Productions
*Engineering – Noah Goldstein,
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 ...
& Mike Dean
*Mix –
Manny Marroquin
Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work.
Life and career
...
at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, CA
*Mix assisted – Chris Galland, Ike Schultz & Jeff Jackson
Charts
Certifications
References
{{authority control
2016 songs
Gospel songs
Kanye West songs
Song recordings produced by Kanye West
Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer)
Songs about Jesus
Songs written by Kanye West
Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer)