"So Appalled" 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, along with

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 releas ...

and Mike Dean, and features verses by Jay-Z,

Cyhi the Prynce Cydel Charles Young (born September 15, 1984), known professionally as CyHi the Prynce, is an American rapper and singer. In 2009, Young signed his first major-label contract with Konvict Muzik, with the backing of Def Jam Recordings. In 2010, h ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper, songwriter and record executive. He rose to prominence as one-half of the hip hop duo Clipse, which was mainly active from 1994 to 20 ...

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

, and

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name the RZA ( ), is an American rapper, actor, filmmaker, and record producer. He is the ''de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having produced most albums ...

respectively, who all receive writing credits. Lyrically, the song explores topics such as the troubles produced from being famous, social concerns and features numerous

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ...

references. The

posse cut A posse cut is a popular form of song in hip hop music that involves successive verses by four or more rappers.Edwards, Paul, 2009, '' How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC'', Chicago Review Press, p. 221. Tracks described as posse cu ...

received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with West and Jay-Z's verses commonly being cited as the highlights. Critics generally praised the production of the song. Originally released in an unmastered form 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 Ho ...

initiative, a weekly free music giveaway started by the rapper to promote the album. Following this, "So Appalled" made its way onto ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' with the addition of an extended verse. "So Appalled" charted on the ''Billboard''

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 ...

singles chart. West performed the song with Jay-Z at their

Watch the Throne Tour The Watch the Throne Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West that began on October 28, 2011 in Atlanta and continued until June 22, 2012 with its final show scheduled in Birmingham. Originally scheduled fo ...

and with Pusha T on his own tour.

Background

"So Appalled" was first released on September 24, 2010, and was the seventh song to be featured on West'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. Orig ...

downloads every week. It was originally believed to be a song for West and Jay-Z's collaborative album ''

Watch the Throne ''Watch the Throne'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, collectively known as The Throne. It was released on August 8, 2011, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to th ...

'', but it was later confirmed not to be. The song would later find its way onto West's fifth studio album, ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' along with two other GOOD Friday songs.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 newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-17. The version on the album was altered production-wise and was longer, and featured a

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 so ...

of the

Manfred Mann's Earth Band Manfred Mann's Earth Band are an English rock band formed by South African musician Manfred Mann. Their hits include covers of Bruce Springsteen's " For You", "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night". After forming in 1971 and with a ...

's song "You Are – I Am". The song was released with two covers, one with a famous photo of a model vomiting red nail polish, taken by

Guy Bourdin Guy Bourdin (2 December 1928 – 29 March 1991), was a French artist and fashion photographer known for his provocative images. From 1955, Bourdin worked mostly with '' Vogue'' as well as other publications including '' Harper's Bazaar''. He sho ...

; and the other containing the same image, with dimmed lighting and obscured by thick red letters. Before its release the song was leaked online and was nearly scrapped.

Recording

The majority of ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'', including "So Appalled", was recorded in

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

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 ...

.Callahan-Bever, Noah (2010-12-12)
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. Following several media controversies, West decided to record his next album in a reclusive manner only working with artists he considered himself familiar with.Rodriguez, Jayson (2010-05-25)
Kanye West's 'Power' Producer Explains How Song Happened
. MTV. Viacom Retrieved on 2010-11-30. Amongst the various artists invited down to Hawaii to record songs for the album was Pusha T, a rapper known for the hip-hop duo

Clipse Clipse, also known as The Clipse, is an American hip hop duo, chiefly active from 1994 to 2010. It consists of brothers Gene "No Malice" and Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during the group's early years, while No Mal ...

. While in Hawaii, Pusha-T commented that the very first thing he recorded was his verse for "So Appalled".Pump, Joe Lay (2010-11-03)
Pusha Talks The Difference Between Working With Kanye & Pharrell
. PushaT.com Retrieved on 2010-11-30. He favorably compared recording with West with another producer he was used to working with,

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

, commenting that he enjoyed how the process was more of a canvas. When working with other producers usually a majority of the track was already done by the time he got to the recording studio, but with West, the process was more creative in nature. Pusha described the recording process with West as a "roller coast" and stated that he never knew what to expect while working with the producer. Upon hearing the production of the song, Pusha-T commented that it was so good it persuaded him to write a particularly inspired verse.Blanco, Alvin (2010-11-18)
Pusha T Says Cryptic 'So Appalled' Verse Is 'Self-Explanatory'
MTV. Viacom Retrieved on 2010-11-30. On the production of "So Appalled", he said "it's Kanye, the beat brings the ghost out of you." The rapper described his verse as "self-explanatory" and stated that it was one of his favorite of his career. Pusha T called his verse "his personal favorite" and that the track was originally supposed to be just him and Kanye. When the song was finished, Pusha-T was so impressed with the track that he argued with West to include it on his album, stating that the song was so good it didn't matter whether or not it had leaked. He commented;

"I had already raved over the record because it leaked. I was like listen, there is no way this be on your album, you'd have to be crazy. He was like 'Really, you think so?' I was like c'mon man we got to stop treating rap like oh it came out it's dead. When it's good, we have to make people love it and digest it. We can't treat this like mixtape throwaways like everybody else does. Everybody else does half-ass music. So what people don't know is that what Kanye did during that album is literally, I walked into the studio and I had the pick of 17 records and he was like do what you want to do to any of these, do what you like."

One of the producers and guest appearances on the song is RZA,

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

of the hip-hop group

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close a ...

.Langhorne, Cyrus (2010-08-01)
News: Kanye West fantasizes more RZA production
.

SOHH SOHH (Support Online Hip Hop) is a hip hop news website. Felicia Palmer and Steven Samuel founded the website in 1996. In 2000, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine writer Mark Binelli called it the "best overall hip-hop site". History Felicia Palmer a ...

Retrieved on 2010-11-30. RZA spoke positively of West, viewing that he embodied the mentality of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA sent several beats to West, including some that he cited as being edgy, because he felt that West was the type who could work well on more forceful production, including the brooding beat for "So Appalled". The song was nearly featured on ''

Last Train to Paris ''Last Train to Paris'' is a 2010 studio album by American rapper and record producer Diddy and American R&B and hip hop duo Dirty Money, billed collectively as "Diddy – Dirty Money". It was released on December 14, 2010, by Bad Boy Records ...

'', a studio album by Diddy.Barber, Andrew (2012-12-07)
Kanye West f/ Jay-Z, RZA, Cy-Hi Da Prynce & Pusha-T "So Appalled" (2010)
. ''Complex''. Retrieved on 2010-11-30. According to another producer on the song,

, it was offered to both Jay-Z and Diddy before it leaked. West freestyled over the track for fun and found that he actually liked it enough to ultimately use it himself, stating that it would make a good group song. Cyhi the Prynce's verse only appeared on the song because he "tricked" West. Originally he was only supposed to deliver a quick

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

, but at the time West was tired and let Cyhi record his verse alone. When West awoke and played back the tape, he was surprised to find that Cyhi had recorded an entire verse. Impressed with it, West decided to include it on the track anyway. The song reportedly offended

M.C. Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...

, who Jay-Z references on the line "I spent another 30 / Cause unlike Hammer 30 million can't hurt me".Martin, Andrew (2010-08-12)
MC Hammer Responds to Jay-Z's "So Appalled" Verse
. Prefix Magazine. Retrieved on 2011-04-30.

Composition

"So Appalled" has been described as an epic posse cut featuring a large roster of performers. West uses his verse to address his past critics and comment on his status as a celebrity.Martin, Andrew (2010-11-24)
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (New Album)
. Prefix Magazine. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. West's performance on the song is notably intense, forcefully rapping lines such as "we above the law, we don't give a fuck 'bout y'all / I got dogs that'll chew a fucking hole through the wall."

sets the tone of the song using several

ad-lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The ...

s such as "one hand in the air, if you don't really care" and the line "this shit is fucking ridiculous" which is repeated several times throughout the song, delivered by nearly every rapper.Empire, Kitty (2010-11-19)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-19. The second verse is delivered by Jay-Z, who spends the majority of his verse deconstructing the hate that surrounds fame and poses the question, "would you rather be underpaid or overrated?" Jay-Z comments on how a career in the music industry creates many opponents. The third verse is delivered by Pusha T, who muses on

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

dealing. The song contains numerous

references, like to the film ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second instal ...

'', the

breakfast cereal Cereal, formally termed breakfast cereal (and further categorized as cold cereal or warm cereal), is a traditional breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in ...

Cheerios Cheerios is a brand of cereal manufactured by General Mills in the United States, consisting of pulverized oats in the shape of a solid torus. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, Cheerios is marketed by Cereal Partners under the Ne ...

, the business figure and future United States President,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

, rapper

and "We Major", a song from West's album ''

Late Registration ''Late Registration'' is the second studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on August 30, 2005, through Def Jam Recordings and Roc-A-Fella Records. West recorded the album over the course of a year during sessions ...

''. On the unconventional structure of the song,

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

's Channing Freeman said that verses were "very lengthy – Kanye appears within the first minute and then drops out for good – but the droning beat is so mesmerizing that it's barely even noticeable."Freeman, Channing (2010-11-11)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
.

. Retrieved on 2010-11-12. 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 publishe ...

'' explained the use of several guest appearances, writing "Kanye has never been short on ambition or ego, so it's no surprise he should have his guests (including such hip-hop luminaries as Jay-Z, Swizz Beats and RZA) queue up on "So Appalled" to confirm in turn how 'this shit is fucking ridiculous'".Gill, Andy (2010-11-19)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
. ''

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-19.

Reception

"So Appalled" received mostly favorable reviews from contemporary critics. David Browne of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' wrote that he felt that the track was "built on rumbling tanks of pianos and strings" and that it sounded as if West was "marching into the

apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

." 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, f ...

compared the production to West's album ''Late Registration'' which found West "inviting his friend

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score comp ...

to impart slices of film scoring to the odds and ends of his tracks". He 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 "Hell of a Life" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released as a single on October 6, 2009. The song serves as the second single from the re-release of his 2008 album, '' Paper Trail: Case Closed'', which was ultimately relea ...

" 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 (2010-11-20)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
.

Retrieved on 2010-11-12 Jayson Rodriguez of

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 ...

praised the song, reporting "this all-star cipher is a backpackers dream as Ye's GOOD Music soldiers fire away with resolve. But the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

icon, Jay-Z, steals the show with an edgy verse dismissing his critics with a 16 that's as pushy as a New Yorker during rush hour. Please, Hammer, stop replying."

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 Yo ...

's Cole Mathews thought that the song returned West to his hard rap origins, commenting "with the posse cuts '

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 ...

' and 'So Appalled', Kanye kicks out the two hardest rap tracks of his career." Becky Bain of Idolater described the song as a "dramatic, gloomy epic of a tune that has each artist taking turns at the mic." He expressed that trying to find Kanye's verse was "virtually a musical

Where's Waldo ''Where's Wally?'' (called ''Where's Waldo?'' in North America) is a British series of children's puzzle books created by English illustrator Martin Handford. The books consist of a series of detailed double-page spread illustrations depictin ...

". It was noted for its impressive roster of features and was described as "another Kanye West-helmed all-star collabo" by MTV's Hawuse Ziegbe. He noted that Cyhi managed to hold his own against several much more regarded rappers. Embling of

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, ...

described the song as a super-sized cypher, stating that the track was packed with plenty of "shitalking" from the group of rappers.Embling (2010–11)
Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
.

. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. ''Pitchfork''s Tom Breihan criticized Cyhi's lyrical contributions to the song, stating "On the otherwise amazing Kanye track 'So Appalled', CyHi offers a black hole of a verse. His most memorable line ('If God had a iPod, I'd be on his playlist') mostly just raises questions. Like: Why does God's iPod only have one playlist?"

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 dist ...

's Chad Grischow described the song as a star-studded banger, and cited Jay-Z's verse as the most notable.Grischow, Chad (2010-11-23)
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Review – Music Review at IGN
.

. Retrieved on 2011-04-30. In addition, Grischow stated that the song was unfocused. Chris Martins of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' reported that much like the track "Monster", the guest appearances on the song had the potential to be toned down.Martins, Chris (2010-11-11)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
. ''

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-11. ''

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 line "praise due to the most high, Allah / Praise due to the most fly, Prada" as an example of genius songwriting on West's part.Conner, Thomas (2010-11-21)
Review: ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy''
. ''

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-21. The song charted at 14 on the

chart as reported by ''Billboard'', however it only spent one week on the chart. The song also appeared on the South Korean Gaon Chart at number 95.

Reaction from M.C. Hammer

promised to release a

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the short ...

on October 31, 2010, in response to Jay-Z's "So Appalled" lyrics which he felt attacked him. Jay-Z raps a verse targeting Hammer about his financial

dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but disti ...

in the 1990s. Within it Jay says: 'Hammer went broke so you know I'm more focused / I lost 30 mil' so I spent another 30 / 'Cause unlike Hammer 30 million can't hurt me'. Hammer addressed his displeasure about the diss on

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 ...

, claiming he would react to Jay-Z on

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...

. Hammer released a sample of his "

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quant ...

" with Jay-Z (a.k.a. 'Hell Boy' according to Hammer) in a brief teaser trailer called " Better Run Run" by 'King Hammer'. At one point, it was uncertain if his reaction would be a film video, 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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

or a combination of both. Regardless, he claimed he would show evidence that 'Jigga worships the devil'. It's possible that Jay-Z was offended by an analogy Hammer was conveying in an earlier interview in response to "

D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" is a song written by American rapper Jay-Z. It was produced by No I.D. The song was released as a digital download on June 23, 2009, and as the first single from Jay-Z's 11th studio album, '' The Blueprint 3''. The ...

" on

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 ...

. On November 1, Hammer's song and video titled " Better Run Run!" hit the

web Web most often refers to: * Spider web, a silken structure created by the animal * World Wide Web or the Web, an Internet-based hypertext system Web, WEB, or the Web may also refer to: Computing * WEB, a literate programming system created b ...

in retaliation to Jay-Z's September 2010 diss towards him. M.C. accuses Jigga of being in league (and in the studio) with

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...

— and then Hammer defeats the devil and forces Jay to be baptized. Speaking on the video, Jacob O'Gara of ''

Ethos Magazine ''Ethos Magazine'' is a student publication produced at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Originally ''Korean Ducks'' magazine (after the school sports team name), which focused on Korean culture, it has since developed ...

'' wrote: "What's more likely is that this feud is the last chapter in the tragic cautionary tale of M.C. Hammer, a tale that serves as a warning to all present and future kings of hip-hop. Keep your balance on the pedestal and wear the crown strong or you'll have the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

to pay." In an interview with

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

DJ Semtex DJ Semtex (born John Fairbanks; 1974) is an English DJ, author, radio DJ and presenter of Spotify's Who We Be podcast. Between 2002 and 2018, he was presenter for BBC Radio 1Xtra's weekly hip-hop show. Biography Due to complications from lymp ...

, Jay said he didn't mean the verses as a personal attack. "I didn't know that ammer's financial statuswasn't on the table for discussion!" he said. "I didn't know I was the first person ever to say that..." He continued, "When I say things, I think people believe me so much that they take it a different way — it's, like, not rap anymore at that point. I say some great things about him in the book I have coming out 'Decoded''— that's wasn't a cheap plug," he laughed. "He's gonna be embarrassed, I said some really great things about him and people's perception of him. But it is what it is, he took it that wrong way, and I didn't know I said anything wrong!"

Marketing

The track was nightly performed by West and Jay-Z during their Watch the Throne Tour. Pusha T performs the song live during his own live sets.Pump, Joe Lay (2011-12-15)
PWatch Pusha T Perform “So Appalled” and More in Fort Lauderdale
. PushaT.com Retrieved on 2010-11-30. The song was one of the few songs on ''My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' not to be featured on ''

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 pro ...

'', a 35-minute music video directed by West set to music from the album.

Personnel

*Produced by Kanye West and No I.D. *Co-produced by Mike Dean *Recorded by Andrew Dawson, Anthony Kilhoffer 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 islan ...

and Noah Goldstein & Pete Bischoff at Electric Lady Studios,

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

*Engineered by Ken Lewis and

Brent Kolatalo Brent Kolatalo is an American mixer, record producer, engineer and songwriter based in New York City. Kolatalo has worked with numerous artists and musicians, including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Eminem, Drake, Bruno Mars, X Ambassadors, Future, Chris W ...

*Mixed by Mike Dean at Electric Lady Studios, NYC *Assistant Mix Engineers: Gaylord Holomalia, Christian Mochizuki & Pete Bischoff *Keyboards: Mike Dean & Jeff Bhasker *Cello: Chris "Hitchcock" Chorney *Cello arrangement: Mike Dean

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* (34:33) {{good article 2010 songs Jay-Z songs Kanye West songs Pusha T songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by No I.D. Songs written by Jay-Z Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Swizz Beatz Swizz Beatz songs Songs written by Pusha T Songs written by Cyhi the Prynce Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by RZA Songs written by No I.D. Songs about Donald Trump Posse cuts