"The People" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

hip hop recording artist

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

, released as the second single from his seventh studio album ''

Finding Forever ''Finding Forever'' is the seventh studio album by Common, released on July 31, 2007, on GOOD Music and Geffen Records. Like Common's previous album, '' Be'' (2005), ''Finding Forever'' is primarily produced by Kanye West. The album debuted at th ...

''. The song made its first appearance on fellow American 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 ...

's '' Can't Tell Me Nothing'' mixtape. The song features

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

by West and contains background vocals provided by

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer Dwele. The original version of the song had Common singing the hook by himself, but this was later replaced with Dwele singing the hook. It contains samples of "We Almost Lost Detroit" by

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

as well as vocal samples of " Long Red" by

Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

(the latter of which was sampled on "

Wouldn't Get Far "Wouldn't Get Far" is the third single from The Game's second album ''Doctor's Advocate''. The song, produced by and featuring Kanye West, is about The Game mentioning and criticizing, by both name and alias, up-and-coming and established video ...

" also produced by West). This action was part of West's intention to pay tribute to J Dilla through the production style expressed within the album. Though it performed moderately on the charts, "The People" became one of the most critically acclaimed songs of the year. The song was listed at number twenty-nine on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

s the 100 Best Songs of 2007. It also received a nomination for

Best Rap Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously, a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance. In 2003, this award was split into separate awa ...

at the

50th Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

Music video

The music video for "The People" was directed by NEON and filmed in Brooklyn, NY with footage from Chicago, IL. The video premiered on June 22 on Y! Music and features stills of Common rapping in the middle of a field on the outskirts of the city, interspersed with scenes of various locations throughout the metropolis.

Track listing

12" single

A-side

# "The People (Radio Edit) – 3:32 # "The People (LP Version) – 3:32 # "The People (Instrumental) – 3:22

B-side

# " The Game" (Radio Edit) – 3:37 # "The Game" (LP Version) – 3:35 # "The Game" (Instrumental) – 3:35

CD single

# "The People" (Radio Edit) – 3:33 # "The People" (LP Version) – 3:33 # "The People" (Instrumental) – 3:23

Personnel

Information taken from ''Finding Forever'' liner notes. *Produced by

*Recorded by Andrew Dawson at Sony Studios,

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

and Sing Sing Recording Studios,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

*Mixed by Mike Dean at Encore Studios, Burbank, CA *Callowhill electric bass by Derrick Hodge *Keyboards by Omar Edwards *Background vocals by Dwele

Chart positions

References

2007 singles Common (rapper) songs Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kanye West GOOD Music singles Songs written by Common (rapper) 2007 songs {{2000s-hiphop-single-stub