"Hey Mama" is a song by 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 ...

from his second studio 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 ...

'' (2005). The song includes additional vocals from

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

. West composed the song in 2000, specifically intending for it to be included on the album. The song was produced by West and

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 before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

. A

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, it contains 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 ...

of Donal Leace's "Today Won't Come Again". In the lyrics of the song, Kanye pays tribute to his mother, Donda West. "Hey Mama" received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who mostly praised its musical style. A few commended the sample of "Today Won't Come Again", though critical commentary towards the concept was somewhat mixed. The song reached numbers 9 and 64 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

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 ...

and

Hot Canadian Digital Singles The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

charts in 2007 and 2008, respectively. It has since been certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

in the United States by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA). Kanye West performed the song in memory of Donda throughout his Glow in the Dark Tour (2008), while he also sang it as a tribute to her at the

50th Annual 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 ...

that year.

Background

The song's production was handled by West, alongside record producer and composer

. Brion had achieved fame from his distinctive production work for artists and film scores for auteurs, though was lacking experience in hip hop. West became a fan of singer-songwriter

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

whom Brion had produced for; while watching 2004 film ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pi ...

'', he appreciated Brion's

score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian ...

. The pair became connected via their mutual friend

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

; West quickly phoned Brion and they instantly formed chemistry with each other. West enlisted him to work on ''Late Registration'', marking Brion's first involvement in a hip hop project, with the decision creating confused reactions across his fanbase. Brion imagined people commenting that West has "gone off his rocker" and envisioning him making "an art record with some crazy, left-field music guy", clarifying this not to be "the case whatsoever". The producer recalled West taking charge of production with his strong vision and mentioned the rapper's "quick, intuitive decisions". Kanye's mother Donda West helped support his dreams of creating music, following on from him dropping out of college completely. Donda had been aware of Kanye's musical interest for a long time, having accepted his offer for an hour of studio time when he was 13 years old. She worked with the mother of record producer

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 ...

, who became Kanye's mentor after they met through her. Speaking of Donda's involvement in his career, Kanye said she "always kept me around music" and "was also my first manager". Kanye has often paid tribute to Donda in his music, especially on "Hey Mama". According to Kanye West, she cried upon her first listen to the song. In June 2003, prior to the release of West's debut studio album ''

The College Dropout ''The College Dropout'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Kanye West. It was released on February 10, 2004, by Def Jam Recordings and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records. In the years leading up to release, West had received p ...

'' (2004), he revealed that he had recorded the song in 2000 and was already saving it for ''Late Registration''.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "Hey Mama" is a

. The song is based around a

of the 1972 track "Today Won't Come Again", as written and performed by American musician Donal Leace. Alongside the sample,

handclaps A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), ...

are featured throughout. The song also includes a moaning

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''voice'' and ''encoder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder ...

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It origin ...

-styled drums, and an

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

solo, all of which were contributed by Brion. On the

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 ...

, Leace's "la-la-la" vocals from "Today Won't Come Again" are

looped ''Looped'' is a play by Matthew Lombardo about an event surrounding actress Tallulah Bankhead. It had a Broadway run in 2010, after two previous productions in 2008 and 2009, all three of them featuring Valerie Harper. Plot Based on a real ev ...

, accompanied by harmonies. The song closes with

synthesizer 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 a ...

s, contributed by Brion. Additional vocals are provided on the song by singer

. Lyrically, the song serves as a tribute to Donda from Kanye. Kanye details how Donda supported him despite him doing the opposite of what she wanted, alongside depicting how he desired nothing due to her hard work as a single parent. He makes a promise to Donda of going back to school, as well as pleading to cry. Kanye West also mentions that she had to work at night to keep the lights on.

Release and reception

On August 30, 2005, "Hey Mama" was released as the sixteenth track on West's second studio album ''Late Registration''. The song was met with generally positive reviews from

, often being praised for its musical style. Sean Fennessey of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' saw the song as "traditionally purty" due to the prominence of handclaps and "a flittering sample" of "Today Won't Come Again", labeling it a typical West production and also appreciating "the Brion redux". Reviewing the album for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', Steve Yates selected the song as a highlight and lauded it as "classic Kanye", alongside stating the " folk-rock vocal" has potential to "net butterflies". ''

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 ...

'' journalist

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

pointed out that the song features "an irresistible hook", viewing the lively harmonies as evoking

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of ...

. ''

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

'' editor

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Ble ...

put forward the song as being "an emotional stunner" akin to West's single " Jesus Walks" (2004) due to him "honor nghis mother", applauding how "a simple la-la-la vocal hook" is looped "into a soul-sonic force" that he compared to side two of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

's ''

Sign o' the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 30, 1987 as a double album by Paisley Park ...

'' (1987). Sheffield further honored the song as the best "family-affair tearjerker" since fellow rapper

Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 ...

's " All That I Got Is You" (1996) because of West's rapping, though questioned the legitimacy of his promise of going back to school. Azeem Ahmad from ''

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

'' called the song "chilled", finding it funny how an ode to Donda West features Legend's "unmistakable soulful voice" offering a "low key but perfectly suitable performance". Writing for ''

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 ...

'', David Browne observed that the song conveys the "warmth and soul" of an old single by

the Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago, Illinois, United States. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, The group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, ...

. Some reviewers were less impressed with "Hey Mama". Matthew Gasteier of ''Prefix Mag'' was unsure about the lyrical content, seeing it as being largely surpassed by the inventive production. At ''The Observer'',

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain ...

saw the song as the only real threat "to derail anyeWest's terrific strike rate" on the album, saying it is "a good tune" despite the bad contrast of "gushing mother-love" with the other lyrical themes. Similarly, veteran critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote in ''

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 cr ...

'' that the song may be one-dimensional, yet West still offers "an oxymoronic" line prior to "milking isoft dissed flow" for rhymes. Hattie Collins provided a negative review for '' NME'', dismissing the song as a "saccharine slowie" and ''Late Registration''s "only misfire", opening up that rapper

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

took on its concept in the early 1990s "with far more panache".

Commercial performance

In the United States, the song entered the ''

chart at number nine for the issue date of November 24, 2007. It lasted for one week on the chart. "Hey Mama" was later certified gold by the

(RIAA) for amassing 500,000 certified units in the US on September 23, 2020. The song also charted in Canada, reaching number 64 on the

chart for the issue dated March 1, 2008.

Live performances

West first performed "Hey Mama" at a homecoming show with

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...

at the

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at Ha ...

in Chicago on May 5, 2004, prior to its release. On September 9, 2005, West performed the song on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'', where the rapper said that it is tattooed on an arm of his and stands among his favorite songs. Kanye West also admitted saving the opportunity to perform the song on the show for Donda, who sat in the front row and described West dedicating it to her as "unbelievable". On October 13, 2005, West delivered a performance of "Hey Mama" during a stop at O'Connell Center in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in ...

on his Touch the Sky tour. West later performed the song for the tour's concert at the theater of

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

in New York City on November 3, while wearing a designer off-white blazer. Kanye Coachella 2011 2

On November 17, 2007, around a week after Donda's death, Kanye failed to begin a performance of the song at Le Zenith in Paris, France, attempting an introduction when saying, "This song is for my mother ..." After stopping during the intro, Kanye was comforted by a backup singer, the show's DJ, and a guitar player. Kanye stood and cried, though the band continued to play the song. The rapper later restarted his performance, which he did not manage to finish. On November 24, 2007, Kanye performed the song to a projection of Donda at

Brighton Centre Brighton Centre is a conference and exhibition centre located in Brighton, England. It is the largest of its kind in southern England, and is regularly used for conferences of the British political parties and other bodies of national importa ...

Brighton, England Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Ag ...

. For his 2008 Glow in the Dark Tour, Kanye performed "Hey Mama" in dedication to Donda and segued from it into a cover of Journey's " Don't Stop Believin' (1981). When appearing at the 2008 Grammy Awards, Kanye West paid tribute to Donda by singing a version of the song with altered lyrics for the ceremony. West had "MAMA" cut into his hair for the performance and during it, he stepped forward as paintings of angels flashed above. Shortly after his performance, West went to the studio and recorded the Grammy version of the song. For the closer of his headlining set at the 2011

Coachella 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. It ...

, West performed a rendition of the song. During the opening show of

The Yeezus Tour The Yeezus Tour was a concert tour by American rapper Kanye West in support of West's sixth solo studio album, ''Yeezus'' (2013). The venture served as West's first solo concert tour in five years. Kendrick Lamar, A Tribe Called Quest, Travis Sc ...

at the

KeyArena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ori ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, West performed the song partially as he wore a sparkling black mask. On May 12, 2019, Kanye performed the song in tribute to Donda on Mother's Day at a concert of his group the

Sunday Service Choir The Sunday Service Choir, (commonly known as Sunday Service) is an American gospel group led by artist and producer Kanye West and conducted by choir director Jason White. Beginning in January 2019, the group has performed every Sunday, as well ...

. Kanye opened the concert by walking out to fellow rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's single " Dear Mama", before delivering 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 ...

rendition of "Hey Mama". The performance was livestreamed through the same fisheye perspective as the rapper's April 2019 appearance at Coachella, while he closed his eyes as he performed.

Appearances in media

On April 7, 2015, ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' obtained footage of Kanye and Donda singing "Hey Mama" together, which concluded with the rapper wrapping an arm around her as they both grinned. On November 10, 2017, the release of West's rival

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's album ''

Reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...

'' coincided with the 10th anniversary of Donda's death, leading to West fans organizing Hey Mama Day. The event was organized to protest the album's release and block Swift from topping the charts by playing "Hey Mama", with the song gathering around 700,000

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

streams in 24 hours. However, it did not enter any Spotify charts due to the service realizing that the numbers stemmed from repeated listens. On July 12, 2020, Kanye shared a snippet of his 2021 track "Donda" that is named after his mother via

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 ...

, alongside a video. The video features archival footage that shows the Wests rapping "Hey Mama" together. Simultaneously, Kanye's wife

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the s ...

shared the footage of the Wests rapping.

Credits and personnel

Information taken from ''Late Registration'' liner notes. Recording * Recorded at

The 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 ...

(Hollywood, CA),

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan ...

(NYC) and Grandmaster Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA) * Mixed at

Chalice Recording Studios Chalice Recording Studio is located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Chalice opened in 2002 and is known for its elaborate interior decor and its large collection of rare and vintage analog recording equipment. When Chalice ...

(Hollywood, CA) Personnel *

songwriter, producer * Donal Leace songwriter *

producer * Andrew Dawson recorder, mix engineer *

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 ...

recorder * Tom Biller recorder * Richard Reitz assistant engineer * Matt Green assistant engineer * Taylor Dow assistant engineer *

additional vocals

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

"Hey Mama" lyrics
at

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 ...

{{Kanye West songs 2000s ballads 2005 songs Kanye West songs Songs about mothers Song recordings produced by Jon Brion Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Kanye West