"Murder to Excellence" is a song by American rappers

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 ...

and Jay-Z, from their 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 the r ...

'' (2011). It samples LA LA LA, an original song written and produced by Romanian-American duo

Indiggo Indiggo and the Indiggo Twins are the stage names for Gabriela Modorcea and Mihaela Modorcea, twin sisters and Romanian-American professional actresses, dancers, singers, and writers. They were born in Romania, received visas for extraordinary a ...

Twins, inspired by Romanian folklore.The voices in the song are from Moldavian singers "Surorile Osoianu". The song features additional vocals from Kid Cudi. The song was nominated for Impact Track at the 2012 Bet Hip Hop Awards. An edited version of the song featured in the trailer for 2022 film ''

Black Adam Black Adam, real name Teth/Theo-Adam, is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck, and first appeared in the debut issue of Fawcett Comics' ''The Marvel Family'' comi ...

''.

Composition

"Murder to Excellence" contains portions of " Celie Shaves Mr./Scarification" written by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

and Harvey Mason, Jr., as performed by Quincy Jones. Samples of

Twins' original composition ''LA LA LA'' are contained in the song. Kanye and Jay show consciousness with the song addressing black-on black murder and black excellence with energy from both of them. In an interview with '' Revolt'', producer S1 revealed "Murder to Excellence" was originally two separate songs, that were later merged:

"These were two separate songs, which is crazy. So
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 ...
did the first half and the name of that song was actually, "Black on Black Murder." And then the second half that I did was actually called, "Black Excellence." I remember this like it was yesterday and we were all in the studio together and Kanye is playing both of these songs and he plays the Swizz Beatz song first, and then my version. We’re in the studio wilding out, listening to it and jumping around, and then he was like, "Yo what if we merge these two together?" So the engineer did it in the session and I remember us playing it and that transition happened the way it immediately went into the other song and we were just going crazy in the studio, like this is it. So they merged the titles, "Let's just call it "Murder to Excellence." The transition was so powerful because it flowed so smooth and it sounded, with the samples that Swizz and I chose they were very familiar but different, so it just blended so well".

Recording

S1 revealed that the song was in the second batch of beats that he sent to West and that he focused on beefing up the drums to create a true hip hop sound. Working with Kanye and Jay on the track alongside fellow album songs "

Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in Octobe ...

" and " Who Gon Stop Me" was described by producer and additional vocalist

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 ...

as: "like being in the studio with Quincy Jones and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

at the same time".

Critical reception

Tom Breihan 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 ...

'' cited the subject matter of "black-on-black crime and the scarcity of people of color at society's highest seats" as an example on ''Watch the Throne'' of "how often Jay and Kanye address matters beyond their bank accounts". Brian Josephs 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 ...

'' expressed his opinion of Kanye and Jay's rapping: "They were stunting for a higher purpose." "Murder to Excellence" earned a nomination for Impact Track at the 2012 Bet Hip Hop Awards, and ultimately lost to "

Daughters A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...

" by

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

References

{{authority control 2011 songs Experimental music songs Jay-Z songs Kanye West songs Song recordings produced by Swizz Beatz Song recordings produced by Symbolyc One Songs about death Songs written by Harvey Mason Jr. Songs written by Jay-Z Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Kid Cudi Songs written by Quincy Jones Songs written by Swizz Beatz Songs written by Symbolyc One