"New God Flow" 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

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 201 ...

. It was released as the third single from the compilation album '' Cruel Summer'' (2012), a collaboration between members of their record label

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 ...

. Produced by West,

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 ...

and Boogz & Tapez, "New God Flow", which is a hip hop song, incorporates numerous samples into its arrangement. It features lines by Pusha T directed at American rapper and record producer Birdman. American 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 C ...

, whose song "Mighty Healthy" is prominently sampled in the song, is featured on an alternate version entitled "New God Flow.1" that appears on ''Cruel Summer''. West and Pusha T performed "New God Flow" on several occasions, including the 2012 BET Awards and Jay-Z's Made in America Festival. The song was awarded Best Beat at the ''XXL'' Awards.

Composition

The song's hook is made from a vocal sample of "Mighty Healthy" as performed by

, which was also later sampled by

Madlib Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), ...

in Kanye's 2016

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

-featured single "

No More Parties in LA "No More Parties in LA" (often stylized as "No More Parties in L.A.") is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his seventh studio album, ''The Life of Pablo'' (2016), featuring vocals from fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was produced by Wes ...

" from his 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 ...

''. The main sample used in the song is a piano riff from

Marcos Valle Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

's "Bodas De Sangue", from his 1971 album ''Vento Sul''. The drum break in the track is sampled from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss. In the outro, Kanye references the " I don't know, but I've been told" military cadence. On the album version, there is a verse by the

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 aff ...

member (who is sampled on the original version) replacing Kanye West's GOOD Music chant.

Artwork

On June 27, 2012, West's website was updated for the cover art for "New God Flow". The artwork is styled in black and red, revealing track info and key participants. The cover art is nearly identical to that of the GOOD Music single "

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...

" that was released earlier in 2012.

Reception

In comparison to the live performance of it at the 2012 BET Awards, Nathan Reese of '' Refinery29'' viewed the song as what "manages a similarly intense effect, letting Pusha T and Kanye West maintain all the anger and vulnerability they showed at that show". ''Complex'' listed the song at #34 on their list of the 50 best songs of 2012. At the ''XXL'' Awards in 2013, "New God Flow" won the award for Best Beat.

Lyrical content

Pusha T confirmed in October 2012 that within the song, he was responding to a Birdman interview where the rapper dissed GOOD Music. West raps the pair of lines: "Hold up, I ain't tryna stunt, man/But the Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman", referencing the popularity of his Nike Air Yeezy shoes in comparison to that of the

Air Jordan Air Jordan is an American brand of basketball shoes produced by American corporation Nike. The first Air Jordan shoe was produced for Hall of Fame former basketball player Michael Jordan during his time with the Chicago Bulls in late 1984 an ...

brand. The second line was span in his 2015 promotional single "

Facts A flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) is a system composed of static equipment used for the alternating current (AC) transmission of electrical energy. It is meant to enhance controllability and increase power transfer capabi ...

" to: "Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman".

Live performances

At the 2012 BET Awards, Kanye West,

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

, Pusha T and

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (or Tity Boi), is an American rapper. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he initially gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip hop duo Playaz Circle, a ...

performed their hit single "

", followed by West delivering a solo performance of his single "

Cold Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

" and then an a cappella version of his verse on "New God Flow", marking the very first preview of the song. On July 7, 2012, Kanye West performed "New God Flow" alongside Pusha T as the first performance together of the song in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On September 1, 2012, Kanye West & Pusha T performed "New God Flow" during their surprise G.O.O.D. Music set at Jay-Z's Made In America Festival, accompanied by Big Sean. The set also included performances of " I Don't Like (Remix)", "

Can't Tell Me Nothing "Can't Tell Me Nothing" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his third studio album, ''Graduation'' (2007). The song contains additional vocals from Young Jeezy and Connie Mitchell. It was produced by West with DJ Toomp with West be ...

" & "

Dance (A$$) "Dance (Ass)", often stylized "Dance (A$$)", is a song by American rapper Big Sean, released as the third single from his debut studio album, '' Finally Famous'' (2011). It was added to urban radio formats on September 20, 2011 as the album's thir ...

Commercial performance

"New God Flow" performed best on the Canadian Hot 100, charting at position number 66. The song peaked at number 89 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Charts

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Pusha T songs Kanye West songs GOOD Music singles Songs written by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by Pusha T Songs with music by Marcos Valle Songs written by Ghostface Killah 2012 songs