"Real Friends" 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 ...

, featuring vocals from fellow singer

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

. It was released as a promotional single from West's seventh studio 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 ...

'', on January 8, 2016, as part of West's

GOOD Fridays GOOD Fridays was a weekly free music release by rapper Kanye West, launched in support of his fifth studio album '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). The original intention was to release a free new song every Friday for a few months to ...

program. The song includes West rapping about his trust issues around friends and family, with

Whodini Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; J ...

's song " Friends" being directly recalled.

Song

The song directly recalls the 1980s track " Friends" by hip hop group

. West's lyrical content when rapping in the track is centered around the rapper's relationships with his friends and family. The lyrics: "I had a cousin that stole my laptop that I was fuckin' bitches on/Paid that nigga 250 thousand just to get it from him" were referenced by West in his

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 ...

-featuring promotional single " No More Parties in LA" with the lines: "And as far as real friends, tell my cousins I love 'em/Even the one that stole the laptop, you dirty motherfucker". The song also directly borrows from

Frank Dukes Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), better known as Ging and by his former stage name Frank Dukes, is a Canadian musician, record producer, and songwriter. A prolific producer, he has worked with artists including Camila Cabello ("Havana ...

’ Couches; the sample is looped to create the instrumental track.

Release

On January 8, 2016,

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 ...

, West's wife, announced 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 ...

the release of "Real Friends", ''

''s actual first single, will initiate the return of West's

program. West has previously done a weekly free music giveaway leading up to the release of 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 ...

'' in 2010. "Real Friends" was released the day it was announced via

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

simultaneously with the album's (then titled ''Swish'') release date and a snippet of the forthcoming GOOD Friday release, titled "No More Parties in LA", which features guest vocals from Kendrick Lamar.

Recording

In March 2016,

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 ...

revealed via Instagram that DMX was recording his feature for a remix of "Real Friends".

Joey Badass Jo-Vaughn Virginie Scott (born January 20, 1995), known professionally as Joey Badass (stylized as Joey Bada$$), is an American rapper, singer, and actor. A native of Brooklyn, New York City, he is a founding member of the hip-hop collective Pr ...

made the claim in January 2018 that he spoke to West at

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

2016, where West apparently told him that he inspired him to make the song.

Critical reception

"Real Friends" received universal acclaim from music critics. At ''

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 ...

'', Jonah Bromwich awarded the song the "Best New Track" tag, labeling it as "heavy, grizzled, and sad" and complimenting its production and lyrical content. Adelle Platon of '' Billboard'' called the song's beat "dreamy", and commented on the lyrical content by writing that Kanye "waxes poetic about trust issues and reflects on how he could be a better BFF and family man." Pitchfork listed "Real Friends" on their ranking of the 100 best songs of 2016 at number 14. Red Bull named it the second best song of 2016.

Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabili ...

listed the song as the thirteenth best song of 2016. Crack Magazine placed it fifth in their end of year best songs of the year list.

Remixes

In January 2016, singer

Erykah Badu Erica Abi Wright (born February 26, 1971), known professionally as Erykah Badu (), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut al ...

released a remix of the track titled "Trill Friends" which was named "Best New Track" by ''

''. Rapper

Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...

also released his own remix version of the song in April 2016. A minute-long verse by DMX surfaced online in December 2017 whilst he was in jail that was supposed to be on a remix by West featuring him that never was released due to DMX's legal issues.

Commercial performance

"Real Friends" debuted at number 92 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 upon the release of ''The Life of Pablo''. It also charted at number 34 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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 ...

chart in the same week and stayed on the chart for a total of two weeks. The song performed best in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, reaching number 78 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from West's official website. *Production – Kanye West & Boi-1da for 1da Boi Productions Inc. *Co-produced – Frank Dukes & Havoc *Additional production – Darren King, Mike Dean #MWA for Dean's List Productions, Noah Goldstein for Ark Productions, Inc. & Sevn Thomas *Engineering – Noah Goldstein & Ty Dolla Sign *Mix –

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career ...

at Larrabee Studios, North Hollywood, CA *Mix assisted – Chris Galland, Ike Schultz & Jeff Jackson *Keyboards – Mike Dean *Vocals –

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Ty Dolla Sign 2016 songs Kanye West songs Song recordings produced by Boi-1da Song recordings produced by Frank Dukes Song recordings produced by Havoc (musician) Song recordings produced by Kanye West Song recordings produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Boi-1da Songs written by Cyhi the Prynce Songs written by Frank Dukes Songs written by Havoc (musician) Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by Mike Dean (record producer) Songs written by Sevn Thomas Songs written by Ty Dolla Sign Ty Dolla Sign songs Songs about friendship